Below are the student profiles of the 15 students being supported by Reason2Smile.
Click on their names to learn more.

​Gideon N.
Class 8 - Bambino Academy School Mtwapa, Kenya

Gideon is one of the younger students living at the Jambo Jipya Children’s home. He lives there with his older brother Manasee and older sister Mary. He has been at the children’s home since 2010-11.
He now attends the Bambino Academy School which is a private primary day school in Mtwapa. 
 
Gideon is a very bright student and has ranked in the top three of his class while attending Jambo Jipya. At Bambino, he will be studying courses in Mathematics, English, Kiswahili, Science and Technology, Social Studies, physical and health education, and Christian Religious Studies. He will also attend additional classes in preparation of the Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). His score on this exam will determine his options for Secondary Boarding School. This exam will be taken in March 2022. Gideon will then advance to Form 1 at the Secondary Level – school to be determined.

Gideon has a wonderful smile and is full of life. He loves the outdoor activities, playing all sorts of games especially soccer as well as rapping and dancing. He was born in 2007 and is 14 years of age.

Neema M
​Class 8 - Bambino Academy School Mtwapa, Kenya

​Neema is attending the Kenyan Medical Training College and is pursuing a Diploma in Community Health Nursing. This is a three-year program with a six-month attachment/internship.

Neema has lived at the Jambo Jipya Children’s home since 2010 along with her older sister Rasoe. 
She attended the Jambo Jipya School but during her last year (Form 4) attended the Kanyangi Boarding School to allow for the best opportunity for acquiring the grades needed to gain acceptance in this nursing program. ​

She graduated in December 2019 and was to start her Nursing degree in March 2020 but due to Covid -19 that was not possible. Neema was able to begin her studies in March 2021 and is just beginning Term 2 of her first year.

She is enjoying her coursework but says it is very challenging. She is taking 13 units of study in the following areas: Midwifery, Reproductive Health, Fundamentals of Nursing, Microbiology, HIV/Aids, Community Health, Applied Communication and Skills, Psychology/Sociology/Anthropology, Anatomy and Environmental Health.
Her classes begin at 8:00 am and end at 4:00pm. She studies three units per day, each for a period of two hours and then focuses on additional coursework and studying in the evenings. In August she did her end of semester exams and is waiting for the results. Neema will begin Semester 2 in September. 

What Neema enjoys most about this school and program is the fact the hospital is nearby (right outside the campus grounds) so she can easily go for observations. Neema is working very hard and is grateful for the opportunity to pursue her dreams. ​

Ritah W

Ritah has been living at the Jambo Jipya Children’s home since the beginning and attended the Jambo Jipya School. She graduated in 2016 and and took some computer classes before applying to attend the Institute of Commercial Management. At the Institute, she began studying Hotel and Restaurant Management, taking classes in culinary theory, front offices operations, housekeeping and restaurant services. After a completion of her studies, Ritah then spent 6 months in an attachment at the Voyager Hotel. She received certificates in Restaurant Services, Front Office Operations and Administration, House Keeping Operations, and Culinary Theory in the Fall/Winter 2019. Ritah was then offered a position at the Voyager Hotel in Nyali as a casual employee.
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Unfortunately, that position was furloughed in March 2020 do to Covid-19. But being ambitious, Ritah decided to continue her education online taking classes in Procurement at the Kenyan Institute of Management in Mombasa. Her course work is in purchasing and supply chain management and deals with every activity involved in obtaining the goods and services a company needs to support its daily operations, including sourcing, negotiating terms, purchasing items, receiving, and inspecting goods as necessary and keeping records of all the steps in a competitive bidding process.

Ritah just completed a three-month attachment/internship and will be taking her final exams at the end of September/ the beginning of October.

Graduation will take place in November 2021.

Rasoe M​

Rasoe is attending the Kenyan Medical Training College and is pursuing a Certificate in Health Records and Information Technology. This is a two-year program with 2 four-month attachment/internship and the end of each year.

Rasoe has lived at the Jambo Jipya Children’s home since 2010 along with her younger sister Neema.
She attended the Jambo Jipya School but during her last year (Form 4) attended the Kanyangi Boarding School to allow for the best opportunity for acquiring the grades needed to gain acceptance in this nursing program. 

She graduated in December 2019 and had just started school in March 2020 but had to leave campus due to Covid -19. In September 2020, online learning was established and Reason2Smile purchased a laptop for her to continue her studies. In January 2021 Rasoe was able to return to campus.

She is enjoying her coursework but work hard to keep up with a challenging schedule. She is taking 11 units of study in the following areas: Health statistics, Health records management, Human anatomy and physiology, Human pathology, Health data classification, Medical terminology, Computer applications in health care, Health information systems, Human psychology, communication skills and HIV/AIDs/STI.
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Rasoe is performing her year one attachment (in Vihiga County) that finishes in December 2021. After holiday break she will begin year 2 in January 2022. Some new coursework in year two will be Management and Community Health and First Aid.
Her classes begin at 8:00 am and end at 4:00pm. She studies three units per day, each for a period of two hours and then focuses on additional coursework and studying in the evenings. 

Rasoe is really enjoying her attachment where she is performing hands on work and gaining valuable experience in the field of nursing. 

All her expenses including tuition, textbooks, equipment, room and board, food, pocket allowance, transportation and computer/phone are being paid for by Reason2Smile.

This would not be possible without donor support. Both Reason2Smile and Rasoe are so grateful she has this opportunity. 

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ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION OPTIONS
Many graduates attend trade school programs such as Hair Design, auto-mechanics, catering or college diploma programs in Business or Nursing. Some do go on to attend University. Reason2Smile assists students in reaching these goals.