Several South Sudanese students in Kenya are celebrating their outstanding performances in the 2023 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education results.

The Kenya Education Cabinet Secretary unveiled the results on Monday.

Maria Budier Samson, 21, and Dau Atem Dau are among the standout performers with both securing A-minuses in the examinations.

Maria, a student of Moi Girls Isinya, excelled with an A in Mathematics, an A in CRE, an A in Kiswahili, and an A- in chemistry, among other subjects.

Dau, 18, who hails from Nanyuki High School, demonstrated proficiency in Mathematics, Building Construction, and Chemistry, with an A- in Kiswahili, and other subjects.

In an interview with Eye Radio, Maria says she was surprised at the results.

“ I did not know the results would be released on Monday.  In the morning, I was so worried, and I woke up very early anxious about the results being announced.

“My friend sent me a link and I checked on my results. When I saw an A-, I jumped around so excited,  I couldn’t believe it. I was not expecting that. I am grateful to God. ”

Maria attributes her success to relentless hard work and dedication citing hours of intense reading, revising past papers, and participating in online classes and group discussions.

According to Maria, her uncle played a pivotal role in making her thrive in the exams by providing her with revision materials.

As Maria envisions being a pediatrician to address the health issues of South Sudanese children, she sends a powerful message to young girls back home.

“Aa girl, you can also make it, what a man can do a woman can do it better. In our current situation, our girls should not give up.

‘We need to better our country by rising. If we do it together, everything will be possible. But we should be the people to motivate ourselves. If you want to succeed you need to make the decision not to let others push you, you need the push yourself.

‘Again to all the girls, everything is possible and can be done if you have a goal.”

For Dau, despite obtaining an A-minus with an 80% passing mark, he expressed some disappointment as he expected more than that.

He was sent home three weeks before exams due to unpaid school fees.

“A challenge that I felt affected me was last year. In my last term, three weeks before we sat for exams, I was chased home because of no school fees.

“I came home and stayed for about a week because I had no fees. People continued with their studies and I felt a little bit behind I had to catch up again, also afraid of exams because they were near.  Also finding someone to fund my studies all through.”

Despite this hurdle, Dau overcame the challenge to shine in the exams.

He expressed his gratitude to his relatives, particularly his aunt and uncle, Dau for the milestone success.

“Mostly it was my aunt and uncle. I would like to thank them for what they did, if it was not because of them, I don’t think I would have scored that grade.”

Both students hope to secure scholarships to pursue pediatric medicine and mechanical engineering abroad respectively.