Most people wish to further their education after high school but lack resources to pursue these dreams. This has contributed to the increasing number of promising people failing to exploit their full potential. You can imagine the disbelief and excitement when such a person gets enough money to fund a course of his dream plus expenses.
For Dennis Karere, Easter came early. At 19, he is the newest millionaire in town thanks to Safaricom. The young man, who comes from Kirinyaga county was the 30 millionth customer. He will receive a fully-paid scholarship courtesy of Safaricom Foundation to study at an institution of his choice.
His dream was to pursue a course in mechanical engineering. However, after completing his Form 4 exams, reality donned on him. He couldn’t raise enough money to go to college. Therefore, he chose to do some vocational work to get some income. He first became a carpenter before joining his brother at his garage and becoming a mechanic. It was also after finishing his KCSE exam that he bought a Safaricom line at Kerugoya. His intention was to keep in touch with his family.

He said that he chose Safaricom due to its convenient weekly offers, plans and timely Okoa Jahazi top up. He also commended their polite and helpful customer care agents. His loyalty did not go unrecognized as he can now pursue his dream course after winning a million shillings.
Additionally, Safaricom expressed this gratitude and humility that they were Dennis’ and millions of others’ preferred mobile service provider.
Speaking at the event, Sylvia Mulinge, the Chief Customer Officer at Safaricom stated, “We are deeply humbled and honoured that Denis and more than 30 million customers have chosen Safaricom as their preferred service provider. The trust that our customers have put in us is an affirmation of our strategy of always placing our customer first and of providing them with relevant and affordably priced products.”
They further affirmed their commitment to walk with Dennis Karere as he pursues a mechanical engineering course at an institution of his choice. Apart from fully-paid tuition, he will receive a mechanic toolkit, a year’s worth of All in One bundle at KES 10,000 per month, KES 10,000 worth of airtime per month for a year, and a Samsung Note 9 among other goodies.

He joins more than 3,000 youth set to benefit from a separate KES 132 million fund. It sponsors Technical, Industrial, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TIVET) program funded by the Safaricom Foundation.
Through such initiatives, people like Dennis can fulfil their dreams and have better opportunities in life. Founded in February 2019, the program will focus on entry-level training for four key areas within the construction industry specifically welding, plumbing and electrical engineering. In addition, the funds will be used for student’s fees, teacher training, setting up smart classrooms and construction of state of the art workshops.
As a developing nation, technical skills are much needed. The Safaricom Foundation helps its recipients realize their dreams as well as become productive members of society.