Sidney

My name is Sidney and I was born in the Kibera Slum, Kenya in 2003. I attended Magoso Primary School in Kibera, completing my primary education there in 2017. I live in the slum with my parents and 5 siblings. Our home is a single-roomed, semi-permanent house, made of mud and iron sheets. My father works as a cook in a local school, however he does not earn enough to support the large family.

He earns 7000KSH ($85 AUD) per month to pay for rent, food, school expenses and clothing. Most of my aunts and uncles are in the same position, struggling to find work and support their families.

My older sister left school after primary school because there was no money to send her to secondary school.

There is a lot of crime and theft in the Kibera Slum. I have experienced devastating violence while growing up in Kibera, and I easily get sick due to the poor hygiene conditions in the slum.

I plan to become an electrical engineer when I finish school. I would also like to build a children’s home so that I can help some of the street children in Kibera and other parts of Kenya.

“If I have to depend on my father’s income, I will end up like my sister” – Sidney, 2018.