Empowering 37 Orphans Through Education in Kenya

My name is Alexandrina and I was born in Kitui County.  I have one sister.  Prior to joining Nyumbani Village I had lost all hope in life because I remember vividly the death of my loving mother.   I was in class eight at the time awaiting to sit exams for my final year in primary school.  She has the only parent my sister and I had and we depended on her for everything.  We cried for days after she died because we knew that our lives would never be the same again.  Basic necessities like food would no longer be guaranteed let alone an education.  This is because our relatives were very poor.  They could barely afford to make ends meet.  Just before my mother’s burial I remember some relatives trying to encourage us by saying they would assist us but as soon as the burial was over everyone disappeared.  We were left under the care of our destitute uncle.  One day I overhead him saying to his wife that once my standard eight results were out I would enroll to a Polytechnic because he did not have money to pay high school education.  On hearing this I cried so much because I knew it was the end of my dreams.  By the end of that year upon sitting my examination I did not put effort because I knew my fate.  When the results were released I had not performed well. 

Our day to day life was full of struggles and the burden of raising the family continued to be too much for my poor uncle.  One day a social worker from Nyumbani Village visited our homestead after hearing about our plight.  She interviewed my uncle and aunt and she could see our living conditions for bad.  She promised to return and take my sister and I to Nyumbani Village where we could be assisted.  We longed for the day she could come and take us to the said Village.  True to her word one day she arrived in a vehicle and took us to Nyumbani Village where we were admitted in 2011.  When we arrived we were surprised to find so many other children residing there and the facilities were very beautiful.  I was enrolled in Lawson High school where I worked so hard because my hope for a bright future were restored.  I now could concentrate in my studies since I no longer had to worry about food and other basic necessities.  I was also relieved since my sister was well taken care of and she also enrolled in school.  After completing four years I acquired very good grades which enabled me to gain admission at a Government University.  I am now pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Animal Science and Management.  This is my second semester and I am working so hard because I have been given a second chance.  I believe the sky is the limit and I will have a bright future.

My life changed drastically because of the support you continue to give Nyumbani Village orphans.  I have benefited immensely and that is why I emerged from the ashes of despair to a life worth living.  I am eternally grateful to all the people who sacrifice their money so that orphans like me can have a normal life and they can dream once again of achieving anything in life.  It does not matter how much you give because every shillings counts and children’s lives are changing.  I am a living testimony of what your funding has made possible.

May God bless you for generosity and richly reward you for your kindness.

Alexandrina