Visiting BrightStar and Viriginia's Home

“Look around here,” Fred says to me as we pull up to Fuata Nyayo slum. “There are around 30,000 people who live in this one slum and there isn’t one public school.” There are community schools started by individuals to fill a need, but many don't have the facilities, quality of education and funding that a public, government funded, school has. The one government school nearby, which in fact is quite a ways away, only accepts maybe 200 students into their form one class per year. The other thousands of students are simply out of luck.

I met John, the principal of BrightStar Secondary School, a community school where six GEF leadership scholars attend. We crossed the metal bridge into the community to visit one of the scholar's home. We started walking deeper into the slum. There are plastic bags and piles of trash all around. I see several animals who run freely through the streets passing small children and their mothers. As we walked, I had a conversation with the principal of BrightStar Secondary School about his school and the challenges he faces but also about the opportunities he has to encourage and help shape the futures of the students who come through his school.

We eventually arrive to Virginia’s home. Hopping over puddles through an alley we arrive at a door and Virginia pushes it open. “Here is my home,” she says, finding the courage to expose her life in this way to me. I step inside the dark room and immediately get a new perspective and respect for our scholars. Virginia’s home would probably be the same size as a small Tuff shed in the US. It’s big enough to hold a twin size bed, a shelf of pots for cooking meals and space for two people to stand.

Virginia explains to me that her father hawks on the street to make money to support the family. The father sleeps in the bed while Virginia and her sister sleep on the floor. Being such a great sport and making light of the situation, Virginia grins and says, “I’m more comfortable boarding at school.” I give her a big hug and together we walk back to BrightStar talking about her life and how brave she is.