Kenyan lawyer in Hong Kong helps his poverty-ravaged village through power of education
Erick Komolo is a testament to the transformative power of education. Now the doctoral student has started a trust to give Kenyan children the same chance to escape poverty
As a poor village boy in western Kenya, Erick Komolo walked 10 kilometres a day to and from primary school.
By the end of his final term, his toenails were so worn down from the daily trek that they have never grown back, he says.
But it was all worthwhile. "I'm better-off by far than anyone else in my village," he says, referring not to financial gain but to opportunities for a decent education.
Komolo has travelled a long way from those dusty paths in his rural homeland. Now in his fourth year of doctoral studies at University of Hong Kong (HKU), researching international trade law, the 31-year-old has experienced first-hand how education has the power to transform lives.
Not content to be the exception, Komolo has mustered his limited resources and connections to establish a trust that will give other underprivileged Kenyan children the same chance to escape poverty.
"In my village, there's no running water, no permanent housing," he says. "Most homes still use paraffin lamps and cook with firewood.
"Before, we used grass to build our huts, but now there's no grass due to climate change, so we use mud, cow dung and metal sheets."