Background Info
Joan Achieng is the fourth child of Irene Adhiambo. Irene has seven children from different men. Joan was born in 2011 in the slums of Kwa-Rhonda, Nakuru, Kenya. Joan currently lives with her mother, Irene Adhiambo, in Barut slums. Irene is 40 years old. She has seven children. They are Kevin, Cynthia, Pamela, Joan, Fidel, Walter, and Cathy. Irene was raised in a poor home in Migori County, Kenya.
They never had enough to eat. Her parents could not afford her school fees. She dropped out of school when she was just ten years old. She got her first child, Kevin, at her mother's home. She was 15 years old. Irene was hopeless, and marriage became her only solution.
Kevin's father refused to marry her. He claimed that he was not ready. Three years later, she met and got married to Joan's father. She gave birth to four children. Joan's father was a drunkard and violent. Irene ran away from the marriage after fearing for her life. Joan's father later died in 2015. After their marriage ended, Kevin and Pamela dropped out of school and ran away from home. Irene struggled with casual jobs to put food on the table.
The five children were a big burden to her. She later met a man who promised to look after her and the children. She got into a relationship with him and gave birth to Walter. A year later, she fell pregnant again. The man saw her and the children as a burden and started mistreating them. Pamela, who ran away, came back home. Irene had to look for casual jobs to make ends meet. She could not land any work because she was uneducated and had poor health. She tried her luck in different businesses but had to close all of them down. This is because her family's needs were higher than what she was making.
The family would consume the business stock. Irene started drinking cheap liquor and became an irresponsible mother to her children. All along, Joan and the siblings lived with Irene in a single dilapidated room. They witnessed her relationships with different men. Joan and the siblings endured the tough life of poverty. They depended on luck for food and other basic needs. Joan's 15-year-old elder sister met a man who pretended to care for her. She got pregnant shortly after. She gave birth to a baby boy and left the baby with her mother, Irene, for school. The baby later died; he was just a month old. The baby died because of hunger and neglect since Irene was not attentive. Joan Achieng was admitted to Prince of Peace School in 2019 after a field assessment at their home. She is currently attending school. Joan is very hardworking
In aid of EDGeL Mission. (EQUIPPING DEPENDENT GENERATION for LIFE)