Sharon grew up in a large, loving family in Kakamega County in western Kenya. She has an older sister, and three younger siblings. Her parents worked as manual laborers, putting in long hours to provide for their children. In 2001, Sharon’s father passed away suddenly from a heart attack, leaving the family devastated. Sharon’s mother, left to raise her five children alone, could barely provide enough food to feed the family, and struggled to pay school fees.
Sharon is a brilliant girl with a passion for knowledge. Whenever Sharon attended school, her performance was exceptional. Due to her excellent grades, she was accepted into the Starhe Girl’s Centre, a well renowned boarding school. Sharon and her family were overjoyed to learn that Sharon had been accepted into Chalice’s sponsorship program, which would cover the centre’s costly school fees.
Sharon’s sponsor also generously sends frequent special money donations. These extra funds offer even greater support to Sharon’s family. After a lot of budgeting and hard work, Sharon and her mom used some of the funds to set up a chicken coop! The chickens provide nutritious eggs for the family, and extra eggs can be sold for an income.
One year, Sharon’s sponsor sent her the funds to buy her own laptop for studying. Sharon loves the laptop, as it allows her to do research while she’s home from school where it’s difficult to access computer services. She’s also teaching her younger siblings how to use it!
Sharon is now 18 years old. She views life with immense positivity, and is so happy that she’s able to achieve her academic dreams. Sharon is graduating soon, and is optimistic that she’ll be accepted into a good university to study her dream course, International Relations. She hopes that in the future, her community will embrace education fully in order to overcome the cycle of poverty. Her biggest dream is to be able to sponsor a child herself one day to give back to her own community.
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