She is graceful and her laughter lights up a room. 15 year old Grace Njeri* is among the over one million candidates sitting for their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams in the country. She is also among hundreds of children under the care of Koinonia Community.
Grace was admitted to Koinonia in 2009 when she was only 6 years old. Life at home had become unbearable after her father abandoned them and her mother became the sole bread winner. Life in the city became too costly and they were forced to relocate to the rural area. A few years after their relocation her mother passed on leaving her in the care of her grandmother. It was during this time that she found a new home at Anita Home, one of the Koinonia centers that cares for girls.
At Anita Home she met other girls who had been through difficult situations at home and / or in the streets. Njeri* has been improving academically over the years, reading from her grades. This has gone a long way in helping secure a well-wisher to cater for her education. As she sits for her KCPE she hopes to score highly and join a reputable high school. This is not the only thing that she is looking forward to, as she is among 15 Koinonia Community beneficiaries who will be reintegrated back to their families at the end of the year. This is not an easy journey for her or the other 14 teenagers. However the Families to Families project has been conducting workshops throughout the year to enable a smooth transition. The workshops have equipped the teenagers with skills and prepared them for the impending transition in their lives.
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Njeri’s dream is get into the hospitality industry where she can be of service to different people.