Mikoroshoni law student graduates thanks to charity founded by Middleton couple

A student sponsored through the Friends of Mikoroshoni Primary School (FMPS), managed by a small team of trustees including four from Middleton, has recently graduated from the University of Nairobi, the best university in East Africa, with a degree in law.

Rehema Ngumbao graduated in December 2018 at the age of 24, after studying a 5-year law degree course funded by sponsors found through the FMPS charity, based in the UK.

Born in 1993, Rehema is the eldest and only girl of four children. Her parents did not have permanent employment but always tried to provide the family with the basic needs of food, shelter and clothes. Schools in Mombasa were too expensive for Rehema’s parents to afford, so at the age of five years old, Rehema and her younger brother, Kelvin, were sent to live with their grandparents in Kaloleni near Malindi, where fees were much less.

The nursery school Rehema attended was miles away from their one-bedroom hut and she had to walk there each day barefoot, with an empty stomach, after sleeping on a single palm leaf next to her brother. Rehema’s uncle was also abusive and often beat her severely.

Rehema returned to Mombasa and was given a free place at Mikoroshoni Primary School when she was nine years old, after her father passed away and her mother could no longer afford to send her to a government school.

The school offered her free primary school education, as it aims to provide for the poorest of families from the most deprived communities in Africa.

Determined to be a role model for her younger brothers, Rehema was top of the class in her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams, receiving the highest mark in all subjects. From this high achievement, a couple from Jersey were encouraged to sponsor her to go to secondary school, where she could continue her education. If she did not have these sponsors, her education would have stopped after primary school, like many other students.

With the help of her sponsors allowing her to attend secondary school, Rehema finished her exams after four years of studying, gaining a mean grade of A.

Unfortunately, her sponsors in Jersey couldn’t provide further funds for her to attend university, but with the help of John Brooker, a member of Middleton Rotary Club and a trustee of the charity, Janice Lee and the Peter Carr Charitable Trust sponsored her to study for a further five years.

John Brooker said: “Rehema feels like a real personal achievement for me. It has always been my dream since starting the charity to help a student go to university to study law or medicine.

”This is a dream come true for Rehema after a life time of heart break and sorrow. Having sponsors brightened Rehema’s future, if it was not for them, she wouldn’t be able to have a successful life.”

The Friends of Mikoroshoni Primary School was established in 1996 after John and Yvonne Brooker, ex-teachers from Middleton, travelled to Mombasa with friends, John and Pat Lloyd, for a holiday.

However, after they went to see the local primary school that caters for ages 3 - 15 years, they ended up donating their holiday funds to improve the building and eventually established the charity in March 2000.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/104705/two-decades-of-charitable-successes-at-the-mikoroshoni-primary-school

John Brooker is supported by fellow Middleton Rotarians, Keith Trinnaman and Lee Wolf.

Mr Brooker added: “The school wouldn’t be changing the lives of so many children without the fantastic support we have received from various companies, organisations and individuals over the years.

98p of every £1 donated goes directly to the Friends of Mikoroshoni Primary School.

For more information or to donate visit:

• http://mikoroshoniprimaryschool.org.uk/we-need-you/

Or email news@rochdaleonline.co.uk and we will pass your details on to John Brooker.

Katie Davies