Student who committed suicide laid to rest as questions on safety of Kenyan students abroad continue to linger

BY JEREMIAH CHOGE

Uasin Gishu County government is on the spot for doing little to address the plight of Kenyan students studying in foreign countries which has resulted to some of them to commit suicide due to depression.

The deceased, Rodgers Kipruto, 26, had enrolled for a degree in nursing at Laurea University's Tikkurila campus in Finland after quitting his job as a nurse at Nakuru Level-five Hospital

A sombre mood engulfed his home during his burial at Chirchir farm in Kesses sub-county with mourner after mourner describing him as a hardworking and dedicated person.

Kipruto’s uncle Dennis Kemboi revealed that he had on many occasions wanted to come back home arguing that life was unbearable in the foreign country.

He argued that students under the county program were left on their own with no one to liaise with in case of any challenges.

“Many students in the foreign country are suffering silently. Students under the county scholarship program have been left on their own with no one to liaise with in case of any challenges,” said Kemboi.

Many students who spoke during the burial said the county government do little to address their plight but only communicate when fees are due to be paid.

“Many students suffer from depression when they land to the foreign country because they don’t get what they had been promised when they left the country,” said a student. Rural Times established that Kipruto’s family had raised millions of shillings to help him join the Uasin Gishu scholarship program as he had been promised that he would work in hospitals in Finland as he pursues his studies.

It also emerged that language barrier was another big challenge that many Kenyan students in Finland were grappling with making it difficult for them to secure jobs.

According to Uasin Gishu County government, the first group of 202 students who went to Finland left Kenya between September 2021 and September 2022 with 111 going to Tampere University, Jvaskyla (25), while 66 went to Laurea University. In the arrangement, each parent of the students managed to raise Sh1.19 million as school fees for the county government to ensure that they are placed at universities in Finland. The parents also raised Sh100, 000 (air ticket), three months accommodation (Sh80, 000), insurance (Sh30, 000), visa (Sh49, 000) and Covid-19 certificate Sh5, 000. However, months later, cracks are emerging in the programme with many students risking being deported back to the country after the devolved unit failed to channel the