1. Sprewell  Omondi (Rangala Boys primary school)

Sprewell was in class four in the above school in 2013. He is an average child who competes a lot the elder sister who is in class six. His parents have managed to keep all the four children in school. Through the support of one child and business development support, Sprewell’s mother has improved the quality of life of her family. Children are able to attend better schools, have better diet and access moderate healthcare services.  When he joined the project, he was in one of the schools in Nairobi with high students’ population but was later transferred to a better school after joining the project. All other siblings are in the same school as Sprewell.

His mother, Naomi continues to improve her business by diversifying her products. She is a beneficiary of business skills training, advice and credit which has greatly sharpened her business skills and enabled her to expand her business. His father is a casual labourer within the industries in Nairobi. These jobs are not regular and sometimes he may go for weeks without any job. Naomi is a beneficiary of the revolving loan fund in SEED Trust and pays her loan well. This has increased their family income to about Kshs. 20,000 per month.

2. June Felix Oseyo(St. Alloys FP academy)

June joined the project in 2010 in class two. He was in class five in 2013. A second born in a family of four, they live in one of the slums in the eastern part of Nairobi called Mukuru. His mothers still operate small businesses within the estate while the father is a mechanic in the informal sector in Nairobi. The mother sells different products during different periods depending on what is on demand. E.g fruits, vegetables and second hand clothes. The mother is a beneficiary of the micro credit and pays her loans very well. June’s parents both struggle to fend for the children in whichever way they can. Apart from the regular engagement, the father gets part time jobs to improve family earnings. This he does by identifying individual vehicle owners and repairing their vehicles at a place of their choice. Their average family income is kshs.18,500 per month.

3. Mitchell Akumu (Kwoyo Kowe Primary school)

Mitchell is another child taken into the project in 2010. She was in class six in 2013 and is struggling despite the health and economic challenges in their family. The father passed on in 2013 and now they are left with an ailing mother making the situation more complicated. She comes from a family of three with parents who have been HIV positive which led to the demise of her father. Her mother still operate small businesses to fend for the family. Like many other micro entrepreneurs the businesses change depending on what is in demand. The unsold stock of foodstuff is not wasted but used to supplement food for the family in addition to the mothers’ allowance. Their average family income is kshs.10, 000 per month.

 4.      Kate Akinyi (St. Teresa’s Girls Primary School):

Kate was in class seven in the same school in 2013. Her performance is still above average as she moves to class eight; the final class in primary education. Her performance has been consistently positive and this is a good sign. The grades can be seen in the performance table in exel part of the report. Kate’s mother still operate small businesses among them vegetables and fruits, charcoal, paraffin, dry fish, second hand cloths and sometimes she supplies cooked food in construction sites. These are businesses she operates at different times depending on the demand for the commodities. She has been getting business loans from the credit fund to develop her businesses. This has improved the performance of her businesses and increased her income to kshs.19, 000 per month. The unsold stock of foodstuff which would otherwise go to waste is used by the family and this reduces family expenses on food.

 5.      Kelly Francis Otieno (Unity Primary School):

Kelly was in class eight in the above school in 2013. A second born in a family of three, Kelly’s performance at school has always been above average. He sat for the KCSE exams 2013 and scored 316 marks out of a possible 500. He then joined form one in 2014. His mother still operates a wide range of businesses based on what is viable at different times. These businesses include vegetables second hand cloths and general accessories commonly referred to as ‘malimali’. The father is not in any regular employment and does small jobs which come his way such as carrying luggage in factories just like many other Kenyan job seekers do.  

Kelly’s mother is a very aggressive entrepreneur who is always on the lookout for business opportunities to undertake. Her monthly average income has improved to kshs.20, 000. This together with the monthly allowance of kshs.2, 500 has enabled the family to lead a better life.   The unsold foodstuff is used to supplement household food. The father also contributes whenever he finds a job to do.

 6.      Brian Emmanuel Okoth (Ngiya mixed primary school)

Brian Emmanuel Okoth joined the project in September/2013 replacing David Kamau. He was a very promising child but was facing the end of education after standard eight. He is a fourth born in a family of six and all the first three children stopped schooling after class eight though they had passed very well. He joined a National school i.e Nairobi school in 2014 after scoring 374marks. His mother sells vegetables and fruits for their daily livelihood. Her average income from these businesses is kshs.10, 000 per month. The father is a casual laborer and occasionally finds small jobs in the city’s industrial area. The job is not regular and this means he has to go without employment sometimes. The older children often help their mother in the business and household chores. His mother plans to give them some skills in the informal sector once the business picks up. The younger children are in school too. At least his mother struggles to ensure that every child can read and write. His progress reports are attached to the report.

 7.      Felix Olam (Ndere Boys Primary school)

Felix also joined the project in 2013 when he replaced Michael Magambo who was lucky to get a bursary for University education. A fifth born in a family of six, he is promising despite the difficulties in the family. He managed to score 346 marks out of a possible five hundred. None of his brothers or sisters has ever scored over three hundred marks and this was a reason enough to nature his ability. In his family, only one child went to secondary school but did not complete due to financial constraints. He joined a provincial school in 2014. Felix’s mother sells vegetables and fruits for their daily livelihood. Her average income from these businesses is kshs.13, 000 per month. The father is a casual laborer and occasionally finds small jobs in the city’s industrial area. The job is not regular and this means he has to go without employment sometimes. The older children often help their mother in the business and household chores. His mother plans to give them some skills in the informal sector once the business picks up. The younger children are in school too. At least his mother struggles to ensure that every child can read and write. His progress reports are attached to the report.

  8.      Brian Irungu Migwi (Unity Primary school)

Brian Irungu is another child who has been in the waiting list for some time. He joined the project in 2013 replacing Monica Odongo who completed her nursing course. A second born in a family of three, Brian is equally  very promising and is likely to do well in academics. He scored three hundred and eighty marks out of a possible five hundred and joined a very good school in central Province. His mother sells second cloths for a living making it extremely difficult to give a child secondary education.  Her average income from these businesses is kshs.15, 000 per month. The father is not employed and sometimes helps his mother to sell clothes. Their plan is to diversify and expand the business so that they can improve their income.

9.      Brian Okoth (Apwoyo Secondary school)

 Brian joined form one in the above school in 2013. His performance during the year was generally fair. Discussions have been held with his mother regarding his performance. He was told to perform or risk discontinuation like it happened to his sister Quintor. Brian and the other siblings live in Mathare where his mother runs a vegetable selling business.Their average monthly income from the business is kshs. 12,000. Brian and their other siblings live under difficult circumstances and this could be one of the reasons for poor performance. We however continue to encourage him to work harder.

10.      Mary Njeri (Rarakwa secondary school):

Mary is another student who is struggling to push through with her education. A first born in a family of three, she is one student who is struggling so hard to perform at school though she has challenges. We continue urging her to work hard so that she can improve her grades. Her family lives in Mathare valley where they operate different businesses.

11.      Mary Wambui (Kangaru Girls’ school):

Mary was in form two in the above school in 2013. This is one of the most performing schools and Mary had a big challenge coping with the standards. She could score over 300 marks out of a possible 800 but was still in the last three positions. This was frustrating for her and her mother transferred her to another school in 2014. Apparently she had been asked to repeat form two with over three hundred marks and she opted to join another school. Her mother still run a knitting business which is located in a city council market within Nairobi. She is also running a poultry business which she relocated to a wider space in the outskirts of Nairobi. Income from these activities supports her family and provides school fees for her other children. Average income for the family is kshs.22, 000 per month which is proof that Mary’s mother has been making good use of the loan fund at her disposal to improve her business. Whenever she gets tenders to supply sweaters to schools, she often asks for a short term working capital which she pays within a short time.

 12.      Martin Musyoki (Mbiini Secondary School)

Martin joined form two in the above school in 2013. He is very lucky to have found this chance to pursue education. Being an orphan living with an aunt who can barely afford to take her children to school, sending Martin to secondary school would have been a tall order. The auntie is employed in the informal sector as a dressmaker now paid on piece rate with an average monthly income of kshs. 8,500. She has her own two children and they all live together in one of Nairobi’s semi slums. The aunt is yet to decide whether and when to start her own business.

13.      Laureen Moraa(Ngara Girls Sec. school)

Laureen was in form two in the above school in 2013. Ngara is one of the good schools in Nairobi and competition is high. This is one of the challenges Laureen is facing. Her mother runs a small hairdressing business and most of the customers come to her house for hair do. The mother is quite skilled in hair dressing which she does at home and sometimes when she is called upon by those who own hair dressing and beauty salons. Occasionally she gets small jobs in industrial area as well. She combines income from the different activities for their upkeep. Average income in the family is kshs. 15, 000 per month. This, together with monthly allowance of kshs.2, 500 forms total family income.

 14.  Victoria Juma (Ngiya Girls’ Secondary school):

Victoria was in form three in the above school in 2013. This is a school which attained the National status due to its outstanding performance. Victoria is however still performing quite well despite the competition in the new school. She may not be among the top ten but her grades are impressive. The competition in this school is healthy and chances of one joining public university are high.

 Victoria’s mother is equally very hard working in her small business and has managed to keep the other brothers and sisters in school. She now makes an average income of kshs.20,, 000 per month which is as improvement. This together with the monthly allowance of kshs.2, 500 from the project plus the husband’s occasional income from casual labor constitutes the family income. The support for her daughter and the fact that she is doing well in school is reason enough for the family to work hard and offer their other children the opportunity to go to school.

15.  Nelly Akinyi ( Ngiya Girls Secondary School)

Nelly is a first born in a family of four. She proceeded to form three in the same school as Victoria in 2013. She is an average student and is likely to get good grades if she puts more effort in her studies. This we have discussed with her. Nelly’s mother operates a grains selling business for a living. The father is not on regular employment and occasionally gets casual jobs within Nairobi. Nelly’s mother now makes an average of kshs.20,000 per month from the business. Her income has improved in the recent past like many other mothers in the programme. This has been facilitated by loans which they easily access from SEED Trust at the right time to boost their businesses. It is unlike loans from mainstream microfinance institutions which takes longer time to be processed and sometimes comes too late to rescue the business. Nelly’s mother has been able to educate her other children who are still in Primary school since main burden of secondary school has been carried by the project.

16.  Crispin Owino (Barding  Secondary School)

 Crispine proceeded to form three in the above school in 2013. A first born in a family of four and a deceased father, he has to double his effort in education. Crispin’s grades have been improving as years go by; see the performance table in exel. His mother also had to double her effort in doing business to cater for the four children. She sells grains, vegetables and sometimes second hand cloths. Her average income for the family is now kshs.18,000 per month. This income has been consistently growing due to support from SEED Trust loan fund and business skills training. 

17.  Robert Oscar (Agoro Sare Secondary School)

Robert proceeded to form three in the above school in 2013. He is a last born in a family of four. The other older siblings did not pursue education to higher levels due to financial constraints. His mother runs a business in second hand cloths and also does hair dressing. The father does panel beating in the informal sector and together they join hands to bring up the family. Family average income is now kshs.20, 000 per month; both from the business and occasional wages paid to the husband.

Robert’s mother is another beneficiary of the micro credit facility offered by SEED Trust and has greatly improved her business performance. She gets business loans and pays promptly enabling her to access repeat loans.

18.    Lilian Oyuga (Nyakach Girls’ Secondary school)

Lilian joined form three in the above school in 2013. She is an average student too. She is a last born in a family of eight and none of the older brothers and sisters have been able to join secondary school. Lillian was going to face the same predicament and this was why the project gave her a chance to get higher education. They live in Mathare with their mother who is a widow. A part from the brothers and sisters, there are three grandchildren still under the care of her mother. Lillian’s mother operates small businesses which include vegetables, dry fish and sometimes second hand cloths. These are businesses she has been running from the time she got married in the early seventies. The average income from these activities is now kshs.16, 000 per month.

19.  George Ochieng (Hono Secondary School):

George joined form three in the above school in 2013. His performance has not been so outstanding and many a times we have held discussions with him and his step mother .He is another child who has been brought up without a mother following her demise several years ago. His father later passed on in 2011 and he now lives with a step mother. Life may be very tough for George but we can only encourage him and hope that he will be able to complete his education.

 George’s step mother runs small businesses as a source of livelihood. She has her own five children to take care of with an average income that has slightly improved to kshs.15,00 per month and additional monthly allowance of kshs.2, 500 from the school kids project.

20.  Ann Wambui (Gitugi Girls High School)

  Ann joined form three in the above school in 2013 following a transfer from her previous school. She has been struggling to work on her grades for some time now and we hope she will get good grades. Her mother still runs different businesses including bag making in Nairobi. The father is unemployed but occasionally gets casual jobs to do. Anne’s brothers are also in school and their school fee is mainly paid from the proceeds of the business activities. Now that Ann is supported by the project, the parents have a slightly lesser burden to carry with regard to their children’s education. On average the family earns kshs.17, 000 per month and also gets the monthly allowance of kshs.2, 500. The mother is a beneficiary of the micro credit facility in the programme and is gradually growing her business through credit and business skills training.

21.  Loise Adhiambo (Mbaga Girls’ Secondary School)

Loise sat for the KCSE exams in 2013 and performed very well. She scored an A-minus and is aspiring to study engineering at the university. Loise has gone against all odds and proved that anyone can achieve her dream irrespective of where they come from. All one needs is to remain focused and work hard. She is a first born in a family of four. Her father passed on in December 2000 when they were quite young with a jobless mother who had also dropped out of school after class eight. Their mother has since brought them up single handedly. Since then she has been taking care of her children by running small businesses. Loise managed to join form one through the support from the local church since she had done very well in KCPE. She had scored 371 marks out of a possible 500. They had hoped to get a bursary from the Government but this did not work out and she faced discontinuation. This is why the project came to her aid.

She has great potential in academics and with this kind of support, the sky is the limit. Her mother sells cloths and hairdressing for a livelihood and makes an average of kshs.18,000 per month.

22. Michael Magambo: (Sawagongo High School):

Michael got a bursary for his university education in 2013. He was an average student who had always been encouraged to work hard. He eventually got a B-plus and was lucky to get a bursary. He however remains great full for the project who raised him up to the level where someone else took over. His place was taken by another needy child

23. Brian Juma (Sawagongo High school)

Brian also joined the above university in 2013 after scoring a B-plain in KCSE in 2012. He is a first born in a family of four and has been an average student. His mother is quite hopeful that God willing Brian may soon assist her in educating other children. She still sell vegetables, fruits and sometimes second hand cloths for their livelihood. Her average income from these businesses is kshs.16, 000 per month. She is a beneficiary of the micro credit in the programme and has greatly improved her business. The father is a casual laborer who occasionally finds small jobs in the city’s industrial area and earns about Kshs.8, 000 per month. The job is not regular and this means he has to go without employment sometimes. The other children are in school too and they all live together in one of the informal settlement areas called Kyambio in the eastern part of Nairobi. It is very clear that Brian and his brothers and sisters would not have gone this far with their education were it not for the Project’s intervention. Taking Brian into the project created the opportunity for the parents to concentrate on the other children who are equally pursuing their education.

 24.  Charity Wathira (Icaciri Secondary School)

Charity was in form three in the above school in 2013. A fourth born in a family of five, she and her other siblings live with their grandmother who is over eighty years old. The grandmother is a vegetable vendor in one of the slums in Nairobi and makes on average of kshs.12, 000 per month. Most of Charity’s brothers and sisters did not go beyond primary level due to lack of school fees. Apart from one brother who was lucky and got scholarship for his education, the rest did not get a chance. Charity is a hard working student and her performance is promising. It was due to her exemplary performance that the church and well wishers contributed money to take her to form one. But that was about all and chances of getting continued support were quite unlikely. This is why the project came to her aid in good time.

 

25. Brenda Osoo (Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and technology)

Brenda is taking a Bachelor of commerce course at the above University. She is steadfast and is currently doing her second year. Her grades are equally good Brenda’s mother still operates small businesses while the father does casual jobs. These include vegetable selling, dry grains second hand cloths and sometimes dry fish. Her average income from the business is now kshs.18, 000 per month thanks to the loans from SEED Trust. It is supplemented with the monthly allowance of kshs.2, 500. Most of the time she puts the monthly allowance into working capital to boost her business. She also has improved her business and has good repayment records. Her business keeps growing as she introduces different products in her business.

26. Paul Opano (Kisumu Technical Institute):

Paul started the year well and went for internship for four months in 2012. Towards the end of that year he joined wrong company  and was suspended. This was later brought to our attention and we gave him time to reform. He did not follow up and effort to follow him up was not successful. We therefore discontinued his case in 2013

 David Mwangi (Nairobi Technical College):

David completed his diploma in mechanical engineering in 2013. Born in a family of four, both parents are alive but do not have regular income and therefore run small businesses for survival. They change businesses depending on which business is doing well at any given time just like many other micro entrepreneurs. Sometimes it is vegetables; other times cloths and second hand shoes and at times retail shop. Average income from the businesses per month is kshs.18,000. David’s other siblings are also in school as their parents struggle to pay their fees. David hopes to get employment so that he can support his sisters and brother. We keep empowering the parents in their respective economic activities so that all the children can get a chance in life.  Her mother Naomi is a beneficiary of the micro credit and pays back her loans very well.

28. Rosemary Wambui (MTC) – Embu Medical Training college:

 Rosemary is going on well with her studies in nursing; a very outgoing girl and a performer. This was a God sent opportunity which came after she had almost lost hope having sat for the Kenya certificate of secondary education in 2008. This means she was out in the cold for two years before the project came to her aid. A first born in a family of four she hopes to support their younger siblings once she completes training and gets a job.

Wambui’s mother runs a vegetable selling business and sometimes gets second hand clothes and re-sells. The father is a casual laborer who does any manual work that comes his way to supplement family income.  Occasionally he gets jobs in the construction sites. The average income earned in this family from all the activities is still Kshs.20, 000.This is what they use to

Monica Odongo (MTC) – Kakamega

Monica completed her nursing course in 2013 and is awaiting results. A fourth born in a family of eight, she was born in1990 and sat for the Kenya certificate of secondary education in 2007 but could not continue with her education due to financial constraints. The family is quite large and that was the furthest her family could assist her with the help of a few well wishers. In fact she had been assisted through the CDF (Constituency development fund) since she had performed well in the KCPE and had a relative to follow things up. Such facilities are not easy to access unless one has an insider to do the follow up. Monica’s father Daniel still does casual jobs which are on and off in the industries within Nairobi while her mother; Syprine is a vegetable vendor. Her average monthly income from the sale of vegetables is kshs. 15,000. This together with her husband’s income of kshs.10, 000 is what they pool together to meet family obligations. Due to the apparent financial constraints, Monica could not join college to further her education until the project came to her aid. She is now a proud nurse in her family.