Africa

Dear Tuungane Community Foundation,

Rebecca MagireUncategorized

My name is Juliet Muthoni Wambui, the last-born daughter to Jane Wambui. I am a student in Nyandarua High, currently in form two. My mother is a single parent who has done everything in her power to educate me and my older sister. As a tea vendor on the beautiful market of Kenol, her meagre income has never been enough to cater to our food, clothing, housing and educational needs but somehow my mother always ensured my sister and I remained in school at all times. However, 2020 was an especially hard year for me and my family. In addition to the pandemic that restricted my mother’s income, she fell seriously ill leaving us with little to no funds to even pay for our rent.  In previous years, my sister and I have always helped our mother in her business during school holidays. We would often cook the tea and clean her utensils as she left to deliver the drink to her customers. But with her illness, we could not deliver the tea as we ourselves had never interacted with her customers. When the time came for me to join form one, I remember how my mother tried to borrow […]

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From the Streets to Class-a LIFT success story

Rebecca MagireUncategorized

Brian Scott, one of our LIFT beneficiaries in a young man who has faced significant challenges his young life. When his mother, Gladys, got married to Joseph Scott, Brian hoped he had found a safe place to call home and a father to fill in the gaps that his biological dad had left. However, the dynamics of a blended family did not favor the young boy who would eventually find himself at the receiving end of his step-father’s anger. As the situation escalated to physical and psychological abuse, Gladys was left between choosing his son and her husband. When the situation at home did not improve, Brian Scott ran away from home and became a street child for over a month before his mother tracked him down and arranged for him to live with one of his aunties. The initial arrangement was that both Brian’s parents would contribute towards the upkeep of the boy while he lived at his auntie’s place. However, the plans did not work and Brian found himself back at the streets of Korokocho market. At this point, Brian’s teachers started spotting him at dump sites and called the organization in an attempt to salvage the young […]

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Kayole North Feeding Program

Rebecca MagireUncategorized

Kayole North Feeding Program Food plays a crucial role in the development of any child. Indeed, after the right to life, each child and adult has a right to nutritious and clean food. Unfortunately, poverty limits the access to regular food for children in needy communities. Without food, a child is unable to concentrate in class which creates a vicious cycle of poverty. But! As a result of the continued financial donations from our supporters, children at Kayole North no longer face the risk of starvation. At the beginning of the year, SOC set out to expand the organization’s feeding program by committing to avail breakfast and lunch to an additional 2000 students at Kayole North Primary School. The newly launched program wouldn’t have come at a better time. The economic impacts of the pandemic were felt all over the world and especially by poor families who had no savings to cater to basic needs during lockdowns. As one of the poorer communities in Kenya, Kayole faced the risk of starvation which resulted in some students leaving school entirely to look for food. Since the feeding program was introduced in the school, student attendance has stabilized significantly. Indeed, the availability […]

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Ellis’ Lighted Path

Rebecca MagireUncategorized

In 2007, Kenya experienced one of the worst post-election violence in the country’s history. Many lives were lost and many more destroyed. At the center of the chaos, children were separated from their families with some ending up on the streets. Among the many Kenyan families whose lives where forever changed, was the Liyala household. The economic consequences of the post-election violence left Mama Phoebe and her husband Liyala at crossroads. The loss of sources of income worsened the relationship between the couple and by 2009, domestic violence and poverty had taken a toll on Mama Phoebe who was forced to make a decision any mother would struggle with, giving up her children to live in a children home located in Kayole slums. Heartbroken, Ellis Liyala and his little brothers Maxwell Ouna and Nicolas Biboh left the rest of their family members to begin a new life with strangers who ultimately became family. Life at the home was comfortable as would be in a children home. However, the local authorities started to harass the owners of the home demanding illegal payouts which forced the founders to relocate the home to a rural town located on the Western side of the […]

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Nellah’s family – Kibingoti LIFT community, Sept 2018

Candace BarlowKibingoti, Lift

Nellah, who receives funding from our LIFT program in order to attend school, tragically lost her mother last year to lupus. After her mother’s death, Nellah’s father was unable to care any longer for his daughter and her two brothers. Their aunt fortunately took them in, and they now live with her family in rural Kibingoti. This large extended family of 7 – 3 adults and 4 children – lives in a 3-room home with mud walls and cement floors, in the countryside. They grow produce which helps to feed the family as well as to generate income, when the excess can be sold at local markets. When rains make the local dirt roads muddy, however, the produce unfortunately spoils before it can be brought to market. The gift of LIFT funds for Nellah’s school fees allows the family to send Nellah’s younger brothers to school, as well. They are very thankful for the support. Like any child, Nellah has dreams for her future. She loves studying math and English and wants to become a nurse when she is grown up. Her goal after becoming a nurse is to treat people in her own village. She also helps at home […]

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