Student Stories
Meet our past and current students, get to know their personal journeys and how TMET has helped support their education, creating a bright and prosperous future.
Elizabeth Watwego
A Life Changed Because of TMET Sponsorship
​
TMET began sponsoring Elizabeth in 2009. She graduated with an A- from Alliance Girls in Nairobi (a top Kenyan secondary school) and wanted to study medicine at university. However, her parents were unable to afford the fees so instead she studied Nursing at the University of Nairobi, graduating in 2019. Luckily, she fell in love with nursing while getting to know patients during her clinical placements. After graduation, she became interested in the promotion of public health and preventative medicine during her work as a hospital intern. In 2022, she became involved with an NGO based in Tanzania and is now helping to set up a school of nursing and midwifery there.
Even with TMET sponsorship, Elizabeth was often unable to pay her full fees due to her family’s financial circumstances and sometimes had to pay with rice. Her father was often absent and her mother worked part time. Elizabeth felt shame at not being able to pay her fees and although she had every excuse not to do well, she never wanted to be defined by her family’s poverty. She is clear that the opportunity to study at Alliance has shaped who she is today.
Justine Wankio
TMET Sponsorship Enabling Education Across Generations ​
​
Justine graduated from Moi Nyabohanse Secondary School with a B-. She then went to a teacher training college at Garissa. Despite the challenges of being a long way from home and local terrorism, she passed with credit, qualifying as a primary school teacher. She then married and had a son and her priorities changed for a while. Now separated, she supports her family by teaching at Nyabirongo Girls’ School. This is a good school, and she is happy there although her salary is small and taxes are high. She would like to sponsor a student financially but since this is impossible at the moment, she provides mentorship to girls instead.
Justine says that Kuria has changed in the last few years. Having more women in work and education has created new issues with how these fit around marriage and children. She is the only child from her family who has succeeded and will never forget the role TMET played in this. Trustees visited her in 2018 and 2025 and heard that her salary as a teacher had enabled her to buy a maize mill for her mother. With this, her mother earns a living and supports other children in the family including her nephews and nieces and one of her grandchildren who is at university.
Shantel Daisy Muniko
Our 'Lady Clare' Sponsorship
​
Chantel is a recipient of the TMET ‘Lady Clare’ sponsorship which is awarded every year to the brightest student. She is studying at St Albert Ulanda, her ‘dream school’. She works hard in all subjects and would like to be a lawyer. In 2025, she achieved a B grade.
Chantel has 3 brothers and 3 sisters who are being raised by a single mother as their father died some years ago.
She says ‘if you move alone, you move too fast, but together you learn more’.
Yvonne Wankuru
A New Generation of Opportunities
​
Yvonne graduated from Butere Girls’ Secondary School in 2025 with an impressive A-. Her ambition is to be a software engineer or to study medicine. One of her brothers has studied software engineering. Another brother was studying to be a doctor but due to their father’s unemployment and no access to fees, he has had to cease his studies.
​Although it is still less common due to societal traditions and local poverty, increasing numbers of girls are able to gain an education alongside their brothers. This enables them to support their families and create brighter futures and opportunities for others as well as themselves.
Stephen Mwita Taruru
TMET Male Student Sponsorship
​​​
Although TMET predominantly sponsors girls, we do support some exceptional male students, and Stephen is one of these.
Stephen graduated from secondary school in 2024 with a B+. This is an excellent result as he comes from an exceptionally poor family. He is a talented artist and applied to study architecture at university. Because his grades weren’t high enough, instead he is studying computer science and medicine at the University of Nairobi Technical College.
Stephen is one of 4 children. His mother is a single parent and can’t afford books or pocket money. She farms maize and coriander, and Stephen’s brother helps to support the family by selling goods.
Everline Cha Cha Boke
TMET sponsorship through Secondary School and University​
​
Everline graduated from secondary school in 2024 with a B. She had been expected to get an A but her studies were affected by a student strike. During the strike, the teachers only allowed students to sleep from midnight to 3am. Eventually, the teachers relented and they were allowed to sleep from 9.30pm to 5am. The teachers had said that long study hours would mean better grades. They were proved wrong - the girls did better with more sleep.
With sponsorship from TMET, Everline is now studying for a BEd Sciences at university. Her father, now in Tanzania, was a helper in the shamba (garden) of the late teacher Charles Rioba Chacha, who was her guardian. She is the first born in her family and has 2 brothers and 2 sisters.
