National Exam Results

On Thursday our girls found out the results from their National 8th Grade Exams.  They had taken them in November along with 800,000 other students across the country.  These exams will determine if they are able to go to secondary school and what kind of school they will be able to join.  We had 9 girls in 8th grade this year, a record for us.  Most of them have been with us since even before we began the football club.  They are some of our founding members who we have known since they were very small. 

In our district, usually less than 1 out of every 3 girls that sit for the exam will pass it (250 marks and above).  Because of issues like child labour, early marriages, pregnancies, etc. it makes it very difficult for girls in Mbita to pass their exam and go on to secondary school. 

Last year two of the best girls in the district were members of our football club and 4 of the 7 girls passed.  Fortunately, God provided a way for all 7 to move on to secondary school.

This year 7 of the 9 passed.  The two that didn't reach 250 marks were very close and will still be able to move on to secondary school if finances are available.  Our top performer was Damarice Awino who scored 312 marks, followed by Esther Atieno with 301 marks. One of our players is hearing impaired and she had a very impressive score.  Overall they performed best in English, Math and Science, but were low in Kiswahili.  The mean for all of them was 274.38 which is very impressive. 

Several secondary schools have expressed interest in several of these girls because of their football talents and some have promised to give them reduced fees so they can attend their school. 

Five of the nine are orphans and the other four are very needy. 

We hope and pray that each of them will get the opportunity to continue their education and continue their football development in secondary school as God provides for them the financial means necessary.