We had a journalism competition at the school in Mathare to see if any good writers could help me with stories for Tushinde’s newsletter. Most were like geography or history essays and certainly beyond the 200 word limit I had set. However, one stood out, it was still way too long, but Anastacia (pictured left) said she didn’t mind if I pasted it on the Tushinde blog. I am hoping with our volunteer coming in October with the aim of doing a photo-journalism project, it will give more children of Mathare the confidence to tell their stories.
My Life by Anastacia Chepkoech
I was brought up in a happy family in rural Kenya until 2003 when my step-father died of throat cancer. He had always loved me like a daughter and life became so hard without him. My mother, three brothers and I struggled to face the challenges.
We had to move to Eldoret as my mum was a different tribe from my Dad’s family and she feared for our security.
My mum did her best to make sure that we got the necessary needs. By then I was ten years old and my youngest brother was two.
On December the 26th 2007 my brothers and I went to stay in Kapsabet with my maternal aunt for the New Year. We left my mother happy and sound and never thought that something bad would happen to her, never thought that this would be the last time we would see her. If only I knew, I could have tried to save my mum or die with her, but it’s too late. We stayed there for one week only to be called on the Saturday by my Mum’s friend who broke the sad news to us. I almost had a heart attack and thought I would die the next second.
Thought it is hard to share, and also painful, my only mother was burnt alive by mobs during the post election violence when we were gone. They attacked in a house full of smoke and fire and burnt every part of her until she was beyond recognition. The people who killed her had no human heart, they were animals. That is why it is hard to forgive. I don’t think I could ever face them and say ‘I have forgiven you’
Life became really hard and I became the mother and father to my siblings who had no-one to turn to. My brothers were taken in by my step-father’s family, but I was rejected as I was from a different tribe.
I moved from my aunt’s to my grandmother’s in Mathare and I was just about to be moved again as my grandmother is weak, when my uncle found out about Mogra Star Academy and I applied for a place there.
Since the day I cam to Mogra to study, I have been lucky because even if I lack food at home, I can get it at school as it is part of the programme. Mogra has helped a lot of needy children who have problems more serious than mine. I pray that god gives us strength to overcome these misfortunes in our lives.
My dream is to become a doctor so that I can be able to save lives of people who have cancer like my dad, or if I fail, I will be a lawyer so that I can be able to fight for the rights of weak people like my mother. I do hope that justice will be done. I want justice to be done.
Life in the slums is a daily challenge. The biggest problems are poverty and health status. The environment is full of sewage and poor housing. People help us, but they forget to show us is how they came to their existence, to success, how to go about it and where to go. Food and pity alone cannot solve our problems. They that have developed must lead us in the direction to overcome poverty.
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