Doris Waithera, Paul Muchiri and John Falestine, all from Langalanga secondary school have one thing in common; they scored A’s in the just released Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.

Mtaa Wangu got to speak to these top achievers to find out what makes them tick.

Doris Waithera goes into the history books of Langalanga Secondary School as the first female candidate to get an A of 81 points. Waithera scored 387 marks in her KCPE.

Read: Langa langa secondary reclaims its position among Nakuru's top performing schools

“I used to come to school every morning at 5 a.m. This was not very safe considering these parts are not very safe at that time. That was how much getting a good grade meant to me. I was in a do or die situation and I gave it my all to make sure that I emerged the best,” she said.

Doris says she is glad to be a pacesetter for the other girls in the school.

“I have had some of the girls who are in school come and tell me that they would really want to surpass my mark and deep down this makes me feel proud being a pacesetter for all those who come after me,” she said smiling.

Doris also comes from a humble background and this equally presents a challenge to her.

“Even though I have attained high marks in the exams, now my problem becomes where I will be able to get funding that will enable me to cater for my studies at the university. As of now my future is not guaranteed and therefore, if I would be able to get financial help, that would enable me to achieve my dreams of being a doctor. I would really be grateful,” she said.

Juma Falestine, the student who managed to get an A of 84 points is a Sudanese national who moved to Kenya together with his family.

“While in Sudan, we lived in some of the rural areas and life there was very difficult. We lacked some basic resources, such as hospitals and so moving to Kenya I was very determined to change my story. This was my biggest inspiration towards achieving my dreams,” he said.

Juma managed to get 390 marks in KCPE. He owes his success to the support he got from his teachers.

“I was supposed to go to Nanyuki High School but due to financial constraints, I came here and I was more determined to become a top achiever. The journey has had many challenges but the motivation I got from the teachers is what really kept me going,” he said.

Langalanga Secondary School teachers hoist Paul Muchiri (left) and John Falestine as they celebrate their impressive performance.

Photo credit: DAILY NATION

Another student who managed to emerge top was Paul Muchiri who got an A of 82 points. Paul has been a top performer since he was in primary where he scored 413 marks.

“I suffer from pneumatic fever and this presented a huge obstacle in my pursuit of education. I would always go for monthly injections which were very painful. But through all that, I was able to keep my eyes on the target,” he said.

Paul says that he comes from a humble background. This made him work hard so as to provide a better life for his family.

Related: Inside Public School That Produced One of Nakuru's Top Student

“There are times when I was never able to afford school fees but the teachers were very understanding and they would let us continue attending classes even with fee arrears. The opportunity they accorded me gave me hope. That was all I needed; hope for a better tomorrow. I was not going to let them and my family back home down,” he said.

All the three students have their eyes set on pursing medicine at the University of Nairobi.

sanyabret@gmail.com

Three students defy poverty, scars of Sudan war, to score As in KCSE

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Bret Sanya