Empowering 37 Orphans Through Education in Kenya

My name is Gladys.   I was born on 10^th November, 1993 in a family of six children comprising five girls and one boy.  I do not know anything about my father; the only parent I knew growing up was my mother.  She worked hard to provide for us through manual labor; there was food on the table and we all went to school.  Our trouble began when my mother started ailing and could not go to work.  She went to see doctors but after getting medication she never recovered fully and her sickness kept coming back.  Since my mother was the breadwinner, our situation changed fast.  We needed to fend for ourselves, and this meant we could not afford to go to school.  My siblings and I kept hoping that our mother would get better so that our lives could return to normal but that was not to be.  In the year 2007 she succumbed to AIDS leaving us destitute.  Even though we had relatives they were not well off, so no one could afford to take in six more children on top of their own.  They visited us initially and gave us handouts and then slowly by slowly they all disappeared back to their lives. 

With no food and no hope we started experiencing biting hunger.  It became impossible for us to continue going to school when we did not have basic needs like food.  We started looking for manual jobs.  We sold firewood, burnt charcoal and farmed in people’s farms in order to have food on the table.   Our neighbors noticed our plight and some of them shared with the parishioners of the church we used to attend.  They tried to contribute to help us, but it was not enough.  After almost a year since the death of our parent, one of our relatives heard about Nyumbani Village that was assisting orphans.  She applied for us to be admitted at Nyumbani Village.  One day we saw a stranger coming into our compound. She introduced herself as a social worker from Nyumbani Village, and said she had come to access our situation.  She interviewed us and took notes and then left, promising to return.  We did not take her seriously because there were many people who came and promised to return, but they never did. 

You cannot begin to imagine how happy we felt when on 11^th December, 2008 we saw the same social worker coming with a car to get us.  Great was our joy because we knew we were going to the promised land where hunger would be no more.  We arrived at Nyumbani Village and everybody was so kind to us.  We were taken to a new house where we were blended together with four other children.  They told us that this was going to be our family.  We were all enrolled in school and the life of pain and suffering was now behind us.

I completed my form four studies at the Village and when I was asked what course I wanted pursue my mind was very clear that I would do Social Work.  The reason I chose this course was so that I would have the opportunity to serve the less fortunate in society as a way of giving back.  I completed my certificate course and as I waited for my results I decided to offer voluntary services to Nyumbani Village as a sign of thanksgiving to the organization for rescuing my siblings and me.  The management was happy with my services and offered to pay me a small amount of money for my upkeep.  This gesture was so humbling so I decided I would save the money so that I could pay for my Diploma course instead of having the organization fund me.  I wanted the money they would have used on me to help another needy child. 

I am very happy today because I completed my diploma studies in July 2016.  I am still volunteering at Nyumbani Village as I look for permanent employment.

I know that without the funding that Global Giving gives Nyumbani Village, I would not have gotten an education.  This funding has changed my life because my dignity has been restored.  I now know that even though my mother died, God sent Global Giving and Nyumbani Village to rescue my life that would have gone down the drain.  I had lost all hope of ever amounting to anything, but today I look back with gratitude knowing that people of goodwill have come through for me.  I will live the rest of my life trying to help others in need because I know that if given a chance, they also can excel in life.

My name is John and I was born in Kitui County.  I’m 26 years old. I am the youngest in a family of three. I am a beneficiary of Nyumbani Village. I lost my mum at the age of four.  I can hardly remember her, but I can remember 5 years later losing my dad. I was too young to understand what was going on, I did not understand the meaning of death. I remember at times I would ask my dad why other kids had a mother and I did not and he would just tell me that she went to heaven.  I have a few memories of my dad.  He was very hardworking, and he used to try his level best to provide us with basic needs. He was a loving father.

After his death we were left under the care of our elderly grandmother. I started to notice the change in our family.   My elder sister dropped out of school; my brother and I were in and out of school. We could no longer afford three meals a day we would have only one meal a day. The situation got worse and we could barely afford a meal a day. Most of our relatives were very poor and could not take care of us. I was forced to drop out of school and started working as a casual laborer at the age of 13. This was a very difficult moment for me, I felt like all my dreams of having a better life were crushed since I always knew that education was the way out of poverty.

One of my cousins was working in Nyumbani village as a casual laborer and she requested one of the social workers to visit our home and asses our situation. This was late 2007 when my cousin told me about Nyumbani Village and there was a possibility I could get admission there.  It was at that moment when my hope was restored and I started dreaming of going back to school again. In 2008 one of the social workers paid us a visit at my grandmother’s home and promised she would be back to pick me up.  Later in February 2008 I was admitted in Nyumbani Village and enrolled in Hotcourses primary school.  This was not easy for me because I was already eighteen years old, and my classmates were like 5 years younger than me.   I was the oldest in the class, but my dream for a better future kept me going.

In 2010 I joined Lawson High School and graduated in 2013.  During my stay in Nyumbani Village I developed a passion for agriculture.  After graduating from high school I was sure I wanted to pursue a course in Organic Farming. In 2014 I joined Kenya Institute of Organic Farming and graduated in 2015 October.  This was one the happiest moments of my life.  I was so proud of myself.  In November I started working on different farms on a short term basis.  This really helped me get a wider experience since each farm was unique, but I was still praying to get a permanent job. In January I went for an interview at an organization called IPM which has one of the biggest farms in Kiambu County and a week later I was informed that I had passed the interview and would gain employment.

I am now independent and love the work I do.  I am eternally grateful to all the donors who make GlobalGiving possible because I am a testimony that one should never despair or give-up on their dreams.  Through people of goodwill children’s dreams are turning into reality.