She stays with her grandparents, who live in poverty.

Faith is the first-born child in a family of three. She has the passion to be a lawyer and wants to help execute justice among her people and especially the poor in the community. While in school Faith underwent many challenges like being sent home due to lack of payment of school fees, lack of school uniform and lack of kerosene to study at night. However Faith remained determined to achieve good grades. She resulted to be waking up at the crack of dawn each day to go to school before any other student arrived. Once at school she would get out her desk from the classroom since it was still dark and work on her homework. She was fortunate that a few months before she sat for her final exams, a neighbor helped her with kerosene and she was able to study each night until 11.00 pm. She is grateful that some students helped her with pens and pencils and her teachers were very supportive. Despite these challenges, Faith performance in the primary school leaving exam was among the best in her school. She believes that hard work never goes unrewarded.

Despite many hardships in her young life, Quinter has been steadfast in continuing her education. At age 13, she became pregnant, had a difficult labor, and required medical help to recover. After her successful recovery to health, Quinter returned home to continue her schooling; she is being raised by her older sister. Quinter has not given up on her education or her hopes of one day becoming a doctor.

Father died, mother moves from one man to another, children sufferring.

Father died, mother remarried and children cannot put up with the step father.

We are seven in my family with my parents and my four siblings. I still love my family despite all the challenges we are facing and have hope that it is only a matter of time before we live a better life again. I had even lost hope of becoming an architect since there was no one to pay for my secondary education after I had scored 392/500 mark at Spurgeons Primary School. With my strong hopes and faith knowing that my God is always above everything, I am grateful for the scholarship which is a great gift offered to my family and the helpless children in the slums. I am pursuing my secondary school education at Mbita High School and I believe that this will enable me to realize my dreams. Lastly I have remained focused on my academics, never to disappoint my family and mostly Shining Hope for Communities for I know education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world.

Kathule is the lastborn child in a family of four. Her father passed on leaving the burden of upbringing their children with her mother who is unemployed. Without the bread winner, her mother resulted to selling all that was left by their father to keep the children in school. She is now left with nothing to sell and her daughter now faces the challenge of dropping out of school. Despite being sent home severally for school fees within the year, Kathule was able to perform exemplary in her end of year exams. She has a passion in medicine and would like to be a doctor in future. Kathule believes that education is the key to a prosperous future.

Shiela’s parents are unemployed and cannot support her, her four siblings, and three grandparents who live with them. She needs help paying for her school fees and pursuing her dream of becoming a banker someday.

Sheila is an orphan girl who strongly believes that hard work pays. She has never wanted any student to beat her in school and so she worked hard to be the best student in class. Despite the many challenges she faced in her primary education like going to school with taking a meal, she did her KCPE exam in 2017 and was the top girl at her school. Her ailing grandparents could not afford to pay for her school fees to join secondary school. However Sheila remains quite determined to continue secondary school and achieve her dream to be a doctor. She beliefs that eduaction is the key to successful life.