Sarah is 15 and has been attending Achungo (Rodi) for 4 years. She lives nearby with her grandmother and 6 siblings. Prior to Achungo, she attended Ndiru Primary. She says, “Achungo is different because there are no school fees and I like the performance (academic excellence).”
She likes that “we sleep here, don’t have to pay for water, and have a balanced diet.” The public schools charge a variety of fees and don’t offer food, making it very hard for the extreme poor to finish school. Like Sarah, all our upper class girls really appreciate being able to board on-campus. When they go home, they have no chance to study but are responsible for endless chores. Once they are on campus with electric lights to study by, we find their scores immediately improving,.
Sarah’s favorite subject is Science (“It’s easy,” she says.) and she enjoys discussing Science with friends. She wants to become a scientist.