One hundred and sixty orphans and vulnerable students in Nyamira County, have benefited from the Presidential Bursary, to enable them access their basic right of secondary education.

Nyamira County Children Services Co-ordinator, Rasto Omollo, confirmed to KNA that over two million shillings have been disbursed to the orphans, who had lost hope of accessing secondary education, due to poverty and lack of financially stable caregivers.

‘We have disbursed a total of Sh2, 217,250 to 160 orphans, which will enable them access their secondary education. All our new beneficiaries have joined form one and we hope to give them support until they finish their secondary education,’ Omollo confirmed.

‘All our new beneficiaries are those who joined form one this year. We shall clear the remaining school fee balances, when we shall receive the remaining half of the disbursement, before the close of this Financial Year,’ Rasto said.

He explained that there are beneficiaries who were between form two to form four in var
ious secondary schools countrywide and depending on the school the student was admitted in, Sh15,000 was disbursed for Sub-county and Sh30,000 Extra-county and National Secondary schools.

‘It is not possible to enroll all orphans in the Presidential Bursary programme because they are many compared to the funds allocated for the same, we therefore, form a special select committee, which evaluates all the applications forms, and thereafter approve those orphans who are very vulnerable and genuinely deserve to benefit from the bursary kitty,’ the County Children Services Co-ordinator explained.

Sharon Momanyi, a form four student at Nyakeore Secondary School in Nyamira South Sub-county, said she was very grateful for being considered to be a beneficiary of the Presidential Bursary, because she had lost hope of undertaking her secondary education because she was under the care of her grandmother, who was very old and could not work to cater for her education needs.

According to Sharon, so long as she has eaten
, that was more than enough because she was unable to provide other basic needs, including education.

Rasto urged students to work hard in school and score good grades which would give them an opportunity to be enrolled in competitive career courses and transform their vulnerability and entire life once they get employment.

Source: Kenya News Agency

Namibia Needs Me Project held a civic education dialogue with students from the University of Namibia (UNAM) Rundu Campus on strengthening democratic participation here on Tuesday.

The project is implemented by the Namibia Institute of Democracy and the Hanns Seidel Foundation and is funded by the European Union.

Speaking at the event, Senior Project Officer of Namibia Needs Me, Naita Hishoono, said the project encourages citizens to get involved in the country’s democratic institutions such as the National Assembly etc.

As Namibia is preparing for its Presidential and National Assembly elections, set for late November, citizens will have to understand where in the electoral cycle they will be involved, she said.

Hishoono urged Namibians to get themselves registered for the upcoming elections and to make sure they read the various political parties’ manifestos to keep leaders accountable once elected.

‘Citizens should vote for political parties understanding what these parties can do for them. Thus the N
amibia Needs Me Project is about informing citizens about their rights, their responsibilities and how they can involve themselves in political processes in the country,’ she said.

Hishoono said during these dialogues they are explaining who the institutions are, the procedures as well as the processes.

‘We are informing citizens to strengthen their relationship with their leaders and decision-makers. So that in the end we have informed and conscious citizens who know what their rights are,’ she noted.

As target groups a central focus of the project is the youth demographic, she said, adding that senior secondary school learners from various schools across the country will partake in civic education training sessions as well as University students who will also engage in dialogues providing them with a platform to raise their voices.

Commissioner of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) and English Lecturer at the UNAM Rundu Campus, Dr Gerson Sindano, while applauding the project for its work, said: ‘
This is the best way to capture young people’s imagination for them to have the will to take part in elections.’

This, he noted should be the work of every member of society to participate in promoting civic education.

Sindano said voter participation in the past years during polls has gone down however with more civic education this trend could change this year.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency