Future Kenyan leaders win scholarships to British universities
9 Kenyans have won prestigious scholarships to study Masters Degrees in the United Kingdom, under the British Government funded Chevening Scholarship Scheme.
The British High Commissioner, Dr. Christian Turner announced the awards, to the value of over £171,000 (23m shillings) when he hosted the youth of Kenya event at his Muthaiga Residence on Thursday evening. The event, which was sponsored by Chase Bank, was attended by Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Art, Dr. Hassan Wario, a former Chevening scholar himself, Buuri Member of Parliament Kinoti Gitobu, other former Chevening scholars, and various young Kenyan leaders.
Dr Turner congratulated the new Chevening scholars and hoped that they would become future leaders of Kenya. He noted that they would be following in the footsteps of former Chevening alumni “like Hon Hassan Wario, Judge of the Supreme Court Njoki Ndungu, and Raphael Tuju, all of whom are playing a major role in Kenyan society today”.
The new scholars, selected from a field of around 350 applicants, are already making their mark in important areas in Kenyan society. They include: Lt Col Catherine Wanjiru Gichuki;,Mirithi Mutiga, Terry Wanjiru Kahoro, Matilda Nzioka, Mwalyo Ndulu, Angela Muraguri, Aisha Mahmoud Abdula Aziz, Benjamin Muindi and Angela Atieno Okuku.
Dr Turner also welcomed the recognition of the quality of British education and the benefits returning Kenyan students bring back with them. “We are proud of our long-standing educational links with Kenya. What I find especially pleasing is that increasingly Kenyan students in Britain are pursuing courses of relevance to the development of Kenya, whether it is medicine or law, business management and IT, bringing their new skills and knowledge back to Kenya to contribute to the growth of this wonderful country”.
Photos of the event flickr