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Girl With a Rare Gift Aims High
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 17 July 2007 21:52
To add to her joy is the fact that she has been offered a Form One place at the school that was her first choice - Alliance Girls High School.
Coming third overall in the whole province was as a result of a special talent that Felisters has. She does not need to revise notes taken during class time. As long as she attended a lesson, she remembers whatever is needed to answer exam questions.
When her teachers made this discovery, they did their best to help her stay in school even though raising school fees was her biggest nightmare.
"We discovered that passing her exams did not depend on how well she revised her notes but how well she attended lessons in school," says Evans Osinde, her former headteacher.
Felisters got straight As in all the subjects and managed to score 459 out of a total 500 marks.
The former pupil of Eronge Adventist Primary School in Nyamira District says her main motivation for performing so well came from her deceased parents. She still clearly recalls their encouraging and yet challenging words on the need to value education and work hard in order to join a national school.
"When they were alive, my parents always encouraged me to work extra hard so I could qualify for admission in one of the 17 national schools," she says.
Felisters cannot disguise her excitement at the thought of joining Alliance Girls, where she plans to work hard and qualify to study medicine at one of the universities.
"They really wanted me to be a doctor and I developed a keen interest in the profession. I made a resolution to aim and score high academically to enable me realise this dream," she adds.
However, a dark cloud hovers over her future because although she holds a letter of admission to Alliance, she cannot raise the fees required. Felisters fears that if she doesn't find a solution soon, she may end up in a day school.
Still, she remains optimistic that all will be well. "I don't believe it was by chance that I managed to perform so well. This was God's plan and He knows that my parents are dead and that my guardians cannot afford my school fees beyond this level. I am optimistic that I will not end up in a day school as many of my relatives have suggested," she says.
Her guardians, Evans Ondari and Callen Bochere, say that Felisters was left in their care when her father and mother died in 2001 and 2002 respectively. They managed to see her through primary school but are unable to raise the fees for her secondary school education.
On her rare gift, the young girl says she never had to study like her classmates. Her "secret weapon" involved attending classes and concentrating keenly on what was being taught.
"I suffered greatly if I missed a lesson because I depended entirely on what had been taught in class."
She adds that she is eternally grateful to her teachers, who identified this special gift and ensured that she did not miss school despite her being in fees arrears most of the time.
"I owe my success to my former teachers and my guardians. They did their level best to see that I remained in school. When I become a doctor, I too, will strive to help those less fortunate members of society," says Felisters.
She explains how her teachers would set targets during mid and end of term examinations, and offer money incentives to the pupils who reached these targets. Because Felisters usually scored highly, she got the money, which went towards paying her fees.
Following in her footsteps is her younger sister, Patricia Nyanusi, 12, who is in Standard Seven at the Kisii Campus Primary School.
Patricia says she wants to be a pilot after school and vows to score higher marks than her elder sister when she sits her KCPE exams.
She adds that like her sister, she wants to see her parents' names go into the history books of their small village in Kisii.
Felisters' former headteacher says that her going to Alliance will be a great boost for the promotion of the girl-child's education, an area that remains uncertain.
"Just as talented sports people need to be identified and their talents tapped in good time, there is need to help young girls nurture their intellectual talents so they can realise their ambitions. Useful brains such as Felisters' should not be left to go to waste," he says.
