Brian Omboga is a resilient 19-year-old young man from the Mukuru Kwa Njenga informal settlements in Nairobi. He comes from a single parent household, and is the first-born child with 3 younger siblings.
Brian has had a challenging life. Due to his mother being the sole income earner, there have been periods where his family has not had consistent meals every day. He was regularly sent home from school due to not being able to pay his school fees balance, and while he was in his second year of high school, he missed two whole terms. This stressed his mother immensely, as she had no steady income at the time.
With the amount of school he was missing, his grades fell. He was bullied by his classmates and called lazy as they would pass end-of-term exams while he did not. Despite these challenges, Brian was determined not to fall behind in school. He would spend his time at home studying and catching up on his school work. This also helped him stay out of trouble, as idleness in his community has been known to drive young men towards bad company.
In 2021, Kenya Kids began sponsoring Brian, which allowed him to attend school consistently.
“After Kenya Kids, my grades improved, and the bullying from my classmates stopped. I now had an opportunity to work hard and make my younger sister and mother proud, as they looked up to me,” He says.
His mother’s burdens were also eased, and she now has a job.
Brian sat for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams in 2022 and attained a grade of B+, although he has not obtained his certificate due to unpaid school fees balance amounting to KES 71,000. He will join Co-operative University of Kenya to pursue a Bachelor of Science Degree in Information Technology. He is also a gifted artist and led his high school’s Art Club. His other passion is IT.
“Kenya Kids has changed my life. If it wasn’t for my scholarship, I would be seated at home wondering where my life will take me,” He says.
Brian’s dream for his future is to work in IT at a large tech company such as Microsoft, and to give back to his community by helping young people in tough situations.
