My Story: Teen Pregnancy

I am 20 years old. I am a first born in a family of six. We all live in the Lindi Village of Kibera, with both parents and my six-year-old daughter. My siblings are all in school and my mother is a housewife. My father, the sole breadwinner for the family works with a security firm as a guard in industrial area in the outskirts of the city.

It was not my intention to get pregnant that early, but I had a boyfriend who was also my neighbour. He gave me money to cater for my needs like pads, lotion, and toiletries, and he would even buy food for my family at times. When I got pregnant, my parents wanted to know who was responsible so that he could take accountability for our daughter, but he denied responsibility and moved to another house without telling me where he was.

My parents suggested I procure an abortion because they could hardly provide for the entire family and this was an extra burden to them, but we could not afford the abortion money, so I had to carry the pregnancy out through delivery.

I decided to work as a laundress in a nearby estate along with other women in the community, so that I could earn some savings, which could help me support my child and myself, and earn money to open a sukuma wiki (vegetable) kiosk.

After some few months I started operating the kiosk, which provided well for my family and me until I delivered a baby girl. A year later, I applied to join a nearby secondary school and through my savings from selling the sukuma wiki, I paid for a whole year.

I knew that I would have difficulties in the second year, so I applied for a government scholarship to finance the remaining three years. Due to good performance, I got the scholarship, which provided for the rest of my secondary education. I did very well and attained good grades that would enable me to join a public university in Kenya. However, I might not be able to achieve my dream of becoming a nurse because my family and I cannot afford fees for my university.

I am currently volunteering with ICA as a mentor empowering girls in life skills, reproductive health and financial education. It is my hope that they will be able to make informed decisions and choices for better lives in this community.

My Story: Life in Kibera

I moved to Kibera in 2000 after my father resigned from his job, and at first life was not easy because of the new Kibera environment that I was exposed to. Until then, I had been the kind of a person that would speak negatively about Kibera since it was a slum. I never imagined that such a time would come but I had to face reality.

Having been born and brought up in a secure area, with all social amenities available, the adjustment I had to go through was drastic. Waking up to a noisy neighbourhood with open drainages and sharing bathrooms was something I had to work hard to deal with.

I had to adapt to the environment, like being transferred from my primary school to join another school and making new friends. Life was not easy, but even with all the challenges, I managed to finish my primary school education and join a secondary school in the rural area for four years.

After my secondary education, I had to come back and apply for my college education. I stayed for two years without attending school, and during these years, life for me was difficult.

I had friends who exposed me to drugs like miraa and marijuana, and robbery life just to get fast money to buy clothing and shoes to be on the fashion trend.

After a year, I made the decision to have a better life, and got a sponsor who took me to school for computer studies for a year. Currently, I am at university studying Social Development. Life can still be challenging though. Sometimes I have to walk four kilometres (2.5 miles) to school or to Kibera at night, which can be dangerous, because I can’t afford the bus, and school fees are still an issue. Above all, life for me must continue despite its trials.