24/04/2026
Six members of the President’s Award Club from Dr. Daniel Wako Murende Technical and Vocational College together with their patron, set off for Port Victoria on Monday, 6th April 2026, a few minutes past 3.00 p.m. for their adventurous journey. This is a step in the program aimed to transform young minds and foster consistence, structure and collaboration. The participants left school in anticipation and arrived at Port Victoria mixed Primary School, our designated campsite, some minutes past 4.00 p.m. We met the assessors; Charles Obinga, Simon Pkaram and Germin Otieno, a recent gold medalist from the program, and participants from two other institutions; Mungatsi TVC and Bungoma North TVC. Butula TVC participants later joined us. After introductions and briefing on the house rules, we settled in and prepared meals for the night. The first night was challenging, our co-ordination was a bit off but we managed for the night.
Day 1 of the journey started with early rising, cleaning, meal prepping, morning exercises, breakfast and briefing. We were joined by the deputy madam Beatrice Mathu, who flagged us off before departure. Participants were put in groups of 10, and roles assigned before departing for Mundere in three groups. We convened at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology-Port Campus where we checked in to confirm everyone’s presence then left for a hill North East of Mundere. The hill had several trees, bushes and thickets. The climb was hard, but we encountered the most brutal descent. We supported, cheered each other and sometimes held hands through it all. We broke off for lunch at the bottom of the hill, took a breather before proceeding to another hill. This was an easier hill, and after descent we made our way back to camp.
Day 2 started with one of us calling it quits, leaving the DAWAMU team with only five participants. Everyone knew what to expect, there was great collaboration and co-ordination among participants. We left for John Osogo hilltop where we observed R. Nzoia’s inlet to the lake. We also saw d***s on both sides of the river that mitigate flooding. We then left for
Bukoma beach via Namenya hills. We climbed several chains of hills with varying terrains. We had a better view of the river pouring into the lake at Namenya hills. From Bukoma beach, we headed back to camp.
Day 3 we explored beaches. We left for paradise Beach hotel, a serene hotel by the lake where we took pictures. Then we headed for Marenga beach where we interacted with local fishermen and tradespeople and bought fish. This was the last day for the participants who had started a day earlier, so we headed back to camp for final preparations before they left camp. Day 4, and our last day at camp, we left camp in one group for Sigiri bridge the we headed back to camp via the d**e. Participants compiled their reports before we headed back to school.
Among us was Henry Ogachi, a plumbing student whose resilience astonished as much as it challenged everyone. When asked whether he would stay back or take it easy when it came to climbing hills, Henry was adamant on staying and insistent that he would join his colleagues. His spirit was a testament on resilience and reminded us that we are all as great as we think we are. Ultimately, it was an experience that challenged and transformed all of us. We would like to thank the Patron Mr. Newton Imbukhule for his coordination with the management both at DAWAMU and the regional PA-K team, Mr. Francis Miheso and the entire administration for their support and facilitation, PA-K coordinator western region , Mr. Serem finally, the participants for being resilient, open-minded and willing to conquer themselves.
Report Prepared by: Bernadette Wabwire
Date:13th April, 2026
