[Image]For a man who dropped out of Standard Five because he lacked Sh3 for school fees, it is surprising that he became a highly respected man who valued education.The family of Mzee Jackson Kibor, 88, who succumbed to the effects of Covid-19 on Wednesday night, is still in awe about his achievements.“Honestly, I am not a schooled chap as you may expect, though I was a bright pupil at school,” Mzee Kibor said in a past interview.RELATEDPRIME ‘Chairman’ Kibor: Unlikely hero for many Kenyan menNews 33 min agoBusinessman Mzee Jackson Kibor diesCounties 33 min ago“Because of poverty then, I used to hawk poles and firewood for fees payment and other basic needs but while in Standard Five we were required to pay money, which I did not have and dropped out for not raising Sh3 at Lelmokwo Primary School in Nandi county.”Until his death, Mzee Kibor was educating his children and grandchildren in top-notch schools locally and in Australia, Canada and the United States.At the height of his acrimonious relationship with his children, which led to death threats, he lamented bitterly that one of his sons had gobbled up millions of shillings in school fees while studying at Brookhouse and yet the young man was causing troubles for him.“All my children attended top-performing schools in the country while others are studying abroad in Australia and the United States. I value education and that is why I spend a lot of my hard-earned cash to send them to reputable schools, only for them to come back and trouble me,” he protested then.His eldest son, Mr Philip Kimutai, recalls how one day he was tied up by workers and given several strokes of the cane for not preparing early enough to report to school on opening day.“Education meant everything to him and he never entertained any absenteeism without a justifiable reason. Even for our children, who are his grandchildren, he ensures they are in the best school,” said Mr Kimutai, an alumnus of Lenana School who also studied in India.He said their father never missed any graduation ceremony for family members and each holiday he organized a feast for them while checking on their academic progress.“All his 28 children are graduates with a minimum degree level. Others are still in school studying and this gesture still baffles us because he never went to school but usually said he was a graduate of experience,” he said.Ms Loyse Kibor, one of his daughters, said she went to Hill School Eldoret before joining Moi Girls and proceeding to Canada for her undergraduate studies.“A majority of my siblings went through Hill School and Greenfields Kitale for primary education before joining either Moi Girls, Kabarak, Sacho, Lenana, Kenya High, Brookhouse and Rusinga among others. The experience is humbling, especially when you learn about his obscure educational background,” she said.She recalled that some years ago one of Mzee Kibor’s grandsons was graduating and on that day he drove himself to the university hostel and woke him up at 4am to prepare for his big day.“To us we have lost an individual whose love for education was unmatched and we are grateful that he instilled in us the need to value education,” she said. BY DAILY NATION
posted by Breaking Kenya news at 14:11 on 18 Mar 2022
"Mzee Kibor’s avid love for education"
No comments yet. -