SHOFCO

I went through my primary education at Palm Olive Academy and managed to score 356 out of 500 marks. In our family we are six members after divorce between my mother and father. My mother has been taking care of us ever since. She works as a casual laborer within Kibera community and supports us with the little that she earns. Sometimes it is so hard for my mother to feed us because the father is not offering any supporting. Due to life challenges, I have faced life head-on and determined never to give up in life and one day fulfill my dream of becoming a lawyer after receiving the scholarship. Thanks to SHOFCO and may God bless you.

My mother died when I was still young. We were left with my father, who later married a second wife and decided not to provide for us proper education and food. My late mother's sister took care of my siblings and me. She was just a job hustler and nevertheless she agreed to move on with us. She took me to a primary school and I was able to score good marks to progress to a national high school. When my aunt heard about the scholarship from her group members, she encouraged me to apply for the chance, after which i was successful as one of the scholars of the SHOFCO program. Both my aunt and I are so grateful to the SHOFCO families and wish them long life.

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 come from a family six and all my family members lives in Kibera. Life here is tough but as a family we have managed to hold together and stay focused. I managed to score 360 out of possible 500 marks which enabled me to be one of the successful Shofco scholarship applicants beneficiary. This enabled me to join Kabare Girls High School to fulfill my dream of being a judge and follow my passion for handball and music. I am so thankful to this program that touches the heart of children who do not have the school fee support.

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.

Even though life has been very hard, the efforts and support I got from the friends and well wishers has made me learn the disadvantages of depending on others. When i got the information about the scholarship my parents encouraged me to work hard and do my best in my studies. They helped to apply for the chance, and lucky enough I was called and got the opportunity to be one of the scholars.