Post Secondary Scholarship

Christ’s Gift Academy is now offering college scholarships to a few promising graduates! 

CGA is a Christian school for orphans in Mbita, Kenya which has one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in all of sub-Saharan Africa at over 30%.  The school starts in Pre-School and goes up through 8^th Grade when they take their Primary School National Exams.  The first class finished primary school in 2006, and CGA Leadership decided to continue their sponsorship as they moved on to various high schools around the country.  Continuing on to high school gave these students, who come from very poor and disadvantaged family backgrounds, an opportunity to continue their education as they mature into young men and women.  When the first class completed high school in 2010, there was nothing in place to help them continue onto post-secondary education.  A few students were able to move on to University or other tertiary institutions, however most were not able to continue with their education because of a lack of money.  With limited options for their future, some students chose to get married at an early age while others, in order to survive, began working small jobs which offer little.

We are pleased to announce that in 2013 CGA is beginning a Post-Secondary Scholarship to assist some of these bright young leaders who have a lot of potential, but lack the financial resources to reach that potential. This first year the scholarship was made available to all previous CGA high school graduates; a total of 55 students from classes who graduated in 2010, 2011 and 2012.  Different from the CGA Secondary School Sponsorship, the Post-Secondary Scholarship will be awarded to a select few highly motivated and academically successful students who demonstrate great character.  To be eligible, applicants must have earned a C+ or higher on their High School National Exams and not yet started post-secondary education. 

Qualifying candidates completed an extensive application which included essay questions and references from their pastor and secondary schools.  A few unbiased individuals rated the applications based on leadership, potential, financial need, spiritual maturity and written communication skills.  The top 15 candidates were short-listed to move forward in the selection process.  Each candidate participated in an interview with a panel of distinguished Kenyan citizens from around the country.

This unbiased panel included a Christian university Professor, a Teacher/Director from an international secondary school, the Director of Kenya’s Compassion International University Leadership Development Program, a local pastor and church-planter, and a missionary.  The panel assessed each candidate based on the same categories as in the initial application, but also included church and community involvement, desire to give back, honesty and character, general knowledge/current events, and appearance and speech.  The panel deliberated and unanimously agreed on the top 10 candidates to receive the scholarship.

The Kenyan panel was very impressed with the quality young people that CGA has produced, but they were equally amazed at the difficult circumstances many of these students have overcome to reach this point in life.  All of the panel members were fascinated by the good work that CGA is doing in providing these young people an opportunity for a better future. 

The 10 young people who were selected have hopes and dreams of pursuing careers in computer science, information technology, teaching, business/economics and various positions in the medical field.  The scholarship will only cover a portion of the cost to attend college, but it is a significant amount that will open doors which were once closed. 

Congratulations to Evance, John, Lizzy, Martha, Moses 
Nicholas, Sospeter, Stephen, Victor and Wilfrida!

Several of these scholarship recipients will begin their courses of study in August and September while others may not start until January.  We thank God for His abundant blessing in providing for His children! 

Check back soon for pictures and bios of the 2013 CGA Post-Secondary Scholarship Students!