Edna Awuor Otieno

8th Grade Graduates of 2017 (Rodi)

Edna (14) has a beautiful voice and often leads the worship singing. She is unassuming and very helpful to her classmates. She is at the top of her class at Achungo.

Edna came to Achungo in 2013 entering fifth grade after 4 years at St. Anne’s primary, a public school, where, she says, “we were not being taught well compared to Achungo.”  She lost both parents about three years ago and has three sisters and three brothers, one of them in second grade at Achungo.  The family was quite poor and in the end didn’t have money for school fees or even some basic needs.  Since her parents’ death, her siblings moved into a hut with their uncle and his children.  He supports this large, extended family by doing housework around the village.

Edna says, “The best day of my life was the day when I came to Achungo.  I feel at home here.  Here I am fed and feel safe.  I have a place to sleep and a place where I can learn.”  She enjoys reading (“Pride and Prejudice” is a favorite), dancing and singing, and playing volleyball.  She goes to the Sunday services on campus (“Achungo Salvation Church”) with the other girls from the dorm.

“I study hard to achieve my goals.  I want to grow up to be an international journalist –I like news and writing and I like reading newspapers.”

Edna attends Moi Girls Secondary School.