Giving orphans a helping hand

“It was only after losing both my parents while still a teenager that I found myself. It was tough but because I was 18, people saw me as an adult who could fend for herself and cope with the loss without much support.

That was when I realised orphans in their young adulthood are a forgotten lot and started the Scars to Stars Foundation to help them cope with their parents’ death.

“I chose to study counselling psychology when I realised that it was the only way I was going to cope with the emotions that these orphans share with me. The time I leave my house depends on my counselling schedule that day.

“When I am not counselling someone, I am out there looking for funding. I chase bursaries, walk into government offices and introduce myself. Each orphan comes with a unique set of problems. There are those who need legal help because their relatives

swindled them out of their inheritance, those that need a place to sleep and those that need an education. I am able to do the grief counselling myself, but I have to find a way to get their other needs fulfilled.

I seek out pro bono lawyers and well-wishers to assist.

“I am often bombarded with so much heartbreak, but I can’t afford to lose my optimism. I can’t tell a child in Standard Eight that he will go not go to high school, even though I have no idea how he will get there.

“Today I was woken up by a grandmother accompanied by her two orphaned grandsons who are in high school. They needed school fees. A made a ton of phone calls and I was able to raise all the cash, so it ended up being a good day. .

“I’m almost done with my counselling degree, and luckily the school encourages us to pour out our hearts to other counsellors. This is where I go to unburden myself when I feel overwhelmed.

“After a long day at work, I go home and I take my work with me. Luckily for me, my husband Pastor Gitonga is very supportive of what I do. After we have tucked the children in bed in the evenings, he sits and listens to me as I share what’s going on with

me and my charges.

“I have late nights. I am working on my third book. Sometimes, I will be up writing until 3 am. Other nights, I listen to motivational tapes; they help me stay positive.

I dream of building a transition centre for orphans. A place where they can live for a while as they work on getting their feet back on the ground. Even amputees need counselling and support to learn to live without a limb, now imagine how much more a child who has lost a parent needs.”