The Impossible Dream: Bravil’s Journey
Kakamega is the poorest county in Kenya, with over 800,000 people living below the poverty line. Donor support for ACCES becomes not just life-changing, but life-saving.
Bravil Shikoli grew up in the heart of Kakamega County, a region where nearly half of the residents live below the poverty line and daily survival often eclipses hope for education. Now Bravil is a 2nd year student at Kenyatta University in Nairobi.
Abandoned by his parents at just three years old, he was raised by his loving grandmother in a mud-walled house with a rusted iron roof—bare of furniture, bare of comfort, but not bare of resilience. Rain leaked through the roof at night; sometimes he would huddle by the wall for warmth, grateful that in his family of one, there was enough room to escape the worst of the storms.Life was unrelentingly hard. His father descended into alcoholism, his mother vanished, and soon his beloved grandmother passed away. Orphaned, penniless, and utterly alone, Bravil faced each day armed only with an unyielding belief that his life could be different. He explains, “My primary education was challenging; my grandmother used to give teachers either chicken or bananas to cater for my fees.” Other children laughed at him, yet a kind teacher would sometimes buy him lunch—a gesture echoing in his memory.
Despite ridicule and poverty, he excelled in his studies, earning a place at a renowned national high school thanks to the Elimu Scholarship. Yet even then, survival was a struggle. He worked gruelling jobs in a gold mining site, polishing stones with bleeding fingers, refusing to let toil become his forever fate. “I hated the idea of polishing stones in dirty clothes forever and dreamt of getting a university education someday.”
Bravil’s perseverance and community fundraising eventually secured him a spot at Kenyatta University for a degree in Education Science. Just as funds ran dry after his first year, a mentor introduced him to ACCES—and his fortunes shifted. ACCES sponsorship was, in Bravil’s own words, “the best thing that ever happened to me.”
ACCES Kenya: Creating Hope
Now, Bravil sees his world transformed. “My life, my way of thinking, and my opportunities are so different now, all thanks to ACCES.” He worries for millions of Kenyan children with talent but no path. With ACCES support, these children can unlock their dreams, just as he did.
When asked about ACCES, Bravil smiles and says, “Some people smoke and drink to make themselves happy, yet others want to invest in educating strangers to make themselves happy.” Even during school holidays, he still labours at the mine, but his gratitude for ACCES and their donors endures.