In the year 2000, Maina Muchoki scored 350 marks in the Kenya Certificate for Primary Education (KCPE).
However, due to financial problems, he was unable to enroll in Form One.
Undeterred, Maina delved into casual jobs for seven years while nurturing his fervent desire for education.
Fortune smiled upon Maina when well-wishers recognized his potential and sponsored his admission to Rungiri High School in 2007.
Unfortunately, his educational journey faced a roadblock as he had to drop out of Form Three due to developing eyesight problems.
In 2015, after six years, he decided to rekindle his educational pursuits by resitting the KCPE exams as a private candidate.
Despite facing obstacles, he scored 303 marks.
“I was working as a casual in Nairobi University and I used to admire the students in the institution and this motivated me to want to go back to class,” he said.
Sponsorship paved the way for Maina to enroll in Kikuyu Boys High School in 2016, where he encountered yet another setback, having to discontinue his studies in Form Two due to health complications.
I was scoring A grade in all the exams and this motivated me to work harder to pursue my dreams but they were shattered due to ill heath,” he said.
Undeterred, Maina moved to another school in Kiambu, battling health challenges while achieving a C plain grade in his first attempt at the KCSE exams in 2019.
Unsatisfied with the result, he courageously decided to repeat the examination, registering at Ititu Secondary School in Kiharu.
For the third attempt in 2022, Maina’s dedication paid off as he scored a C plus grade. However, his pursuit of excellence did not end there.
“I felt that I had the potential for a better grade,” he said.
In 2023, for the fourth and final time, Maina achieved the same C plus grade, marking the culmination of his more than two-decade-long educational journey.
Reflecting on his arduous path, Maina expressed his initial aspiration to pursue a bachelor’s in economics, though he now considers alternative courses due to the challenges he faced.
