Abdi Barre from Al-Azar high school being lifted shoulder high by fellow students, family and friends at the school. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]
18-year-old Abdi Barre from Garissa County has made his father, and siblings happy after overcoming all odds and scored a B+ mean in the just released KCSE exam.
Abdi from Al-Azar High School in Garissa scored the highest in the school to emerge tops in the county.
Abdi who attributed his success to hard work and determination stays with his grandmother at the camp while his father stays at the Hagadera refugee camp after his mother died 10 years ago.
The first born in a family of five said he wanted to study medicine as he encouraged students to focus on their studies, saying it doesn’t matter which school or what circumstances they were in.
“It was sheer determination that gave me hope to continue. There were low moments when I lost my mother and when I temporarily dropped out of school.”
“Most students look for scapegoats when they don’t perform well. But with hardwork and discipline, any candidate whether from Mandera or Nairobi can make it,” Abdi said.
Al-Azar manager Ahmed Sambur said Abdi had at one point dropped out of school as he struggled to raise fees and they enrolled him at the private school and bought him stationery after seeing his potential.
“We saw the potential in him early enough and went for him. We could not allow him go to waste. We are proud because he hasn’t disappointed us. We appeal to our leaders to support him further,” Mr Ahmed said.