SHOFCO

Poverty has affected my family social life, with my parents strugglling to gain financial stability to meet our daily basic needs. Meeting basic need such as clothes, rent and food has been very difficult. My parents have suffered more than enough debts to feed us, of which nobody is willing to offer any support. When I mentioned to the neighbours that my dream was to be a doctor or a lawyer they laughed at me. One day when the scholarship chance arose, my hope of becoming a doctor also came true. Thanks to SHOFCO for granting me this golden opportunity to shine and help my neighbours and community in the future.

Clinton’s mother works as a casual laborer, and she has struggled to pay all the family’s expenses. He was sometimes sent home for lack of school fees. Clinton dreams of having a better future, and believes he can achieve this dream through becoming a pilot. He not only wishes to see different parts of the world, but he also hopes that by securing a decent living, he can support his siblings and his mother.

I have been staying with my mother after she got divorced with my father. This forces my mother to take care us without any support from my father. My mother being the only bread winner, works as a housekeeper everyday. She fights hard to put food on the table, which sometimes is not easy to manage feeding the five of us. My mother always prays for us everyday so that we receive blessings. I got lucky after applying for the scholarship program for less fortunate children in Kibera. My hope is to become a neuro-surgeon and in the future I will help my mother and other children come out of poverty.

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.

"My aunt has been helping by buying my books since my mother died...In the future I would like to be a doctor so that I can help my family out of this poverty and also help our community against all the crimes. I want to help us to have good health services. Through becoming successful in education I will be able to help my society and support them. In the years to come I am hoping to be working as a doctor. I will be saving lives and use it to help my family and community at large."

After finishing school I would like to be in a better place than where I am now. I would like to have a better job so that I can even move my parents from the slums to an estate. I would like to build my parents a permanent house which will have everything they need. In the next 10 years, I am hoping that I will have my own family and will be living happily with them. I will teach my children to have good morals. If I succeed in my education, I will try my best to help people who are living in the slums and give scholarships to children who do their best on exams.