Despite many challenges, I have a bright future ahead of me – By Mary Aziza

My name is Mary Aziza. I am 14 years old and I am in form 1 (Year 9) at Koru Girls High school. I was born at Freepost Hospital in Kibera on 10th October 2002. I attended Spurgeons Academy since kindergarten to class 8. Spurgeons Acadamy is a small primary school in the Kibera Slum.

My brother and I lived with my mother and father but my father left during the post elections violence in 2007 and left us behind. The house we were living in was very expensive and my mother could not afford it. We were forced to move to a smaller house in the Kibera Slum. There was not a lot of space for us in our single-roomed home in Kibera but we managed. After we moved my older brother got sick and he died in 2009. I was left with my mother alone.

I was sponsored for my primary education by an organization called Global Care. Despite this opportunity, my mother was struggling so much to provide food and pay for my examination fees. In 2016 I was able to register for my KCPE examination (National primary school exam) and got 323 marks. I am very proud of my marks! With the support of The Kickstart Project I was able to join secondary school. This was an amazing opportunity and I am very grateful for my Kickstart Project Sponsorship.

While I was completing my Term 1 exams at secondary school this year, I received the shocking news that my mother had passed away. This was extremely difficult for me and I was absolutely devastated. I now live in Pipeline with my grandmother.