Greetings from Mathare North!
Warm Christian greetings to you dear friend from the Mathare North Center. It’s a joy to have this opportunity to share with you some of the highlights during the first term of 2024. We trust and pray that you are all kept safe in the Lord. You are always in our thoughts and prayers.
Selina Gathura
Head Teacher, Mathare North
Flood Update:
Since this Community Update was written before the extreme rain and flooding took place in Kenya, we want to provide a quick update.
Although we recently experienced heavy rains and flooding, we are thankful to report that our center was not damaged. Unfortunately, however, a few of our students and their families were directly affected by the flooding. We are connecting with them to provide support.
If you'd like to donate to MOHI's flood relief efforts, you can donate here.
Hope Transforms: A Success Story
Meet Fiona*, a 13-year-old Grade 6 student at Mathare North Center, whose journey to education wasn't an easy one. Coming from a family of three children, with an unstable dynamic due to her mother's struggles with alcoholism.
Her father, unable to cope with her mother's addiction, made the difficult decision to leave, leaving Fiona and her siblings in their mother's care. This left Fiona's older brother with the heavy burden of dropping out of school to take on odd jobs, including working as a garbage collector, just to make ends meet for the family.
Due to all of this, Fioona was recruited into our Mathare North Center, once a MOHI social worker found out about her and her family. Though Fiona has been admitted into school her attendance was inconsistent. Often due to her responsibilities at home, caring for her mother or younger brother. Eventually, the situation became untenable, and Fiona made the difficult choice to move in with her aunt when her mother relocated to the countryside with her younger brother, who was not yet of school age.
However, the new arrangement with her aunt was far from ideal, leading to further family discord. As a result, Fiona found herself once again uprooted, this time to the countryside. Throughout this tumultuous period, Fiona's social worker remained a constant presence, diligently monitoring her situation, as they tried to find a solution.
After careful consideration and consultation with the head teacher, it was decided that transferring Fiona to our Joska Center, which is a boarding school, would provide her with the stability and support she needed to focus on her studies. But convincing Fiona's family, especially her mother, was no easy feat. Thankfully, Fiona's father proved more receptive to the social worker's advice.
After heartfelt discussions, Fiona's father agreed to intervene, recognizing the importance of his daughter's education. Together, they made arrangements for Fiona to enroll in boarding school, ensuring she would have everything she needed to thrive academically and personally.
On the 7th of February 2024, accompanied by her father and social worker, Fiona embarked on a new chapter of her life at the Joska Center. It was a bittersweet moment, filled with both apprehension and hope for the future.
Since her move, Fiona has flourished in an environment where she receives the love, support, and resources necessary to succeed. With the foundation laid at the Joska Center, Fiona's future is brighter than ever before, a testament to her resilience and the transformative power of education.
*Name changed for privacy