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| Kenya slum dweller gets UK degree | Kenya slum dweller gets UK degree |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A Kenyan slum child inspired by finding a Manchester University prospectus on a rubbish tip says he is overjoyed to realise his dream of getting a degree. | |
| Sammy Gitau was initially refused a visa to attend the UK university as he had only two years of formal education. | Sammy Gitau was initially refused a visa to attend the UK university as he had only two years of formal education. |
| He grew up in crime-ridden Mathare slum in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where from the age of 13 he was the family breadwinner after his father's murder. | |
| He sold drugs and battled addiction before turning his life around. | He sold drugs and battled addiction before turning his life around. |
| 'Slum potential' | 'Slum potential' |
| The University of Manchester describes his achievement in winning a master's degree as "a miraculous journey". | |
| "It feels wonderful; it feels wonderful," Mr Gitau told the BBC's Network Africa about receiving his MSc degree in international development project management. | |
| I will go back and stop children going through the same kind of life as me Sammy Gitau | I will go back and stop children going through the same kind of life as me Sammy Gitau |
| "It makes me look back and see myself, see those difficult times, and also, importantly, realise we have potential people in the slums. | "It makes me look back and see myself, see those difficult times, and also, importantly, realise we have potential people in the slums. |
| "We have other people who are just like me." | "We have other people who are just like me." |
| Mr Gitau, 35, once came close to death after a drugs overdose and said it changed his life. | Mr Gitau, 35, once came close to death after a drugs overdose and said it changed his life. |
| "After the drugs put me in a coma, I remember hearing hospital staff telling me I was going to die and when you are dying, you make a deal with God," he said. | "After the drugs put me in a coma, I remember hearing hospital staff telling me I was going to die and when you are dying, you make a deal with God," he said. |
| Mathare is crime-ridden slum in the centre of the Kenyan capital | Mathare is crime-ridden slum in the centre of the Kenyan capital |
| "You just say, 'Get me out of here and I will do anything. I will go back and stop children going through the same kind of life as me.'" | "You just say, 'Get me out of here and I will do anything. I will go back and stop children going through the same kind of life as me.'" |
| He then began a project to help children in the slum where he grew up. | He then began a project to help children in the slum where he grew up. |
| He came to the attention of European Union officials working in Kenya who helped him apply to the University of Manchester's School of Environment and Development. | He came to the attention of European Union officials working in Kenya who helped him apply to the University of Manchester's School of Environment and Development. |
| The university paid his course fees and his living costs were funded by charitable donations. | |
| "I found it humbling to teach Sammy - it really is a remarkable achievement," the University of Manchester's programme director Pete Mann said. | "I found it humbling to teach Sammy - it really is a remarkable achievement," the University of Manchester's programme director Pete Mann said. |
| Mr Gitau says he will continue to direct his education and his energies at improving life for others in Mathare slum. | Mr Gitau says he will continue to direct his education and his energies at improving life for others in Mathare slum. |