Mercy's Story
I am Mercy Achieng and I am 20 years old. I am a Luo girl from the Bondo district. I used to live at Dandora Estate in Nairobi with my parents - my father being the breadwinner, whilst my mum looked after us.
My father used to suffer from asthma. One day his condition worsened and he was rushed to the hospital where he was admitted. The following day, my mother went to visit him and she found that he was already dead. His body was taken up country for burial and this led to us moving there.
My mother had no source of income and my father's savings were used to clear the hospital and funeral bills. Life became so difficult for us that my mum could not make ends meet. I had to drop out of school because the costs could no longer be met.
My mother left us up country in the care of my grandmother, to see if she could get a job in Nairobi. We struggled with my grandmother to feed my brothers and sisters. She would go to the town and leave me to care for my family, and at the end of the day she could come back with something to eat. This meant that we were only getting one meal a day - lunch and breakfast were history to us. And this went on for 2 years.
In 1998 my mother came for us. We went back to school and my mother ran a kiosk selling fruit and vegetables. She was assisted by one of her cousins to open it and life became a little bit better.
The business was doing well, but after few years my mother became sick. Even though she was sick she would really struggle not to show that she was sick. In 2001, when I was in class 7, her situation worsened and she was always in and out of the hospital for almost one year.
My mum came back home from the hospital but she was still very ill, so I had to take care of her duties - going to the market to add stock for the kiosk and this meant that sometimes I could not even go to school.
When KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) enrolment came up, we could not pay for it. I tried selling groundnut, but it didn't work. I tried begging money from relatives, but none of them could help. Luckily a good friend of my mum helped me to enrol eventually. At the same time my mum was very sick to the extent that she could do nothing apart from stay in bed because of her pain. Most of the time I had to stay at home to look after her, and at the same time maintain the kiosk.
I managed to do my exams, then after three months my mother passed away. Life was so difficult for us that as the eldest child I did not know what to do, but luckily an uncle came to our rescue and we got shelter and food. My brothers and sisters went back to school but I did not go. My uncle could not afford to take me to school, so I had to remain at home and do the house work. I felt so frustrated that I always asked God why I had to go through all this. I felt hopeless and I knew I was now finished and did not have any future. I grew so thin because of thinking so much. One time I even thought of committing suicide as my uncle really hated me. He kept telling me to marry someone because I was wasting his food.
But one day my prayers were answered. Another uncle of mine came and told me he had found a school for me and I would go the following day. It was 22nd of Jan 2004 when I joined Seed of Hope - a day I won't forget. Here I found people who were so loving, and though I would never forget my parents, I found joy and happiness, and my life changed.
Seed of Hope has given me a bright future and I am now studying in secondary school to further my education. I now have a postive future, and I hope that I can attend university so that one day I can become a fashion designer.