Kenya

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

kellyUncategorized
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 […]

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From loss to opportunity, Molly’s Story

kellyUncategorized

 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 […]

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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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