SHOFCO

For years my father had been the bread winner of the house. In 2012 when he was killed I was in standard four but after that day I dedicated most of my time to helping my mother with casual labor. Every moment I was not able to attend school regularly. My mother started to wash clothes and sell dagaa [omena] to people for her to buy food. Mother always does her best but still it's not enough to balance with school fees. I thank SHOFCO for the opportunity to further my studies.

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.

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.

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.

I was born in August 2004 and am the last born in a family of 5. My family has lived in Kibera for more than 20 years. My primary school education hasn't been easy because my parents are casual labourers with inconsistent earnings. Without letting my past affect my future destiny, I did focus and scored a total of 357 out of 500 marks at Three Bells School. With too much hope of going to a good high school and becoming a better person in the society, I've always been focused on my academics, which is funded by Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), an organization that has become a light giver to the helpless and the needy children in the urban slum. Apart from my struggling parents who are really working hard to educate my other siblings, I am always grateful to Shining Hope for Communities and everybody supporting my education for the kind heart they've got. I will always work hard to make them proud. I enjoy attending community workshops and youth forums that seek to empower the community.

I am from a humble family with both parents. My current life situation has been challenging, since I am depending on my parents and friends for help in my study. Sometimes getting food to put on the table has been a problem for my parents. Despite all these challenges I have remained focused on my school work. When I got the opportunity to be one of the scholars of Shofco Urban Network, I was very happy and my dreams of becoming a better person in life and helping my parents in the future.