Empowering 37 Orphans Through Education in Kenya

LIFE STORY OF PHILIP

My name is Philip, Am currently 21 years old. I was born and raised in a small village in Mwingi, Kitui County. Our family was a happy place where every kid wished to be raised. Our parents trained us on how to do house chores and how we could relate well with people, since my parents were not financially stable, we got our basic needs from vending our farm products. Death is just a mystery that no one can wish to associate with, it was with profound sadness to lose both our parents.

Our family consisted of 6 members. My father worked as a security guard in an organization at Mombasa up to the time of his death in 2003, He had been diagnosed with cancer a few years earlier but the illness did not prevent him from doing his day-to-day life. After our dad passed on, our mom was unemployed but she worked very hard doing any casual jobs she could find to support us till her demise in 2010. After the passing of our parents, we were shaken and the only guardian that was left to look after us was our grandmother.

Our grandmother was a traditional doctor, the little money she earned is what she used to provide for us. It never took long before our uncle Jacob, brother to my dad felt that it was his obligation to take care of us despite being a simple man who was just a carpenter and a part-time mason. We almost dropped out of school since we lacked enough school fees, but our uncle could struggle as much as he could to ensure we attended school. He also took care of our other needs back at home. Though we attended a local public school in our area, I endeavored to work hard since I believed that education was the key to success. Due to the challenges, we encountered at home during our studies, I felt like giving up in life as many did in our area. The opportunity to be admitted to Nyumbani village in 2012 changed our story. It has been an inspirational story that I like sharing with friends. It so happened that my uncle heard about Nyumbani village in Kitui offering opportunities for education to orphans. He directly approached the program manager at the time, he requested him if we could get an opportunity to be part of the program. Staff from the village visited our rural home, we had nice moments with them and they promised to arrange how we will be taken to the village. Soon thereafter, as we closed the schools for the December holiday, they came for us. I was in class 5.

once we were admitted to Nyumbani Village, I joined other students at Hotcourses Primary School in early January 2013. It was a great experience attending school at Hotcourses. We were cared for by our own grandmother with other children from different backgrounds, she taught us how to stay well in peace and share anything that was provided equally by the village in our houses. Being content with everything the village had done, enabled me to work hard in my studies, I later finished my primary level and passed my exams. In early January 2016, I joined form one at Lawson High School, I never ceased to work hard for I had a great vision to be a better person in the future. It was a nice place with high levels of discipline and good teachers who taught us well and heartened us to work hard. I completed secondary level in 2019 and got a good grade; which secured me a chance at the University of Nairobi to pursue a Bachelor of Information Science.

Life has been smooth at the university, am currently in my second year. My aim is to specialize in the field of technology and digital humanities. Thanks to the Nyumbani beneficiaries and sponsors who work to bring up children who are less fortunate in society. Nyumbani village has been a good place where every child is offered the best education and skills to empower them.