Background Info
Irene Wanjiku was born on 14th April 2014 in Nanyane slums, Nyandarua County. She is the fourth born of Grace Nyambura. Grace has five children, three girls and two boys. Grace grew up in a village in Ndaragua Sub-county. Her family lived a hard life where they could not afford food and other basic needs. They had a small farm, which was not productive enough. What they harvested could not sustain the large family.
When Grace was about ten years, her father died. This was a big setback to the family since the father was the sole breadwinner. Grace and her siblings had to quit school. They had to help their mother with farming. Grace later fell in love with a long-time friend called David. They agreed to settle down. The man took Grace to his village in Nyahururu. Grace was hopeful that the marriage would usher in a better life than the one she grew up in.
Grace and her husband got a daughter immediately after marriage. Two years later, they got their second child, a boy. When the boy was three years, Grace got pregnant with Irene. Unfortunately, Grace’s husband died in a road accident two months before Irene was born. Grace hoped that her in-laws would help with raising the children. She was instead neglected and despised as they claimed that she had a hand in her husband’s death. It was hard for her to feed her two children since the in-laws had taken away her property. Grace’s mother-in-law advocated for her banishment from the home.
Grace got a job as a househelp in a nearby town. She was happy because she would finally fend for her children. No one among her late husband’s kin was willing to watch over the children while she goes to work. She had to pack her belongings and take the children to her own mother back in Ndaragua County. This was the last time Grace saw her matrimonial home
The job offered her a meagre salary. She would send almost all the money to her mother for the children. Grace decided to move to Nakuru with the hope of getting a better job. Irene and her siblings were still living with their grandmother. After moving to Nakuru, she met another man whom she thought would support her. The man took advantage of her situation and made her pregnant. He abandoned Grace who had to deliver her child alone. She was also unemployed and in debt with accumulated rent arrears. Her friend found her a cleaning job at a butchery. She later picked her children from the village to relieve her mother. They were enrolled in school but Grace could not manage to pay the required fees. Irene was referred to EDGel by the community. She was admitted to Prince of Peace School in 2019. Irene is a talented girl.
In aid of EDGeL Mission. (EQUIPPING DEPENDENT GENERATION for LIFE)