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and that I should try to apply for the
scholarship again. With that wise
advice, I applied again. It was to be the
last attempt because I would be turning
24 the following year and that was the
cut off age. Given my past failure to
make progress in college, I considered it
a very ambitious attempt. I put it in
God's hands. The application increased
the urgency to get the diploma because
it was the only way to override my low
high school scores that would limit my
chances of getting the scholarship.
Furthermore, I had promised to send a
copy of my diploma. But, I was feeling
very hopeless about it. This time I
managed to complete my diploma
exams but had a huge tuition balance to
pay off to get my diploma. So I had
mixed feelings: I was excited to have
crossed the finish line of a 7 year
pursuit but not excited that the trophy
was being held back.
One evening, after a very tiring day, I
arrived home very exhausted. I was in a
very bad mood. Surprisingly, I had
received a letter. Usually I never got
any. This time round, the letter was
from the U.S. Words can't explain the
joy that I felt when I found out that I
had been awarded a one year scholarship to the U.S. Interestingly, this
happened on my birthday and also at the
cutoff age for applying for the scholarship again. I quickly dropped on my
knees and thanked God while in tears.
This was a miracle and a birthday
present from God. I did not sleep that
night as I could not stop thinking of the
new stage of life that awaited me in the
U.S. even though it was only a 1 year
scholarship. In the 7 year pursuit for my
diploma I had never imagined this was
going to happen.
But I still needed the diploma to fulfill a
promise I had made in my application. I
decided to make a faith journey to the
college. I was filled with so much hope
after getting the scholarship. I was
going to see the same administrator that
sent me home and warned me never
return to the college. I wasn't sure how
he was going to respond when I told
him that I had been taking classes with a
large tuition balance and had also
IDEA DIAPORA 29
completed the exams. I hesitantly
walked in his office and found a different administrator, who I asked for my
diploma. He took my name, left the
room, and told me to wait for a while. I
got extremely nervous thinking that he
was going to bring the administrator
that warned me not to return, and maybe
the security guards as well. I prayed and
braced myself for the worst. After 10
minutes, that felt like half an hour of
mental torture, he walked in with an
envelope, handed it to me and said
"congratulations". I was shocked. I
quickly thanked him and sprinted out of
the building thinking it was a trap. I
only stopped to open the envelope when
I was about half a mile away from the
college. I found myself in tears of joy
when I confirmed that it was truly the
diploma. It had taken me 7 years to get
a diploma that only required 6 months
and about $1,500. I had now fulfilled
the requirements for the degree in
computer science that I was going to
start in the U.S. I started realizing that
God was at work throughout the 7 years
that I was struggling to get the diploma.
My faith in Him grew so much and I
started the next journey to acquiring a
bachelor's degree become with immense
faith. I needed it because my scholarship was only for a year, with a strict
stipulation that if I did not find additional funds to continue with college in
the U.S. I was to return to Kenya after 1
year.
I was eager to start the next phase of my
life but another challenge was looming.
I did not know where I would get the
money to buy a return ticket. The return
date, according to the scholarship
program, was to be in a year. To raise
the money for the ticket, my parents
organized a funds drive. We trusted God
to provide the money we needed and
indeed He faithfully did so. In August
2002 I left for the U.S. and lived with
the loving host family that had selected
me randomly from a book with over 250
warmer faces than mine. They honestly
let me know that I did not make them
feel warm as most of the other students
did but they were drawn to me.
Without their love and compassion I am
not sure I would have made it to the
U.S. I knew God must have chosen to
work through them because of how
loving and compassionate they were. I
also met the president of the Rotary
Club that had selected me, who was also
a former Methodist Church Reverend.
During that year I had a wonderful time
with about 80 students from all over the
world. We were taking classes and
traveling around Georgia (US) to share
our cultures. I enjoyed all that but I
spent most of the time thinking about
how to continue with my studies in
America. The terms and conditions of
the scholarship for staying beyond a
year were that I have to be in school.
For 10 months I did not worry about
this so much. I was enjoying taking
fully paid classes. Then in the 11th
month the reality that I was going back
in 2 months hit me hard. The struggles I
had in Kenya soon became an irritating
memory. I had tried to find new scholarships but all in vain.. I couldn't work
because I had employment restrictions
on my visa. Some of my friends offered
me alternative solutions to staying and
they were all illegal. The common idea
advanced was that I could get a job
illegally and be paid under the table,
and then pay my tuition. Initially, I had
dismissed them out of fear but now that
I was anxious and desperate, they were
appealing.