Empowering 37 Orphans Through Education in Kenya

My name is Isaac and I was born in 1996 in Muthale in Kitui County. I must say I was brought up in a very poor family where my parents had no education, which could have otherwise helped them to be employed so as to get capital for the betterment of the family needs. We ate and drank by the mercies of the Almighty.  Due to the fact that by then primary education was made free by the government, I was taken to a nursery school where I took three years instead of the one year scheduled just because of lack of school fees.

I happened to be a bright student despite the challenges. Unfortunately, my father passed away when we were still young. My mother was left to cater for my 4 sisters and me. Our lives moved from bad to worse such that when I was in class five, she couldn’t even manage to pay my exam fees and tuition. I used to wake up very early in the morning to go to school having taken no breakfast, with no shoes, no school uniform and without some books. The teachers in the school had pity on me and I was allowed to sit for my end of term exams in class five and I was number three in a class of forty four. My teachers were so proud of me, and to reward me they would sometimes pay for my lunch and my tuition fees. My mother was very sick at the time.

During one of the holidays my mother was taken to a referral hospital due to illness. After that, my mother passed away leaving behind a hopeless family of five.

As the elder sibling of the family now under the care of our grandmother, I directed my sisters to church every Sunday and God heard our prayers because during one Sunday mass service one of the Catholic priests announced about an organization known as the Children of God Relief Institute - Nyumbani which took care of orphans.  I explained that to my relatives. We were all very relieved and hopeful that Nyumbani would take us in. We presented our case to the village Chief who made proper arrangements and we were all taken to Nyumbani Village for our education and other needs. The joy we had was uncontainable.

21^st December 2009 is the day I joined Nyumbani Village in class six. At the Village, I got access to enough supply of food, shelter, clothing, education and a new family. My sisters and I together with our grandmother, who agreed to come and stay with us in the Village as a caregiver. In the year 2012 in class eight I was considered the most disciplined student and I was chosen as the Head Prefect of the school by the school council. I did my K.C.P.E in the same year and I managed very good grades which allowed me to be admitted in Lawson High School.

The Village brought me up well, and everything which I could not afford at my poor home was in plenty in there, Sr. Mary Owens being the Executive Director. I regained good health, I was happy and stress free.

On 3^rd December 2016, I graduated from the village having completed the four year course in Secondary School. When the results were out early that year, they did not actually favor me as I expected, but I managed to get a grade which could take me to college. Due to the continuous sponsorship of the Village, I joined college in September 2017 pursuing a Certificate in Electrical Engineering. 

Today as I write this to you, I am on holiday waiting to report back to school in January, next year. I want to thank Nyumbani Village for giving me all the basic needs including, shelter, health, food, clothing and education which are the key to my success. I am hoping for the best in life, promising that if all goes well, I shall donate back to the Village; not just because my sisters are ongoing with their education there, but to also help support the dreams of many children. Many thanks to all the stakeholders like GlobalGiving who have made a great sacrifice to ensure the well-being of me and other orphans in Kenya.