Educating street children in the Mathare slums

With scholarships, Vulnerable children are able to pursue their education, without having to choose between their school fees and financial needs at their family. In such a context, the availability of scholarship funds assumes significant importance, particularly for vulnerable and underprivileged families living in Nairobi informal settlements. Scholarships serve as a crucial source of relief, enabling vulnerable children to access education on equal footing and pursue their aspirations.

One shining example of the transformative power of scholarships is the journey of Deryl Atieno, a brilliant scholar and beneficiary from the Mathiri Children FundPanairobi (MCFP) Scholarship. Despite facing overwhelming hardships as she comes from a very poor family, Deryl is currently showing remarkable progress with the support of MCFP scholarship. Deryl's academic performance has been consistently impressive since her enrollment in the support program. At the end of each term, she has consistently placed within the top five positions in her class. Notably, in November 2023, she sat for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education and emerged as the top candidate among those sponsored by The Mathare Children’s Fund Panarobi and she is awaiting to top secondary schools in Kenya

Deryl Atieno Omondi is the first born in her family of three. Her mother, who gave birth to her while still a teenager faced numerous challenges that included significant societal stigma, financial challenges, depression among others. In this state she was not able to raise Deryl and hence grandmother, a single parent also,  took the parenting responsibilities. Deryl grandmother had a small business of selling porridge by the roadside where the income could hardly support the family. The family many times slept without a meal and more often the land lord removed the door to their house when they were unable to pay house rent.  Deryl's father,a casual worker at a construction site,abandoned his responsibilities of taking care of the family. In this circumstances Deryl was at the verge of missing and opportunity to access education. Her grandmother tried her best to keep her in school but Deryl was always sent home due to lack of school fees. This exposed her to other vulnerabilities in the informal settlement such as sexual exploitation, drugs and substance abuse among others.

Deryl was identified as a vulnerable child by community leaders. Following a background check, she was deemed eligible for school scholarship at MCFP. She was subsequently reintegrated into school 

According to her teachers , she has a promising excellent academic performance and she aspires to have a successful career as a lawyer in future.