MP challenges companies in Thika to emulate ‘Wings to Fly’ Model.

Thika Town MP Eng. Patrick Wainaina converses with Thika Equity Branch Manager Sammy Karanu during the flagging of the region's Wings to Fly beneficiaries. (INSET) Beneficiaries of the programme being escorted to the bus by Thika MP Patrick Wainaina and his counterpart from Gatanga Eng. Joseph Nduati.

Thika Town MP Eng. Patrick Wainaina has challenges companies and businesses in Thika Town to emulate Equity Bank and adopt bright children from poor backgrounds in a similar model like the Wings to Fly.

While acknowledging the fact that the bank’s programme could only admit a very small percentage of all deserving cases, the MP said that it was wrong for companies to take a back seat as bright brains within their jurisdiction went to waste for lack of fees.

Wainaina reminded them that investing in education was critical to fostering growth and innovation for generations to come and it was everyone’s duty to build and coordinate systems of support so that the most vulnerable children succeed from cradle to career.

“The society must address the needs of students in low-income who face challenges to success to ensure they all get the opportunity to succeed in school and the workforce. When we empower these kids, there will be change not only in their homes but also the whole of Kenya,” said the MP.

“I hope that other partners will come in and support students who have missed out of the Wings to Fly programme because the government and Equity can do so much. We all need to put a hand in improving the quality of education in our country,” he said.

The MP also challenged private academies that excelled so well in primary school education in the region to also put up private secondary schools that will accommodate all the students into Form One. This, he said, will improve the Primary-Secondary transition rate in the region.

(See also: MP's Plan to construct two secondary schools in each ward, feed pupils with eggs.)

Wainaina promised to use resources at his disposal to add more classrooms to the existing secondary schools in the area as a remedy to the same.

Gatanga MP Eng. Joseph Nduati promised to join hands with his counterpart from Thika to come up with a comprehensive programme that would improve education standards in the two neighbouring constituencies.

He encouraged parents whose children missed out on university and secondary admissions this year to enroll the in village polytechnics and other technical based tertiary institutions so as to gain the necessary skills to advance in life.

This year, only 16 pupils were selected to join the Wings to Fly Programme within the larger Thika region that comprises of Thika East and West, Gatanga and Gatundu North sub-counties. This is despite the branch receiving 222 applications from deserving students.

(Related story: Thika Region Successful 'Wings To Fly' Applicants Flagged off To Kasarani.)

Thika Branch Equity Senior Business Growth & Development Manager Mr. Sammy Karanu said that 16 whose secondary school education will be catered for by the scholarship, were selected through a fair process by the Community Scholarship Selection Board.

He asked the parents and guardians of the beneficiaries not to abdicate their duties as parents especially now that their children had received full scholarships. To the beneficiaries, Karanu asked them to use the scholarship opportunity to work hard in school and uplift the economic standards of their households.