Cynthia is Steve Juma’s half sister. Their father’s 2 wives, their mothers, had different households, so after his death, they lived with different relatives and enrolled at Achungo at different times. Both had often been absent from school because they couldn’t pay public school costs. Like her brother, Cynthia’s favorite subjects are science and social studies but that’s where their similarities end.
Where Steve is a chatty extrovert, Cynthia is a soft-spoken introvert and where Steve is near the top of his class. Cynthia is struggling in Math, English and Swahili though she missed much less school than her brother. Luckily, the devoted teachers at Achungo are working with Cynthia to improve her grades and prepare for the national exams.
Cynthia’s struggle illustrates a common problem that Kenyan girls face when they attend day school and return home in the afternoon. Family expects them to do hours of chores—farming, hauling water, cooking and cleaning—leaving little time or energy for homework. And most homes have no electricity and so, no light to study after dark. Only one of six girls in the 8th grade is in the top half of the class.
Cynthia wants “to be a journalist for a TV station and marry a man who will have only one wife.”
Cynthia attends Moi Suba Girls Secondary School.