growing up

This is a motivational story of an adolescent girl,having to endure a lot of challenges to access education and her future dream.
The Hope of my live

I heard my mother ask my little sister “what do you think we should eat tonight?” She answers to her “chips and chicken Mom”. Laughing she tells her, “the day you will grow up and have your own family works hard to keep them together and satisfy their needs first. I’m very sure chips will not be a priority” These words reminds me of our father who left us when we where very young to marry another Woman .Live been so hard since then. My mother had all this 6 children to take care, feed, educate, cloth and take to hospital. What a wise woman. She taught us togetherness and love, something we enjoy up to to-date. She never abandoned us just like what our papa did. The family Bond is too strong to break.

Life was really hard back then.
I’m writing this laying on my back watching the moon and stars! I can’t stand the thoughts of joy and sorrow running through my mind. My past live ….its like I am reading it from a book.

I remember there were times we could all take porridge because it was the only meal Dear Mom could afford/get after the whole day search; some times the porridge was never enough. We would share it equally in 6 big plastic cups; we would all get a ¼ of the cup. I must have learnt sharing form my mother. My cup is still preserved in an archive.

Most of times, Mom would give us stories of how she meet daddy, which she still does. My mother didn’t go to school since she had to leave school to allow her brothers continue with their education. At an age of 12 years she left the village to work as a house girl, and that’s how she met with my dad. It really breaks my heart to see that the people she sacrificed her golden chances of life cannot give back.

When my father left us…..live had to move on. Too my mother had to move on.
As a mentor to other students and a lover of African women determination, it take a qualified accountant to draw a plan of action and budget for 100/= Kenya shillings (meals for the day and savings for house rent). In my mothers world it was real …..Remember this still exists in many slum settings.

This was the plan when she got a casual job. If she didn’t, of which most of time she didn’t, porridge was the meal.
It took months to eat rice……the day we took rice, we would go round telling all our neighbors, and honestly it was like Christmas

Live has to move on….I got admission to a primary and secondary school where my older sister was schooling on a sponsorship. I remember hiding most of the times when the Headmaster came to send me and other none sponsored pupils home. Oops!!Having grown in slums schools, there is always a hiding place: on scanty toilet, behind the classes or another classroom, in the grass trust me u will get a hiding place.
It was hard and risky but then again if you really want something badly, no matter what, you will get it. Just a little effort and u get it right.
The shoes I wore had holes on the sole, allowing urine and water when I visit the school toilet to pass through to my feet. The school uniform I wore had patches all over. I had student nickname me…a name I will share with you another day.

I’m writing this when I have cleared my secondary education .I am saving to go to college one day. Something I thought will never happen. Finishing secondary education is all what I wanted.
I remember when I finish the last examination paper of secondary level; I shared my joy with my mother. That day up to 3am we all as a family shared stories and my mother reminded us how far she has struggled, happy and sad days. For her it was tears of joy. Never though that someone from her family will ever finish secondary Education. It was God.
When I am almost giving up I remember her smile and determination. I thank God for her coz it’s a blessing to have a Mom who cares.

This is to remind all the other mentors of adolescents, to share a word of love to their dear parent and also encourage the adolescents in school to work Hard.
We made it and you will make it.
Remember it takes just a little effort and determination. Don’t fear the unknown. Make life worth a celebration in future.
May God always bless The African woman, more so my mother. Dear African Mama I wanna be like you, make my children be proud of me, just the way I am to you. I LOVE YOU MUM and I will always do.