Raphael Omondi O.
St Al’s Graduating Class of 2009
I Can Have a Brighter Future; Society Can Change
At 21 years of age Raphael O. is one of the more mature students at St. Al’s. He has had a couple of ‘gaps’ in his pursuit of study when his family’s money was scarce so he was forced to delay his educational ambitions. Raphael’s determination to get an education is manifest in his bright eyes as he tells his story.
Raphael’s father died in 1997 leaving his wife with 10 children in the town of Kisumu in western Kenya. Being the oldest boy of the family, Raphael was given priority when it came to education. His mother struggled to pay for his primary education at a school in Nairobi while he lived with a family friend. He had a brief opportunity at another secondary school but the funds dried up and he had to return to work for a couple of years with the family selling fish.
“I had lost hope in an education when I was 15 years old, and my life began going off track. But one night I had a dream where I envisioned myself in a school in Nairobi and was told not to worry. God really did intervene and transformed my life with this opportunity.” When he found out about the free education at St Al’s he endured a long ride in the back of a lorry filled with fish to get to Nairobi from his hometown on the shores of Lake Victoria.
The school headmaster, Kiambi Dionisio, immediately recognized that Raphael is a uniquely motivated student and volunteered himself to act as his guardian and sponsor at the school. Raphael presented himself so confidently that he had to be accepted even if his mother was not present.
Raphael is an exception in that St Al’s pays his room and board. Raphael and another classmate rent a very small room in the slum near the school. The rent costs US$15 per month and the food allowance is about $22 each per month. They cook on a small paraffin cook stove and have access to the school’s toilet facilities. Raphael wakes at 3:20 am to begin his chores and studies. On weekends he looks for work as a manual day-laborer to sustain himself in his studies. He saves up money to visit his mother and family in Kisumu once a year.
Raphael hopes to put his hard earned education to use as a journalist or as a teacher. “I want to use my education to help change the life of the community and to help eradicate poverty.” Raphael is a natural leader and greatly respected among his classmates. He was elected “head boy” or “class prefect” with responsibilities to direct the other students. He directs the school choir and is always willing to assist the teachers.
“The friendly competition is balanced by a strong bond of cooperation among the students and teachers here.” He says the students are dedicated because they don’t want to “misuse this opportunity to learn.” “If I am disciplined with my education then I can have a brighter future. Society can change if we learn to overcome injustices and treat people respectfully no matter what. What we learn at this school prepares us to love and serve the entire community.”
“There is an unmet need here in Kenya. Too many people don’t have an opportunity to go to school and pursue their ambitions. Our benefactors help to fill that gap and reach those lives.” Raphael concludes that our benefactors “will see the fruits of their investment as St Al’s graduates move on and help transform society.”
~ by Fr. 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/
