Dephy is a serious and highly focused student. She is organized and readily shares her books and supplies with fellow students. She told us that Achungo Director Michael found her on the street, “crying bitterly after my guardians had to take me out of school because they could no longer pay the fees. He listened to my story and then we went to my guardians. He sympathized with our life at home.” And he admitted her to Achungo, knowing that it would make every difference in her life.
She was living with her guardians and 2 brothers and three sisters in a hut with one room divided by a curtain. The little they have comes from selling the produce from their garden. “Our one daily meal consists of kale and ugali, if God is gracious. It was hard to sleep at night because we all slept on the same matt and there wasn’t even room to turn over.”
Prior to Achungo, when she was able to attend the public school, she had very little time for studying. It took a long time to walk home from school and then she had to spend most of her time doing chores around the home and in the garden.
Dephy came to Achungo in January 2016, joining 7th grade. She is ecstatic, “I am at one of the best schools in the district and even in the state, where the education is excellent. Being in this school makes me feel proud of myself. The most exciting part of it is that the children are very disciplined.” Her favorite classes are Language, Math and Science and she gets almost all A’s.
Dephy likes dancing and is a poet. She has written 8 poems and likes to teach her fellow students how to write poems. She wants to become a surgeon and help people to not die from injuries. She feels that if her mother had had better medical care she might not have died. She wants to “change Kenya to be a better place.” She wants to be a role model to young girls. She wants to help the poor by building orphanages and schools to help them. She says, “ I won’t neglect them because they have life dreams but can’t achieve them because of their circumstances.”
Dephy now attends Nyakach Girls Secondary School.