Teenager househelp seeks assistance to join secondary school

When Judy Nduta scored 324 marks in the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination, she was elated and hoped to join secondary school.

Nduta, who hails from Njathaini village in Gatundu North, Kiambu County, hoped to join a boarding school to further her studies with the ultimate hope of eradicating poverty in her family.

One year and six months down the line, Nduta, now in hopelessness, is yet to enrol in any secondary school institution due to financial constraints.

Having come from a financially deprived family, the young girl has been working as a maid in Thika town after months of doing menial jobs back in the village to earn a living.

“I opted to remain home and help mum with menial jobs whenever such are available but there was a time when I felt too much pain going to sleep hungry with my mother. I left for Thika where I have been working as a house help. My thirst for education is still there but in this state, my hope continues to diminish,” Nduta said.

Her family which lives in a borrowed single-roomed nearly empty house has been struggling to get food on a daily basis and in most cases, they are forced to sleep hungry.

Her mother, Jane Wanjiru (below), said while she wished to help her continue with her education, life has been extremely tough for her and raising her school fees and other necessities has been a daunting task.

Available jobs

Wanjiru who plucks tea at the local farms said life took another turn when she separated from her husband whom she had hoped would help her educate their children.

After they were ejected, the mother of four began to do the available jobs to sustain her family with the very basic needs of food and shelter.

Having failed to educate Nduta whom she described as the saviour of her family owing to her brightness and visionary, Wanjiru appealed to well-wishers who would be touched by her family’s predicament to help her daughter in any way so that she could continue with her studies.

Nduta pledges to work hard should she be given the opportunity to deliver her family out of poverty.