I was brought up by foster parents after mum and dad passed on. This was the toughest period of my life because I was still schooling. My mom came from a very wealthy background, I must say, but after her demise, all my relatives turned their backs on us (my sister and I).

I was about to drop out of school in form two due to lack of school fees when I recalled a friend who had helped me one day when my aunty had chased me from her house for reasons best known to her. On that day, the school wanted arrears cleared yet there was no money. The first term fees was already too much for me to clear before I could continue learning.

When I saw no forthcoming help, I asked a friend to help me with her phone so that I could call for help. I called my friend who happened to be a teacher. When he picked up my call, he was surprised because being a teacher, he expected me to be in school. I explained to him why I wasn’t in school. He sympathized with me and decided to help.

I had to go and stay with him coz the school was far from Kisumu. I agreed. After all, I was also fighting for a better future. The following week I was admitted to my new school which I very much loved. It was a public school located a stone’s throw away from where was now my new home. There, I met new friends within a short time, “nikazoea life.” I didn’t take long for me to become the woman of the house. This happened shortly after the end of my first term in school. He had a disagreement with the wife and she packed and left. We remained the two of us in the house. That put me in an awkward position. It was not easy for me but I had to vumilia as the saying goes mvumilivu hula mbivu.

I really went through a lot of shit but never gave up as long as he was paying my fees. When the day came, I sat for my KCSE and when my results came, I was pleased. I am now a teacher like him but I swore never to marry him. As for now, I’m moving on with my life.

I wish that there are still men out there who can help you as big brothers without asking for ‘that something’ in return.

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