DREAMS: Committing to School
In collaboration with PEPFAR and the JSI Research and Training Institute Inc. (JSI), CMMB has spent the last four years dedicated to DREAMS — Tusaidie Wasichana Waelmike (TWW), a program with the goal of addressing the major barriers that keep adolescent girls out of school through mentorship.
In Kenya, it is not uncommon for students to have to repeat a course because their family cannot afford to keep them in school for the duration of the entire class. This is what happened to Nambuya, whose story is shared below.
The name of this young girl has been replaced for child protection services.
Nambuya is the third born in her family of six. She lives with her mother and stepfather in a large slum on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Nambuya’s stepfather is a gardener and her mother is a domestic worker with a meager and inconsistent income. Finding enough food to eat and paying rent for their one-room house is a constant struggle.
At age 17, she is only in eighth grade due to a series of challenges including the lack of school fees. But, for Nambuya and so many girls like her, school fees aren’t the only barrier to staying in the classroom. Families sometimes opt out of educating their girls because of social norms and girls’ monthly periods (rather, the lack of sanitary pads) also stop girls from going to school.
These realities, have kept Nambuya from ever having the chance to finish the eighth grade.
The challenges for Nambuya and her family became so intense that she began to sell her body in order to make a small amount of money to help her family survive. “I was ashamed by it, but I didn’t know what else I could do.”
Nambuya explains, “Spending so many years repeating the same class over and over, made me feel stupid. I was one of the oldest students in my class. My schoolmates made fun of me, I did not enjoy school and home wasn’t any better. There were no solutions anywhere. I got myself into unhealthy relationships in exchange for money.”
A Meaningful Mentorship
When the DREAMS TWW Project was introduced in Nambuya’s school, she joined the club and began attending meetings. However, it wasn’t until the mentorship sessions began that Nambuya’s life began to turn around.
“The Mentorship program helped me change my attitude towards school and helped me understand how education could help me achieve a better future. I have also learned that learning has no age limit.”
Nambuya wants to be a musician and is actively involved in the church choir. She also loves football and she plays for her school team. She has gained self-confidence, knows her self-worth, and is able to say no to peer pressure or to those who want to take advantage of her.
Mr. Sakwa, one of the teachers at her school shared, “The mentorship program has really helped our girls change their lives.”
