Send 5 Youth to College

I can’t change the natural forces of this world, but I can steer my wheels towards the direction of what I want to achieve. My name is Romario, a proud beneficiary of St. Vincent de Paul Community Development Organization. In this organization, I have found hope for a better tomorrow while I had lost it completely. Having been raised in the largest slum in Kenya (Kibera Slums) and more especially by a single mother, acquiring our basic needs has not been anything close to easy to say the least. Education in particular which is the backbone of success here in Kenya had seemed to be something beyond our horizon. Growing up from a small kid, I have had aspirations to change the lives of the people in my society. This is because of the issues I have seen them go through which are directly related to poverty. Such issues as food shortage, malnutrition and diseases related to poor hygiene can only be eradicated when people are enlightened on the need for healthy living. This enlightenment is what is important to me and I call it education.

When I came in touch with St. Vincent de Paul Organization, they offered me the greatest gift that I ever desired for, a chance to further my education at the University level. They helped me enrol for a course in the Department of Biochemistry at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. A career in Biochemistry and Biotechnology offers me hope that one day I will be able to help solve some of the World’s emerging problems that are also slowly derailing the growth and well being of my society. Through Biotechnology, I plan to be of noble service in environmental conservation, fighting malnutrition and above all, to promote food security by designing crops that are both pest and drought resistant by extensive research. In this field, we call this Genetic Modification of Organisms more especially through the Recombinant Technology.

In a country that is seriously struggling with corruption, influenced by capitalism and individualism with the routine slogan of “me, myself and I” where people are only thinking of their own success, finding an organization or an individual that is selfless enough to support the dreams of young people through education is a bliss. St. Vincent de Paul is such an organization. The stakeholders here are aware of the hurdles that education can overcome. It builds an overall positive environment as it promotes love, respect, loyalty, and understanding among a nation and develops skills that are used to outdo ignorance while accumulating wealth and killing poverty. Education has taught me not to fight the natural forces that rule the world but how to manoeuvre around such forces to get what I want while I unlock my potential. It is surely the key to all success.