Hard work and a heart for people pays off for a young woman in our WOVEN program

Loice at her internship

 Hello, my name is Loice Makari Oloo aged 23 years old. Thank you so much for granting me this opportunity to tell you my story. I grew up as an orphan under my uncle’s guidance. I am the only child in my family. Though my uncle has a family of three children who I comfortably consider as my younger siblings, he really struggled hard as a casual worker to ensure that I successfully completed my primary education in 2016, where I scored 353 marks out of 500 marks.  After my exemplary KCPE results, the school Deputy Headmaster got me a chance to join the late Mama Priscah Atieno Oulo’s Orphanage. Honestly she was my powerful guardian who really nurtured me to be a lady of integrity up to now. It was through this Orphanage that I got the opportunity to be picked by LUH for WOVEN sponsorship in 2020, having attained a mean grade of C plain with 45 points.  I am a student at Kenya Utalii College and I am pursuing a course in Hospitality Management, specializing in Food, Beverage Service and Sales. I find the course very interesting because I like interacting with different people while collaborating with […]

From loss to opportunity, Molly’s Story

 Molly Akinyi is an orphan born in Bondo Municipality of Siaya County.  She is the second born in a family of two.  Their father and mother died when they were in their lower Primary School.  After the death of their mother, the girls were adopted by their aunt who lives in Umoja 3 estate of Nairobi. For now she sells rolled fried pancakes (chapati) in the estate. Life is not easy for the aunt as a single mother with 3 children and 2 adopted nieces. The family relies on porridge in the morning and a simple lunch of corn meal and kale or cabbage. It was joyful for Molly and the aunt to receive news in January 2020 about an organization looking for orphans who have scored a mean grade of B and from deserving homes.  She was well known in the village and the chief identified her immediately.  Light Up Hope gave her a full scholarship where she was enrolled in Mbitini Girls High school.  This was news no one could believe.   She is happy that from the time she joined the program, Molly has never missed school.  She attends from the first to the closing day.  She has […]

Dear Tuungane Community Foundation,

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 […]

All Rounded Beneficiaries

To lead a successful life, any individual needs to learn the art of balance. Indeed, while the focus is encouraged in achieving life goals, one needs an outlet. It is with this approach that we at Light Up Hope encourage our beneficiaries to not only do well in class but also in sports, clubs, and businesses. This month, we highlight the achievements of two of our beneficiaries. Lilian Mumanyi is a student at Kenyatta University taking a degree in Aerospace Engineering. As one of four ladies in her class, she constantly proves herself by recording astronomical grades in all her exams. Indeed, when she first joined the university, she was not sure how well she would do in this field because of how rare it is for ladies in Kenya to take up courses in the STEM departments. However, after att and assurance from the organization that we would avail all the necessary resources and support she needs to succeed in her studies, Lilian was delighted to go forth and courageously chase her dreams of one day working in the aerospace industry. ‘‘Aerospace Engineering is a relatively new course in Kenya and one of the toughest lines of studying. Nevertheless, […]