Tabitha Ongachi told Friends of Ngong Road President and Founder, Paula Meyer, that she “never thought she would graduate from Form 4.” She knew it was not affordable on her family’s little income. In December 2017, she did just that!
Tabitha has been sponsored by Jamie and Nancy Letcher since she joined the program in 2008 after her father died from AIDS. She and her mother were living with two of her aunts while struggling to make it in the slums of Nairobi. Her mother occasionally washed clothes for other families and sold odds and ends to get enough income for one meal a day.
Tabitha excelled in her primary school environment often performing at the top of her class. She was determined to do well and with a high score on her eighth-grade exam, she was accepted into one of the most prestigious secondary schools in Nairobi, Ngara Girls Secondary School. Although she was one of the few students coming from a background of extreme poverty at the school, she continued to perform well and made friends with students from all different backgrounds. In December 2017, Tabitha scored a B- on her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam. She dreams of becoming a forensic scientist and will be applying to university in the fall.
In December 2017, Tabitha was chosen to be a “Youth Peer Provider” for the new sexual and reproductive health program. Fourteen students were trained through Planned Parenthood Global and eight selected to lead the training for their peers. While applying to post-secondary schools, she has attended our computer training course and Life Skills program led by Megan and Evan Feige of Minneapolis, MN. The program will be expanded later this year thanks to a Rotary Global Grant with the South Metro Minneapolis Evenings Rotary Club and the Kikuyu Rotary Club of Nairobi. She is a respected leader among her peers and an inspiration to her two younger brothers.