--Mercy Wanjiru is a 15 year old girl who grew up in Kibera. Please see photo to the right. Her family had to flee for their lives during the riots and they lost everything. Now they live in Riruta.
We are really in need of a sponsor for Mercy. If you want to help this hard-working and responsible young woman to have a chance at a brighter future, please contact me at dmitchell@lahash.net
Mercy's father has serious health problems, and right now is almost paralyzed from a stroke. He's only recently regained the ability to speak. Her mother is only able to work odd jobs for very little money.
Mercy's parents are of the Gorino faith, a Christian denomination that believes men and women should keep their heads covered and does not sanction family planning. There are 8 children in the family. Mercy has 3 older sisters, none of whom has gotten past 8th grade.
When I visited Mercy in January, school had not yet started. She was supposed to begin the 8th grade at a public school in Riruta. The public school is supposedly free, but in fact charges many backdoor and hidden fees. We knew in January her family had not paid these fees, but did not expect the school to refuse to allow Mercy to rejoin when school began.
When I checked back with Mama Margaret in February, she told me that Mercy was not allowed to go back to school until she paid all the fees (less than $50, but way more than her family could afford). She also told me that Mercy's family was on the verge of being kicked out of their tiny home in the slums because they were behind on their rent (about $25 per month). Keep in mind there are 5 children (the 3 oldest have moved away) and 2 adults living in a tiny residence of iron sheet, that becomes hot as an oven during the day and can get quite cold at night. Here's a video of the approach to Mercy's home (Mercy is walking on the right):
Without intervention, Mercy's education was over and done with, completing only up to the seventh grade level. Even if she did return, the education she would receive was very low quality, especially a girl like Mercy who was way behind to begin with.
Why was she behind? Because she didn't receive the preparation a school like Tenderfeet provides. When she began public schools in Kibera in first grade, she could barely understand what the teacher was telling her (and the other 90 students in the class).
Mercy was expected to know basic English, the alphabet, basic arithmetic, and have a foundation of simple reading and writing. She had none of that because her family was too poor to send her to pre-primary. In primary school, there was no individual attention, and so she was confused from day one.
She never caught up and was forced to miss school for long periods of time because her family got behind on the fees. Here is Margaret at Mercy's home explaining "free" education in Kenya.
If Mercy missed the introduction of a topic, it was never reviewed or explained to her. So she attended school for 7 years like that, never comfortable with what she was learning because she had so many gaps. If she had attended Tenderfeet, which didn't yet exist when she was young, she would have been ready and could have even excelled.
So when it looked like Mercy's education was at an end in February, it was just another sad chapter in a tragic and pathetic experience. We decided to intervene and try to turn things around for this mature young person. She was evaluated by Bensesa primary school, a school that Tenderfeet partners with for children that have moved to the next level beyond Tenderfeet. The results confirmed our fears -- she was assessed to be at a 4th grade level.
We have decided to enroll her at Bensesa at the 8th grade level, but supplement her learning with large amounts of personal tutoring. Because she has a great attitude and work ethic, we expect her to make a lot of progress. Already, Mama Margaret is encouraged to see Mercy smiling and is so happy to have this opportunity. Mercy has explained the difference between the public school and Bensesa, and it is like night and day.
Margaret's niece Faith (an orphan who began living with Margaret last year) was very much like Mercy and received the same kind of catch-up tutoring. Faith was able to progress enough that she qualified for high school, and that is what we are hoping will happen for Mercy as well.
If you would like to partner with us to help Mercy, please become a sponsor and change this girl's future forever in a very positive way. We need about $40 per month -- which is very reasonable in Kenya considering the tutoring and education she is getting -- to pay for all of her educational expenses. If we could find two sponsors willing to donate $20 per month each, that would be great, too!
The email address again is dmitchell@lahash.net
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