SHOFCO

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.

Brenda is the 3rd born in a family of 4 girls. Her mother is a housewife and her father works as a casual laborer in Kibera. Despite the little income that her parents earn, they have always prioritized her education and made sure they pay for her school fees, books, uniforms and anything else required. Brenda has really internalized the significance of education and has become a well-rounded, dynamic, and ambitious student. Brenda dreams of studying medicine and engineering, both in an effort to uplift those who live in poverty. Through medicine, she aims to “give back to society, by advocating for free health facilities and accessible dispensaries for everyone.” Her main aim in studying engineering “is to come up with ideas that can help the unemployed people to make their ends meet by creating more innovations in the country.”

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.

Florence was raised by her mother and grandmother. She enjoys playing football and netball. Although she works hard, her mother struggled to pay school fees for her and her brother. She dreams of being a community health work and building solid relationships with her teachers in secondary school. She wants to give back to her community and to help children and widows.

Brigance is the second born in his family. His father works as a security guard and is the primary breadwinner. When he was two years old, Brigance lost eyesight in his left eye after an injury. As a result, he is passionate about assisting disabled individuals for the betterment of society. In the future, he aspires to become an environmentalist. He cares deeply about protecting the environment and aims to do so through clean-up projects, waste management initiatives, and tree planting campaigns -- all in an effort to "help Kenya achieve 10% vegetation by 2030."

Josephine is a driven and dedicated student. She aims to perform well in secondary school so that she continue her studies at Kenyatta University. While at university, she wants to study education and theology, and she dreams of someday being a journalist. She also would like to own a children's home for babies two years and under so that she can give back to them and help them grow the same way that her mother did for her. Her mother owns her own business and Josephine is inspired by her mother's hard work and success.