Equity Bank Foundation has commissioned 1,700 scholars under the Wings To Fly program as they go on to join different secondary schools. Wings To Fly is a program that caters for Secondary school education for needy yet promising children. The 1,700 students will get full sponsorship for the four years of study in various secondary schools that they have been selected to join across the country. This covers tuition fees, books, school uniform, accommodation, pocket money, transport costs among other expenses.
The Wings To Fly program was launched in 2010 with an initial 5,000 scholarships from The MasterCard Foundation. The program has since surpassed its target and benefited over 14,368 scholars to date. These students have excelled in national exams, with 93 % qualifying for universities. A majority of the beneficiaries assume leadership positions in their schools and communities.
I was not able to attend this year’s event but I was there last year and what I noticed about all the children was that their chosen careers were all geared towards helping others in society, just like they had been helped. One wanted to be a doctor so as to eradicate cancer in the country. Her mother was diagnosed with cancer four years ago and as she watched it eat into her mum, she could also feel it eating into their family, into her education and ultimately into any prospects of a bright future for her.
2017 #WingstoFly scholarship beneficiaries: “Education Gives Us Wings” pic.twitter.com/Hif1WlnuDw
— Equity Bank Kenya (@KeEquityBank) January 12, 2017
Presiding over the commissioning of the Wings To Fly, Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Fred Matiangi hailed the program for playing a critical role in supplementing the government’s efforts in providing education for all:
“The Wings To Fly program has transformed many lives since its inception and as a government we recognise the complementary role this program has played to support us to educate needy and bright students. As a result, we will be looking at ways of strengthening our partnership under the new policy framework,” said Dr. Matiangi.
