Sharon

My name is Sharon and I was born in the Kibera Slum, Kenya in 2003. I attended Spurgeons Academy in Kibera until 2017. I live with my mother, father and younger sister in a single-roomed, semi-permanent home in the slum. Our house has a dirt floor and iron sheets on the roof. When it rains we have to change our sleeping arrangements due to leaks.

My father works as a casual labourer, but work is very inconsistent. My mother works as a house help, and sometimes washes clothes for our neighbours. The little money my parents earn is not enough to pay rent and buy food, and we often have to live on one meal per day because there isn’t enough food.

I would like to finish secondary school and go to university to become a journalist. Through my work as a journalist, I hope to help my family break out of poverty.

“I would also like to give back to the society where I grew up, by helping bright and needy children to go to school” – Sharon, 2017.