A day in the life of a 16-year-old girl

The first rays of the morning sun filter through the tattered curtains, gently rousing Ada* from her slumber.

As she blinks away the remnants of sleep, the rhythmic sounds of her village coming to life fill the air – the distant mooing of cattle, the clucking of chickens, and the familiar voices of her neighbours greeting the new day.

Ada rises from her reed mat, her movements practised and efficient, a testament to the resilience ingrained in her from a young age. In the small, mud-walled hut she shares with her family, she quickly folds her blanket and stows it away, making space for the day's activities.

Ada is your typical 16-year-old girl living in a rural set up. And this is how she starts her day.

Her age is what is typically referred to as 'sweet 16'. The tag captures the essence of this age – a time of significant personal growth, self-discovery, and the bittersweet transition from the carefree days of childhood to the responsibilities and opportunities that lie ahead. It is a pivotal age that holds both challenges and excitement, making it a noteworthy phase in a young woman's journey towards adulthood.

Across the country, the lives of 16-year-old teenage girls are intricately woven from threads of tradition, responsibility, and resilience; a time when they face a significant transition and milestone.

From the cities to the arid regions and the lush Rift Valley, these girls navigate the delicate balance between honouring their cultural heritage and embracing the possibilities of the modern world.

Every morning, they awaken to the familiar rhythms of their communities – and the gentle hum of daily routines that have endured for generations. In rural areas, teenage girls undertake tasks that have been passed down through generations – fetching water from communal wells or rivers, tending family farms, and preparing meals for their families. Some live in fear, as they are earmarked for female genital mutilation, then early marriage.

Yet, even as they embrace these age-old traditions, they harbour dreams that stretch beyond their villages.

They seek education, opportunities, and the chance to shape their own destinies, defying the limitations imposed by poverty, cultural norms, and societal expectations.

In the sprawling informal settlements that ring many towns, the morning awakening is marked by a different kind of hustle.

Here, they emerge from makeshift dwellings, their days shaped by the harsh realities of poverty and a constant struggle for basic necessities.

They navigate maze-like alleys, seeking out casual labour, hawking wares, or scraping together meagre earnings to contribute to their family's survival.

In the cities, these teens navigate a world where modernity collides with culture.

They embrace the latest trends and technologies while still honouring the traditions that have defined their upbringing.

Their days are a tapestry of academic pursuits, extracurricular activities, and familial obligations, each thread woven together with unwavering determination.

Yet, within the same concrete jungles, daughters of affluent families greet the dawn from the comfort of stately homes, their routines shaped by privilege and opportunity.

While still honouring cultural traditions, these young women enjoy access to quality education, extracurricular activities, and the resources to nurture their talents and ambitions.

For these young girls, each day is a delicate balance between honouring tradition and embracing the hope of opportunity, their lives a tapestry woven from the threads of their culture, their community, and their own indomitable spirit.

Nation.Africa spoke to three 16-year-old girls, and here are their stories.

My name is Rose Achieng’* and I am 16 years old. I live in Lindi village in Kibra slums, Nairobi.  We live with my single mother. I am the first born in a family of four.

We live in a single room. Every day, I wake up at 4am to study for at least one hour up to 5am after which I make breakfast for the family, most often black tea.

I then prepare my younger siblings for school, before I prepare myself for school, which is a walking distance from home. I am in Form One.

I don’t carry packed lunch to school. My mother is a day nanny in one of the city estates, and can’t afford it. At school, students without school fees arrears are served with lunch.

I always have fee arrears, and so I miss lunch. I eat one meal a day, dinner.

Our diet is mostly ugali (corn meal) and sukuma wiki (collard greens). I don’t have the luxury of choosing what to ; I  what my mother can afford. Oftentimes, I yearn to have some m in my meal.

At times, I miss at least a piece of chicken or fish, but that always remains that ...wishful thinking.

I leave school at 6pm. Top on my to-do list when I get home is domestic chores like washing dishes before I go out to look for water. I get three 20 litre jerrycans at Sh10 each.

On my way from getting water, I stop by the charcoal vendor’s shop and buy the commodity at Sh50. We use charcoal to cook.

My mother usually comes back home tired after work thus, the need to help her with the cooking and other household chores. After supper and washing the dishes, I do 45 minutes of study from 10pm before I sleep at 10.45pm.

Most of us in the slums cannot afford electricity. Some days when I feel tired, I skip doing the evening studies. We have electricity sambaza, which is an illegal connection.

My younger sister and I sleep on the floor, while my mother and my baby brother sleep on the bed. Before sleeping, I ensure I dispose of the day’s garbage in the nearby trench. This is where the entire village disposes their waste. During the rainy season, like now, the garbage is washed away.

The reason I work so hard in school is to prepare myself for a decent life in the future, for myself, siblings and my mother. I want to pass my exams and become a lawyer so that I can help the less fortunate get justice.

My great wish is to get my mother and siblings out of the slum. As a young girl living in slums, poverty is the biggest challenge I face. Most of the time, I get home from school hungry but cannot get anything to do.

During my menses, obtaining sanitary pads poses a significant challenge, as my mother often lacks the financial means to purchase them for me. I am usually forced to seek assistance from Kirta Touch the Needy, a non-governmental organisation that provides sanitary towels to the needy girls in the slums.

Many are the days I stay at home after being sent away for non-payment of school fees. This affects my studies a lot. I wish the government could make secondary education free.

This would  help students from backgrounds like me to get education. I also plead to the government to ensure the free sanitary towel program for schools works to cater for some pupils who struggle to have them.

During school holidays, I start my day by preparing breakfast and doing domestic chores, before settling down for some revision. I then relax before I embark on preparing supper for the family.

To deal with the problem of lack of sanitary towels that I normally experience during my menses, my plea to the government is to ensure that the free sanitary towel programme for schools works in order to cater for some pupils who struggle to have them.

I long to go out and have fun like other children. Many times I yearn to one day go to town and get a taste of Pizza, which I have never tasted. I wish my mother was able to give me such things in life.

I am, however,  and accepted the way things are as at now. Every Sunday, I attend service at a local church after which I go back home to rest.

Most of the time when walking around the slum, I get bullied by boys and men. Many of them hit me, which makes me shy from walking around.

Living in a slum is not the most pleasant thing to experience, especially for a young girl like me. It is usually a dog’s life for me here.

Fran"

‘My name is Fran*, I am 16 years old. I sat my Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in 2022, and I am now in boarding school, for high school. On a typical school day, I wake up at 5am. Most of the time I am excited to wake up, but other times, I have to remember that I have to. After waking up, I shower, clean up, make my bed, and go for morning prep.

I then go for breakfast, before heading out for classes, until 3.30pm. After that, most days, I head to the hall for music practice. This can also be heading out to attend other clubs such as drama, or debate. We also do sports at this time and for me, that is mostly swimming.

On most days, I do my laundry at about 5pm. Dinner will follow after this before going for night preps. After preps, I make cocoa and then head to the dorm at 9pm. Before going to bed, I catch up with my friends and we chat and laugh until lights out. I say my midnight prayers; I also pray in the morning before waking up.

My routine changes during the school holidays. I wake up at 7am before my mother yells at me. I shower and oil my face carefully because I am prone to acne. On most days, I have breakfast while on my phone – either on socials or watching a video. I do my chores before picking up an instrument to practice.

At noon, I head out for Orchestra practice, which takes about three hours. Usually, I am dropped off by either of my parents, but because I am grown and I have a phone, I sometimes hail an Uber with my brother, and we go together; we also Uber back after practice, on days we are not picked.

I mostly unwind while watching TV. I also go outside to play with my friends - mostly just conversations with my age mates, both girls and boys. We take care of the little ones on the estate.

At about 6pm, I head back to the house to have a snack before running out again (depending on if mom is home.) I assist with domestic work: I clean utensils each day, I wash my clothes in school, and at home.

On Sundays, I help clean the house and ensure that it is tidy. I also cook supper and many times breakfast on Sundays.

I sleep at about 10pm each evening when I am not in school. Sometimes over the weekend, my parents allow me to stay up longer, watching movies, and I can sleep in on Sunday, which is a sleep-in day though I have to be ready for church.

I read books because my mum made it a habit to buy everyone a book each month. I will normally have her list of books that I want to read over the holiday or weekend. I also love watching older sitcoms such as The Nanny, which has been my latest entertainment for the last four months. I also watch Friends (a sitcom).

I generally like watching silly movies with my mom on weekend evenings. Personal entertainment channels are definitely TikTok and YouTube shorts. Netflix is also my preferred movie platform.

I don't like staying out late at night, especially not outside our court. Besides that, I am worried that the neighbours' dogs are not well trained and they might bite me. I am also concerned that sometimes there might be people coming into our compound who are not invited, and that is a serious security issue for me.

In school, we have a system of peer mentors. I am also a mentor to younger schoolmates. My mentor has helped me think things through.

One time, I wanted to get into one of the clubs at school. I did not make the cut the first time because I had nerves.

My mentor told me what to do, and what to focus on, and I was selected. I ended up representing the school in music festivals at the national level – for piano and violin. My grandma is also the person that I talk to most.

I am not sure there is something I would change about my life. But perhaps the acne on my face? Although I have got used to it now. I would love to go back to where we used to live a few years ago and be with my friends.

We moved houses a few years ago. I am not sure yet what career I want to pursue in the future. Right now, I sometimes want to be a musician, I am trying to put a lot of effort into it. I also want to be an actress.

I would love to be a professional woman so perhaps a doctor, architect. I am not sure because there are so many suggestions.

Alice Siran*

My name is Alice Siran* from Matigari village, Rumuruti in Laikipia County. I am 16 years old and currently in Form Two in a day school, about five kilometres from my home.

My day starts at 4am and the first thing I do is to milk our 10 goats, which gives us about five litres of milk.

I then light up the fire and prepare breakfast for the family. I live with my parents and three brothers. We make our tea using goat milk. Most times we take tea without sugar because my parents cannot afford it.

After breakfast, I prepare myself for school. I do not come back home for lunch, neither do I carry any to school - there is usually none to carry.

I love being in school as it shields me from many things like female genital mutilation and early marriage. School is a secure environment for me.

My classes end at 5pm after which I head straight home. Once there, I go to fetch water from a nearby borehole, which is about a kilometre away. I then go to the farm to collect some firewood, before returning home to milk the goats again.

Afterwards, I assist my mother to prepare supper and do other domestic chores. We normally have supper at around 8.30pm. From 9 pm to 10pm, I do my private study before heading to bed.

We have no electricity at home, so I use a kerosene tin lump. It is quite uncomfortable using it as it produces a lot of smoke.

When there is not enough kerosene, I skip my private studies. Many times I am also sent away from school for failing to clear the school fees balance and this affects my studies.

My parents are pastoralists and sometimes they lack money to pay the fees and cater for other needs.

During the drought, a lot of goats and cows die, dealing a major blow to the family’s economic standing.

During the latest drought that came before the El-Nino rains, my father lost 70 goats and 15 cows to famine.

I would love to study without any interruptions so that I can get a good grade because I hope to go to university and pursue an engineering course.

My dream is to become an engineer and help uplift the life of my parents and siblings.

Due to the family’s prevailing hard economic situation, getting some basic necessities like clothes and shoes is a problem. Getting sanitary pads during my menses is also a challenge. I have to at times borrow from friends.

How I wish the government would make the free pads programme for schools a reality. During weekends and school holidays, my major work is to take my father’s goats and cows to the grazing field, together with my younger brothers.

This normally happens from 8.30am to 5.30pm after which I return home and milk the goats. I later also helped with domestic chores. I have never been to Nairobi or any other major town. All my life I have been confined here.

I would love to venture out and go to Nairobi. I yearn to go to the airport and see the aeroplanes. I have never seen one closely. I only see them in the air as they pass above our home.

In the long run, I believe the challenges I face will one day come to end and that I will have a bright future to enable me to help my family.

*Identities changed to protect the girls.

Kamau Maichuhie, Daisy Okoti & Dorcas Muga-Odumbe

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