Background Info

Melvin Nafula Bahati was born in the year 2018. She was born in Bungoma County, in the Western part of Kenya. Melvin is the youngest child of 29-year-old Penina Nanjala’s two children. Melvin currently lives with her mother and sister in Ponda-Mali slum, Nakuru County. Penina (Melvin’s mother) was born and raised in the western part of Kenya in a humble family. Penina’s aunt took up the role of educating her but passed on before Penina could complete her studies. Penina started living independently.

She met Melvin’s father and moved to Nakuru County with him. Their informal union resulted to the birth of Melvin and her sister. However, their father abandoned them when he felt overwhelmed by the family’s responsibilities. After Melvin’s parents broke up, the children’s living condition worsened. Melvin’s mother (Penina) did not get any well-paying work to efficiently sustain her family. She took up casual jobs that offered meagre pay. With the little money she earned, Melvin’s mother struggled to provide for the children. Melvin and her sister grew up in a single dilapidated room that their mother could afford. Since she was a baby, Melvin would be left with her sister as their mother went out to look for casual jobs. During this time, Melvin would not get appropriate care because her sister was also merely a child. The casual jobs Melvin’s mother does are not guaranteed. Sometimes the children would go to bed hungry. Melvin’s mother could not afford to enrol the Melvin in school until Edgel Mission admitted her in our program. EDGEL Mission has been supporting the family with occasional food packs.

We conducted an assessment at their home in Kwa Rhonda slums and observed that their mother is still struggling and would not be able to educate Melvin. Melvin joined EDGEL Academy in 2023. She is currently studying hard and wants to be a doctor.

Melvin needs a sponsor.