The Story of My Life

I have never had the thought that one day I would share my story with the world, but I guess by taking it out, I might encourage a young soul out there, a mother, father, brother, or sister somewhere.

I come from a family of six, with both parents alive, and I have two sisters and one brother. My father, who is a farmer, used to work somewhere in Kenya, and later, in 2014, he was retrenched, and my mother by then was a housewife. My elder sister was in secondary school in her final year, 2014. I was supposed to join secondary school the next year, 2015. My younger brother was still in primary school, and my other sister was already married. I remember life had already become difficult for us as a family. We had bills to pay and loans to pay, and even paying fees became a problem. I remember things becoming much harder the next year, which was in 2015, when I was supposed to join secondary school and there was no money to pay for my entrance fee. We had no money for books or my uniform. Luckily enough, someone who was and is still our family friend came out and bought me my school uniform and books, and I was so grateful to Allah and her, and I am still so, so grateful for the kind gesture that she showed me. I sometimes remember that day or that time, and I surely tell myself that Allah is indeed so amazing, and he comes at the right time. So the only problem that had remained was my entrance fee. That was all that mattered at that time, and one of my father's friends then advised us to have a fund drive for my fees, and by the grace of Allah, I got assistance from friends and family, and I joined secondary school. Though again, here I am; I have joined, but remember, I have to be in that school for four years, and the question that kept on coming into my mind was, "How will you pay your fees every term?" And I kept telling Allah, "Allah, I know I and my family don't have much, but I know you will provide." and sure i saw the hand of GoAllahd though its was difficult but Allah made it possible through out ,I remember that was when my mother started vending Ice cream by then we used to sell two shillings each and she used to struggle to sell at least at the end she goes home with five hundred shillings which was not guaranteed that she would sell that much it would depend with the weather if it's cold or rainy she was not in a position to sell anything and from this five hundred shillings she is supposed to save up at least one hundred per day so that come Monday i have five hundred bob that i can go pay at school and also from the remaining money she use for food and other things which was still was not enough a times we would go without food but we all as a family understood our situation and we had patience in life.I thank Allah for my parents, especially my mom. She stood for us until now as a great woman and mostly as a dependable mother. I can say my mom has that strength of a woman. Until today, she did odd jobs for us to put food on the table. She struggled every day for us. She left what she loved most for us. I believe we should always celebrate our mothers every day. I sometimes tell myself, if today my mother may not be around, where would I be, or what would I have become? And if today... I have seen so many families who have lost their mother that the family immediately starts to fall apart. Things now are not the way they used to be, and children even start choosing the wrong path. I celebrate my mother.

So we struggled until I finished my secondary school. Now going tocollege hase become another problem. I stayed home, not joining college for about four years since my elder sister was still incollege,e and I remember for her fees we had rented another house to one of her college tutors, of which that tutor would not pay us the rent, but instead he used to pay that money directly to my sister's school fees account atschool. .I looked for part-time jobs, which laterhelped meo save some money, which I used to earn. Then I joined college in mid-2013, and of course, with my parents support, I finished my college diploma in 2017, though I deferred some semesters and even took more years than expected due to school fee problems, but I finally made it.

I was supposed to join university in May 2020, but due to the pandemic, I was not able to, and also, I had planned for a fundraiser to assist me in paying for my university fees in April 2020, but the pandemic stalled everything. My four years of university fees will cost me a total of 240,000.00 Kenyan shillings. I know we do not have such kind of money as a family, but I still believe the Allah who saw my situation before during the past years is the same Allah who will see me through in my current situation. How I will join the university, I do not know, but I have faith I will surely join. I have tried looking for sponsors but in vain. If anyone can sponsor a university student, please contact me, or if you know anyone who is in a position to sponsor, please.

I believe trusting in Allah and yourself can take you far, and also, if your family can support you to achieve your goals, there's no need to worry. Your situation, or whatever you are going through, is not permanent. For me, I can say I am still struggling, but at least am a bit of better place than before, and through patience, I am where i am right now. you do not need to do illegal or choose the wrong path for you to achieve your goal of having things that you desire. Girls, especially, you do not need to sell bodies for you to be given money for your upkeep or even have relationships with older married men who you believe will support you. These men have their families. Just take time and think about your life for once. Love yourself, and by loving yourself, you aretaking care of your youth to save for your future and that of the beautiful family you can have in the future. Do not allow the past to destroy your future later, and do not allow your present situation to make bad choices for you; instead, insist on the positive choices. It can take long, but the wait will be worth it.

Thank you for reading my story. I hope this encourages someone.

By Abdur Rahman