This archive report was first published on 22 July 2019.
Published on July 22, 2019, a heart-wrenching story of a young man's years of hard work has sparked a conversation.
Kevin Ochieng Obede, a 24-year-old, achieved excellent academic grades at Maranda High School and the University of Nairobi, graduating with First Class honors in Actuarial Science.
However, despite his exceptional grades, Kevin ended up homeless in the streets of Nairobi for over a year.
He is currently being hosted by his friend, Christopher Oloo, in a tiny house in Kosovo, Mathare, where he faces the dangers of raw sewage and poverty.
Kevin's story is a stark reminder of the ticking time bomb of unemployed youth who worked hard, scored A's, but their certificates have turned into just a piece of paper.
He was in the Maranda class of 2011 that topped the country in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and had hoped to rescue his grandmother and sister from poverty.
Kevin now fears going back to his rural home in Nyakach village where he grew up to face his grandmother who saw him as the ticket out of poverty.
He was not even able to attend his own graduation ceremony because he could not afford the Ksh.4000 fee required.
Kevin's entire school fee was paid for by a Higher Educations Loans Board (HELB), a Chinese education loan as well as the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) kitty.
He now works alongside parking gangs in the Nairobi CBD washing cars for Ksh.50-100 to earn a living.
Kevin stores his certificates in a cybercafé, hoping one day he will get a job and have a decent life.
