In Pursuit Of Medicine

My name is Didier Kayumba.  I am a refugee from Rwanda living in Kenya. My family fled Rwanda after the 1994 genocide.  The government then started persecuting the Tutsi whom they perceived to be anti-government. This mostly took the form of interfering with their livelihood so that they could be vulnerable and support the government. I have lived in Kenya since 2003.

 I began my primary education at a public school in Kenya. I sat for the Kenyan Primary national exam in 2011 and managed to score 391/500marks.  This was despite the limited resources, few teachers, overcrowded classrooms that face public schools.  My mark was the best the school had achieved in ten years.

I was selected to join a Kenyan National School.  But due to my refugee status and my parents on minimum wage they could not raise the school fees.  I applied for a local school scholarship with Wings to Fly, but again because of my refugee status I did not qualify.  Luckily, I applied for a scholarship with Jesuit Refugee Service Kenya (JRS) and I was selected.  JRS sponsored my secondary education.  I sat for the National Exam and attained grade A (81/84 POINTS).

I applied for the World University Service Canada (WUSC) scholarship in 2016 with Windle Trust Kenya. Due to a delay in receiving my KCSE exam result slip I did not qualify.  I applied the following year but was not selected.  This was a huge blow to my dream of pursuing medicine.

This year in May 2017 I applied for the DAFI scholarship with Windle Trust Kenya.  I was awarded a scholarship to undertake an undergraduate course that takes 4 years.  Due to their policy they cannot sponsor me to pursue medicine as the course takes 6 years.  They only sponsor 4 year courses.  They are however willing to sponsor me for medicine if I can get a scholar ship for the other 2 years.

At the moment my dream of pursuing medicine is slowly turning into a lost cause.  I still hold the hope of becoming a successful surgeon and serve my community.  It will also be an inspiration to other refugee children that they can pursue their dreams despite the challenges faced.  I believe I will and I am an asset to my community.

Meanwhile I continue to teach in a local primary school.  It is my way of sharing my knowledge with young people to help them achieve greater heights in education. I am appealing for assistance to achieve my dream of becoming a successful surgeon by helping me to raise money to cover education fees.

Thank you for your consideration.Didier