My life has not been so well since I was young up until I got a chance to join Daraja. I grew up in a family of five siblings. At the beginning when I was in class five, my parents passed away and from there, my life started getting ruined because there was no one else to take care of us.
We struggled to get help from anyone willing to help us. My siblings and I never gave up instead we kept praying hard that one day God will answer our prayers.
My life began becoming harder day-by-day until one of our uncles decided to take all of us to his family and take care of us. He treated us just like his children. He provided us anything that we asked him for. As the days passed, he started getting tired because it was hard to take care of us five plus his own family.
By that time, I was now in standard six while my older sister was in Form 1. I could not concentrate in class because of the challenges I was faced with. I would often cry and sometimes could not study anymore because it would add a lot of stress to my head. I would just sit in class crying, but no one bothered or cared about me shedding tears. I always asked myself questions, but they were rhetorical which needed no answers. I always asked myself why God could let us suffer by taking our parents away and leaving us with no one to take care of us.
One day as I was seated under a tree crying loudly, one of my friends saw me and came running. She asked me why I was crying. I thank God because he gave me strength to be open with her. She gave me a lot of advice and told me that God has no bad plans for us and actually has good plans for us. I utilized the advice she gave me and tried to concentrate on my studies. I knew that focusing on my studies and trusting in God was the only way to get out of problems I was experiencing.
After concentrating in class, I was able to be one of the top three students in my class. When the primary final exams came, I was able to tackle them without any fear. I was in luck because I received marks that allowed me to join a secondary school. In my mind I had no idea whether I could join a secondary school. Although I got good marks, there was not anyone to support me in my education. Every morning I woke up, I would always pray to my dear God to help me go on with my studies.
As I was still waiting for an answer from God I heard that there was a school starting that year and they needed girls who are unable to continue with their education including those without parents. I sent the application letter to the school, but I didn’t get any response. I kept on sending more until I got a response saying that in order to join the school, I had to do the interview. When the interview day came, I was a little nervous, but I gave myself courage that I could make it. Surely when the results were out, I was among those who had passed. I was given the letter of acceptance to Daraja. I was so grateful to my dear Lord and the students at Daraja. I remember this very day.
Daraja is my home and I believe it will affect my life positively. It will also change my family’s life. When I finish school, I would like to start a school for children who can’t afford education and also an orphanage.
