Natasha joined Achungo in 2006 for her 2nd grade. Before that she had attended Rodi Primary. Her brother Nick was already at Achungo and her mother brought Natasha to Achungo to get better teaching. She told us it was the best day of her life. At Rodi Primary she says there were too few teachers and not a lot of instruction happening. They had to sit on the floor in the classrooms and were sent home at lunch time (i.e., not given any food). “At Achungo there are more teachers, they come to class every day, they teach well, there is food and we are well-taken care of and get to go on field trips. There are desks and lockers and even cupboards.”
Natasha’s mother lives at Kodera (about 15 miles away) and has no job, but the family survives from what they can grow in their garden. Her father died when she was 3. She has eight siblings: Lillian, Maurine, Belinda, Sadam, Nick, Eddie, Fidel and Valary. The youngest live with her mother. The oldest live in Meru (central Kenya, about 8-hour’s drive).
Natasha likes to play and jump, play soccer, and to sing and dance. At Achungo she enjoys the many fun sports and games and the good teachers. She wants to do well on the KCPE so she can go to a good high school and eventually become a banker (“because they make more money”). On weekends she likes to read and “learn more about the things we are taught so I can go to a good school.” On holidays, she goes home and helps her mother with washing, gardening, cleaning, and other chores and goes to SDA (Seventh Day Adventist) church with her family.
“Tell people at home to pray for me so I can go to University and also pray for my friends.”