The story of Paul Njoroge is one of resilience and sheer determination, overcoming unbeatable odds to triumph in the recent 2024 KCSE examinations. Back in 2016, out of 500 marks, Njoroge attained 288 marks in his KCPE, a result that was bound to set limitations on his future.
Now eight years later, Njoroge has defied all expectations, standing tall with an outstanding grade of A plain with 84 points, proving no obstacle is too great for a passionate and driven mind.
His struggles began right after he sat his KCPE examinations at Gacharage Primary School, when the fees to proceed to high school became an obstacle. As a result he spent an entire year at home, combining efforts with his family to pool funds to send him to school.
However a glimer of hope appeared amid his misfortunes, and somehow, he was able to enrol at Muhoho High School to begin his secondary education.
Adversity struck again, and by Form Two, he was back home due to lack of fees, this time compounded with his mother’s critically illness with cancer. Tragically, his mother succumbed, leaving him devastated without a way forward. It was during his mother’s funeral that the deputy principal at Kangui Day Secondary School in Murang’a encouraged him to return to his studies.
He heeded this call and joined Kangui in 2022, picking up from where he left off at Form Two. A year later in Form Three, he was sent home due to lack of fees, causing him to spend an entire term at home.
The setbacks were demoralising, and he was ready to give up. It took the intervention of the school’s administration and teachers to allow him to study for free as he was on the verge of being left behind. They converted an old kitchen into a room, and invited him to stay there to alleviate the challenges his father was facing in making a living.
No good deed goes unrewarded, and Njoroge’s remarkable perfomance stands as proof of the teachers’ selfless efforts. He ranked among top students not only in Murang’a County but also across the nation.
Njoroge’s dream is to now pursue Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Nairobi. Though uncertain of how he will afford the hefty university fees for this course, Njoroge remains hopeful that well-wishers will step forward and make his dream a reality.
