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| Austine joined Ndoto three years ago |
Frankly, nobody loves a hard task, especially when you have no expectation of a reward. It takes a special kind of internal motivation to maintain your drive. Austine, one of our high school graduates, has this motivation in droves.
Last month we talked about our mentorship program for graduates, who wait nine months to start college. Austine, who lives in Obunga with his father, stepmother, and several siblings, scored a B- on his high school exams, which is a solid score in the top 14% nationwide. He has just arrived at Kisii University to study Actuarial Science, but this year he stands out as one of our most inspiring students.
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| Austine receiving a certificate from Pastor Michael |
Last year, we purchased a piece of land adjoining our campus for future school expansion. While the land was empty, our team decided to farm it to make it useful, and Austine stepped up to almost single-handedly nurture the project. For seven months he demonstrated what passion can achieve and how contagious it can be. He showed up morning and evening to look after the garden, tending to the plants that Ndoto sold to neighbors and staff after providing fresh vegetables for the Ndoto Academy kitchen.
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| One of our office staff goes to meet Austine in the farm before leaving work for the day. |
Although he didn’t expect it, we have taken care of some of his extra needs this year that we don’t normally cover for our students. Austine comes from a low-income family as his dad drives a motorbike taxi. He says that he has learned a lot this year and developed a capacity through our mentorship program that he didn’t know he had. “I feel determined, confident, and ready to handle new challenges away from home for the first time,” he said. We agree – Austine is ready to do great things!
