Even before Fatina was born, life had already dealt her a difficult hand. Her father abandoned her mother—a woman living with a disability—before Fatina took her first breath. “He didn’t want to be responsible for a child whose mother was disabled,” she says. “I grew up knowing rejection before I even knew the meaning of the word.”
Despite her disability, Fatina’s mother raised her with the little she had, giving love, strength, and hope in place of material comfort. Life was hard, but when Fatina’s grandmother took them in, things became more manageable. Her grandmother owned land, and together they cultivated food and earned a small income.
When her grandmother passed away, everything changed. The land and inheritance were left to Fatina’s mother, but relatives took most of it, leaving her with just one hectare. “Because of my mother’s condition, she couldn’t fight for what was rightfully hers,” Fatina explains. Without the security of the land, life became even harder.
Fatina had to drop out of school in Standard 1 to care for her mother, working on other people’s farms to earn food and money. At one point, her father reappeared and helped her return to school—but soon disappeared again, leaving them to struggle alone. She juggled school during the week with work on weekends until the end of primary school.
In June 2021, hope arrived unexpectedly. The village chairman told Fatina’s family about the Kijana Kwanza Goat Project, which supported vulnerable families by providing livestock loans. “It was like God had sent angels into my life,” she recalls. Their family received five goats, giving them a new source of income and stability.
A month later, when a Kijana Kwanza teacher came to check on Fatina’s family, they were shocked by the poor conditions in which they were living. They encouraged Fatina to apply for sponsorship for the Pre-Form 1 study programme. “It was the first time in a long time that I felt hopeful,” Fatina says. In September 2021, she was overjoyed to learn she had been accepted.
Joining Kijana Kwanza transformed her life. For the first time, Fatina had a safe bed to sleep in, enough food to eat, clean clothes, assurance to attend secondary school, and the care she had been missing for so long. “I finally had people looking after me like family—a matron who took me to the hospital when I was sick, teachers who supported me, and friends who became like siblings.”
Under Kijana Kwanza’s guidance, Fatina grew in every aspect of her life—spiritually, socially, academically, and personally. She improved in English and developed the confidence to speak in front of others. She made friends, gained valuable life skills like cooking, and found a passion for netball, where she now serves as Sports Leader, playing Goal Keep and Goal Shoot positions.
Today, Fatina is a Form 4 student at Reginald Mengi Secondary School, consistently achieving Division I (equivalent to Grade A*). She dreams of becoming a pharmacist and one day running her own pharmacy.
“If I hadn’t joined Kijana Kwanza,” she says, “I’d probably still be living in extreme poverty with children of my own by now, with only a primary school education. Kijana Kwanza gave me hope, protected me from early marriage, and gave me a purpose in life. I am so grateful, and I always pray for everyone who supports this organisation.”
