Part 2

Many people have fond memories of their childhood home, the spot where they ate dinner with their family, the tree where they climbed, or the marks on the wall from seeing how tall they had grown. However, that is not the case for everyone and especially for Denis who recalls living in a dilapidated shanty growing up, which lacked basic amenities, -and was “not a good place to live”. These memories have inspired his future plans and dreams as he graduated from Machakos University, in July of 2021, with a degree in civil engineering. Denis says that his dream is to build good structures for people suffering from poverty, so that they might live in homes that they can be safe, happy, and healthy in. 

For Denis the opportunity to go to school has allowed him to pursue the dreams he imagined as a child. He says that if he had not been selected for the Collective for Orphan Care and Education’s (COCE) sponsorship program he would have at best been able to be working as a house boy, but most likely he would have been homeless and in the streets. Most of his immediate family and much of his extended family has passed away leaving him with little social support, or resources to achieve his dreams. Denis states that he is very thankful that COCE has stepped in to provide for him where his family had been unable to. Excited to see what the future holds for him as he now enters the internship process for the next 3 years, prior to being certified as an independent civil engineer! 

If you would like to help Denis, or other students like him, in achieving their dreams through educational sponsorship please contact outreach@cocekenya.org to learn more.