This archive report was first published on 23 November 2019.
Sharon Wangeci, a 13-year-old from Kirinyaga, has defied all odds to achieve an impressive 401 marks in the 2019 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination.
Wangeci's remarkable achievement is all the more impressive given that she had to balance her schoolwork with caring for her mother, Jennifer Wothaya, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012.
Wothaya, a 40-year-old nurse, revealed that she had been keeping her illness a secret until 2015, when she was working in Nakuru. She said that the revelation had a devastating effect on her family, especially Wangeci, who had to take on a lot of responsibility in caring for her.
Wangeci, who was then a pupil at Lions Primary School, was very close to her mother and had to squeeze in time for lessons and caring for her mother, who had to be hospitalized due to the cancer's impact on her spinal cord.
Despite the challenges, Wangeci remained determined to pass her final exams and even managed to score an impressive 401 marks out of a possible 500.
Wangeci's achievement is all the more remarkable given that she had to balance her schoolwork with caring for her mother, who underwent a spinal surgery in India in 2016 and had to undergo chemotherapy at Nairobi Hospital.
Wangeci's mother, now a cancer survivor, has been an ordained pastor since 2017 and is the associate programme officer at United States Agency for International Development's (Usaid) Afya Uzazi scheme for Nakuru and Baringo.
Wangeci hopes to join Mary Hill High School in Thika and advises children in similar situations never to give up, saying 'God takes the lead'.
