The Dwight Rotary Club recently received the following note from Brett Weiss and the Weiss Foundation concerning the education progress of Joyce Awimbo Otieno, a student the Rotary Club has sponsored over the last four years:
“We (Weiss Foundation) just received the results from Joyce’s KSCE, the end of high school exam. She received a B- so this means she will go on to university. This process will take a few months and she will join university in the fall”.
This is a major achievement for Joyce, as most girls are unable to go on to high school, and fewer to university. As we received reports of her progress, we noted that a typical semester included 8-10 classroom subjects covering a wide range of topics.
Joyce attended the Jane Adeny Memorial School, a private boarding high school for girls. The school is run by Teresa Wasong and Andrew Otieno, who are originally from the Dago area. They have served as Professors at NIU for many years, and started the Kenyan school in memory of Teresa’s mother, Jane Adney.
One of Rotary’s purposes is to serve both the local community and the world. The Dwight Rotary Club has been excited to serve by making possible Joyce’s high school education, to receive letters from her, as well reports on her progress. We look forward to following her progress through University!
Below is a story which ran in The Paper in April 2021 regarding the Rotary sponsorship of Joyce:
President Earl McCoy of the Dwight Rotary Club is proud to share that Dwight Rotary Club at the March 31st meeting voted unanimously to sponsor the cost of room, board and tuition for all 4 years of high school for one child from the village of Dago. Dwight Rotary Club will get regular updates on our sponsored student. Rotary International has seven areas of focus, which includes Supporting Education.
Dago is a tiny village in the far southwestern part of Kenya (Africa), not far from the border of Tanzania and Lake Victoria. Most children from Dago are not able to get an education beyond 4th grade and not able to escape abject poverty. Their parents cannot afford to pay for their education, as the average family income is less than $2 per day.
Dwight Rotary Club is making this investment in education via the Bernard and Elsie Weiss Dago Scholarship Fund. To learn more about the Weiss Scholarship Foundation, go on-line to www.weissscholarshipfoundation.org
Dwight Rotary Club meetings are at Noon on Wednesdays at the Dwight Country Club and are open to the public.
