Kericho: Form 2 Student From Lugulu Girls' Drops Out Of School After Sponsor's Death

• Shelby Chebet learnt about the death of her Canadian sponsor, Brenda Zugman, in December 2023, seven months after it had happened following a tragic accident
• She was forced to drop out of school when her school fees arrears accumulated to KSh 68,000 and has been home since February 2024
• Her mother, a casual labourer at tea farms in Kericho, was diagnosed with depression, clouding her hopes of going back to school

A Form 2 student from Lugulu Girls' High School in Bungoma has dropped out of school following the death of her sponsor.

Shelby Chebet, 15, left school after her Canadian Sponsor, Evangelist Brenda Zugman, passed away in May 2023.

The first-born daughter in a family of three is raised by a single mother and has been home since February.

According to TV47 Digital, Chebet learnt about the demise of her sponsor in December 2023, but she had actually died in May 2023 after a tragic accident that ended her life in Canada later.

How did Chebet meet Zugman?

Chebet, a bright student, enrolled at Chematint Academy Litein, which was fully sponsored by the Canadian.

She sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in 2022, and scored 399 marks, securing herself a Form 1 admission at Lugulu Girls' High School in Bungoma.

Before her death, Zugman had fully paid her Form 1 and partly Form 2 school fees.

Chebet was sent away in February when the school fees balance accumulated to KSh 68,000.

Why is Chebet's future in limbo?

Chebet is glaring at a dark future as her remaining support system, her mother, was diagnosed with depression after ailing for a while.

The single mother who works as a casual labourer at tea farms in Kericho lives with her three children in a one-room rented house at Duka Moja in Kericho.

Kirinyaga girl returns to school after 4 years

Meanwhile, a 22-year-old girl, Sophie Kalondu from Kirinyaga, returned to school after dropping out.

The lady claimed she was mocked by her classmates after she was accused of killing a class one pupil.

Kalondu, now a mother of one, returned to school after she secured full sponsorship from a bursary initiative by Kirinyaga woman representative, Njeri Maina, in April 2024.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.