SHOFCO

"I am 13 years old and born in Kibera slums in Nairobi. I come from a nuclear family whereby my parents work as casual workers. My life both at home and school has been good, but with some challenges. My aspirations are to have a good career job and help the community in the future. I would also like to eradicate poverty in the community, as well as help the youth to know God. I want to be a neurologist and get my certificate in America. I want to help my parents with their life and help those who are hungry, thirsty, and lack shelter. I want to also build a children's home so orphans can get basic needs and a home for aged people. I want to be a doctor who cares for the sick. "

I am an ambitious football player with five children in our family from a God fearing and humble background. Living in Kibera has a lot of challenges like drug addiction, school drop outs, peer pressure among others. But I have tried to overcome them because I am a real change agent person, passionate to change the lives of poor people in the community and be a good role model to children of Kibera. I am committed to work hard in school in order to achieve my goal of opening an NGO that would change the life of Kibera community and I believe through God everything is possible. I am thanking Kennedy and Jessica for the opportunity to finish my secondary school education.

I managed to score 386/500 marks from a local government primary school despite coming from a challenging background. I have always remained focused so that I can be able to achieve my dream, which is becoming a pilot one day. After my primary level education I concentrated on football and handball to overcome the financial stress that we had, alongside my closed dreams of becoming an engineer. My father is a partly involved member with Shining Hope for Communities activities/ programs, and I managed to secure a chance through scholarships offered to needy children in the slums of Nairobi. I am now at Nambale Boys High School where I am working so hard to achieve my dreams.

Antony attended a free-education primary school, which provided him with a uniform and books. His family situation has been incredibly unstable because his father has been suffering from an unidentifiable mental illness and his mother is the only breadwinner of the family. Over the past years, she has been using much of her meager incomes to take his father to the hospital. Antony is a strong student and despite all his obstacles, he hopes to continue working hard in his school work.

"My father, who is a casual laborer, sometimes gets lucky and finds work and pays for my school fees. But sometimes, when he is out of luck and cannot pay he speaks to the teacher and the teacher allows us time to clear the debt so i can continue going to school. I come from a humble family with 4 siblings. We live in a one room house that is not enough space for everyone. After school, I want to open a business in order to find money so that I can pay my university fees, for my peasant parents will never be able to pay such an amount. In 10 years I would like to be a good doctor and work in one of the biggest hospitals in Kenya."

"My name is Phenny, and I like in Kibera. I have two small sisters and one brother. My mother sells vegetables and my father is a casual laborer. My plans and aspirations for my future is that after form 4 I would like to join a computer course. After passing my exams, I will join a university where I will train to be a doctor. After becoming a doctor, I will buy a plot where I will plan to settle and build a house. From there, I will be able to assist my brother and sisters academically."