Albino Student Receives Top Honors in Kenya's National Exam

 

Almost one million primary school children took the 2017 Kenya Certificate¹ of Primary Education exam, known as the KCPE.

Goldalyn Kakuya, a student from Saint² Anne's Junior School in Lubao, Kakamega, in West Kenya, received top honors³. She received a total of 455 marks out of a possible 500.

"I was really happy about it. I am excited a lot because it has passed a message to so many people. So, what thrills me most is that it has opened the eyes of many people.”

Goldalyn's success surprised many Kenyans because she has albinism, a genetic⁴ condition that causes a pink coloring in the eyes and a lack of color in the skin or hair. People with albinism often face discrimination in Africa, and children struggle to find educational opportunities.

Isaac Mwaura is a Kenyan lawmaker and chairman of the Albinism Society of Kenya.

"People have talent, and given the opportunity, they can do so. So, I would want to really say that young children with albinism across Africa and, indeed, the world, because there is a lot of persecution⁵ and discrimination that is geared⁷ toward⁸ people with albinism, that they feel encouraged, that they too can reach the top.”

He added that families and society should accept and support people with albinism.

Matilda Cherono Tanga is the girl’s mother. She agrees that discrimination against people with albinism is common.

"People will not even imagine that these children have a perfect brain. They think they cannot learn, they cannot compete. But the performance and the achievement of Goldalyn has proved to the society that albinism is just a condition of the skin.”

Goldalyn told VOA she worked hard for her success. She examined her school work, asked teachers questions, rarely missed her classes, and studied hard. She offers this advice to other students.

"Pray hard, do your best, believe in your yourself, because if you are praying, and you are working toward your goal, what can deter⁹ you from that? So, it is just a matter of being confident,” she said.

All students who received 400 marks or more will be admitted to Kenya’s national secondary¹⁰ schools. This year, about 10,000 boys and girls reached that level.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

primary – adj. first in order of time or development

opportunity – n. a good or likely chance for progress

albino – n. person or animal born with a medical condition that results in very pale skin, white hair, and pink eyes

persecution – n. treatment of someone in a bad or harmful way

gear⁶ – v. to make ready for operation

deter - v. to cause (someone) to decide not to do something

confident – adj. having a belief in one’s own abilities; being sure that something is true

1 certificate   

n.证书，证明书；vt.发给证明书，认可，鉴定

参考例句：

• She proudly displayed her degree certificate to her parents.她自豪地向父母展示了学位证书。
• No one had seen her marriage certificate.没人看到过她的结婚证书。

2 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

3 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

5 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

6 gear   

n.齿轮，传动装置，设备，衣服；vt.使适应

参考例句：

• We have to gear our lives to the new changes.我们必须使自己的生活适应新的变化。
• The teeth of the wheel gear into each other.齿轮互相啮合。

7 geared   

adj.连接的

参考例句：

• The programme is geared to preparing students for the world of work. 本计划旨在为学生开始就业作准备。
• The party is all geared up for the forthcoming election campaign. 该党为即将来临的竞选活动做好了准备。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

9 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

10 secondary   

adj.中级的，中等的，次要的；n.次要位置，副手

参考例句：

• It's a question of secondary importance.这是个次要的问题。
• Secondary school means junior school and high school.中学是指初中和高中。