By Habil Onyango
Parents, teachers, and students are celebrating the recently released Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) 2025 results.
Many parents whose children performed exceptionally well have showered them with expensive gifts, and some are even treating their families to vacations at luxurious hotels across the country.
However, for Derrick Otieno Oyugi, these results only bring back memories of his late parents, making him wish that he had someone to celebrate his success with.
Oyugi, who sat for his KCSE at Maseno School, scored straight A’s in all eight subjects, including English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Geography, and Business Studies.
Oyugi lost his mother and a sister in a road accident a year before he lost his father while he was in class five at a primary school in Ndhiwa Sub County, Homa Bay County.
“We faced a lot of frustrations after becoming orphans at such an early age, and at one point, I was forced to drop out of school to provide for the family,” he recalled.
“We struggled to access basic needs like school uniforms and food since there was no one to support us.”
As his hopes of continuing his education dwindled, Oyugi was identified by a kind neighbor who connected him with Bishop Daniel Ochieng of the Ebenezer Christian Church Assembly.
Recognizing Oyugi’s potential and need, the bishop offered support for his education.
According to the bishop, the church has supported Oyugi since he was in standard five at Ebenezer Christian School, located in Rongo Sub County, where he consistently excelled throughout his schooling.
He ultimately topped his class with 411 marks, earning a place at Maseno School, where he was one of the top students for all four years.
“In his final year, he topped a class of over 800 students,” revealed Bishop Ochieng, who oversees the church.
Bishop Ochieng shared that Oyugi comes from a low-income family and is the only boy.
He currently lives with his elder sister, who is also struggling to make ends meet through small businesses.
The bishop also mentioned that the church is paying for Oyugi’s younger sister, who is in form three at Ogande Girls School.
“The boy has excelled remarkably despite coming from a challenging background marked by the loss of both parents,” he added.
The church sponsors over 100 needy students across the country by covering their school fees and addressing other basic needs.
However, the bishop lamented the limited resources available to them and appealed for support from the national government and political leaders to help assist these needy students, most of whom are total orphans.
“We are receiving overwhelming requests for support, but we are unable to fulfill them due to a lack of sufficient resources,” he explained.
“The resources we have come solely from contributions by kind-hearted church members, and they are not enough to meet the demand.”
Oyugi’s mission is to become a neurosurgeon in his university education.
“My main goal is to become a neurosurgeon in the future, and I also wish to support other needy students who are unable to access quality education due to various challenges,” he stated.
