True Courage

‘I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.’ Nelson Mandela

The Kibera Slum houses hundreds of thousands of people living in squalor conditions. There are open sewers, people walking amongst rubbish piles, large families living in shacks no bigger than a garden shed. It is one place that you wear closed in shoes. When the weather is hot the place smells, when it’s wet water and sewerage runs through houses and down muddy alleyways to create small streams.

Kibera is never a quiet place. There are a couple of roads that run through it that are often jammed with buses or matatus (mini vans for transporting public). There are back to back shops run from tin shacks. There are also many churches who run meetings throughout the day. All this mixed with masses of people walking.

This is where our sponsored children are based. Many face challenges every day – loss of a parent, no food for the day, HIV, lack of sanitary products or nowhere to live. If it weren’t for our generous donors, our sponsored children would not even be able to go to school.

One thing I do know about these young people and their families is that they are incredibly brave. In the face of so much adversity where there is no social welfare system, most of us would feel like curling up under a rock and wishing not to wake up. But here, there is no choice but to make the best of a harsh situation. There’s no government bailout if there is a drought, you find an alternative way to farm. There’s long periods without water – so you walk up to 7 kilometres to find the nearest source.

At the end of 2012 we had some of our sponsored children sit for their national exam – KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education). This exam is completed at the end of their primary education and if they get a good grade, it gives them opportunity to enter a quality high school. Students need to request entry into a school and have to wait until they receive a ‘calling letter’ before they can enter it.

One person who did incredibly well was Merab, one of our sponsored children. Merab has always strived to do her best academically and it has now paid off. One day she would like to become a doctor and we can see this happening. She also is an excellent soccer player. Merab lives in the Kibera Slum with her mother and brothers. She does not have an easy home life. However this year Merab was offered a place in two of Kenya's finest girls schools based on both her academic and sport achievements.

Merab Anyango

Merab is a prime example of how your surroundings do not have to dictate your direction in life. She is a courageous young woman who has looked at the future with much courage and said to herself ‘I can do it, I can bring about change to my family, I can be different’. Merab received a placement at a top girls school in Western Kenya. We will miss seeing her at Riziki each month, but will rejoice with her on her return home during the holidays. Merab may be small in stature, but she is big on the inside.

Merab is an example to us all.