Faith Mudimba W.
St. Al’s Graduation Class of 2009
I Can Finally Realize my Dreams!
When she finished grade school, Faith Mudimba W. knew that she would not be able to afford high school fees and so she sat out of school for a year. “I knew I was going to have a miserable life with lots of problems. I would probably have been married by now. But after my prayers God intervened in my life. I was very happy to be allowed to attend St Al’s.” “St Aloysius has helped me to believe that I can finally realize my dreams.”
Faith’s father died in 1996. He died from a kidney problem but Faith just recently learned that her father was HIV positive. She’s glad that her mother now considers her old enough to know the truth. HIV/AIDS is still such a taboo subject in Kenya that many adults don’t speak openly about it to their children. She says that, “maybe parents are afraid their children will not like them, or will reveal it to outsiders.” Here at St Al’s, how one is affected by HIV is still only mentioned “among best friends.” Faith concludes that, “parents should freely tell their children earlier about any HIV in the family.”
“Since my father was the provider of the family it left us in a more difficult financial situation.” Faith lives with her mother, her older sister and a younger brother. They pay US$13 per month for a one room shanty. Her mother sells vegetables in the neighborhood to try to sustain the family. Faith’s older sister also works as a “house-girl” to help provide for the family’s basic needs. They are all making sacrifices so that Faith can continue with her studies.
Faith is the Class Prefect of her class of 70 students. “Being a leader has helped me to improve my qualities and practice cooperating with others. I am friendly with everyone because they need me to be a role model.” Sr. Luciana, her Religion teacher, says “Faith is a self-confident, strong leader who’s always willing to try something new. She’s a good soul.”
Faith aspires to be either a Journalist or a Nurse. She says that she hopes “to reveal all the truth about the corruption in the country through my journalism.” She loves playing football and netball and also enjoys “telling stories to my friends and siblings.”
Like many St Al’s students, Faith awakes at 4:00 am and gets to bed at 11 pm. “My older sister gets up even earlier in the morning and goes to look for work each day to try to help my mum by earning some money for us.” After preparing dinner and household chores Faith begins her studies at 9 pm.
“I really thank all the benefactors for offering to educate me. We students are committed to work hard to show our appreciation to you for this gift.” The students, “take advantage of this opportunity by struggling to achieve their ambitions. We really love and appreciate this lucky chance to learn.” She mentions that she and her classmates are usually at their desks studying by 6:00 am but the classes don’t begin until 8 am. This “gives the students enough time to study on their own each day.” She also notes that St Al’s provides them with a hearty lunch each day along with the educational food.
Faith says that the teachers at St Al’s “are very committed. They really care about us and give us ideas on how to live positive lives and help guide us in solving our problems.”
She hopes that she can someday “help people in the slums feel equal with the people in the estates.” She has special concern for other widows, like her mum, who struggle to support a family. She hopes that St Al’s graduates will become the leaders of Kenya and help to end corruption in the government.
~ by Jim Collins, SJ
To learn more about and support St. Al’s, please visit the website http://www.sagnairobi.org/ or call 1-800-922-5327 at the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus - http://www.jesuits-chi.org/
