High School Education for Mildred Akoth

My name is Elsie and I'm fundraising for Mildred Akoth, my seventeen-year-old cousin from Siaya County in the Western region of Kenya. Siaya County is my ancestral home and I got to know about Mildred's story through my mom who keeps in touch with our relatives there.

Mildred just sat her primary school exams scoring a B, that is, 335 marks out of a possible 500 in the village school called Nyapiedho Primary School. Nyapiedho Primary neither has running water nor electricity. The pupil to toilet ratio is 48:1. The classrooms have broken windows and the benches can barely balance on the uneven classroom floors.

Mildred's mother died in 2018. Although her father, a man in his sixties, ran a micro business selling groceries to neighbours, he had to close it down. He recently underwent surgery for a hernia and is barely managing his high blood pressure, forcing him to stay at home, without income.

Because of her mom's death and her dad's inability to provide for her needs, Mildred dropped out of school for two years. Some relatives who seemed to want to help took Mildred in which enabled her to get back into school. Her new living arrangement also brought with it abuses that Mildred prefers not to disclose. Last year, she decided it was to brave hunger at home than continue to endure life at her adoptive home.

Most of Mildred's older siblings dropped out of primary school and now do odd jobs or are peasant farmers in the village, earning less than a dollar a day. They are seven siblings in total and Mildred is the fifth born. It would take zero effort for Mildred to end up like her siblings. All she'd need to do is let inertia carry her along.

I always thought of myself as a mentor to teenage girls. Mildred's story was a wake up call for me. I always mentored girls from comfortable homes who needed a bit of guidance to fulfill their potential. Mildred has forced me to put myself on the line and get my hands dirty by asking for money to give her a chance at a better life.

I knew I had to do this because my mom, in her 70s and who isn't rich either (we've always been tottering on the brink of the middle class) would rather bankrupt herself than see Mildred go without an education. With my late dad's support, my mom has been raising the village for the past four decades, first on an admin assistant's salary in Kenya and now on a caregiver's wages in the USA. She's already sponsoring Mildred's brother through high school. I believe my mom deserves to rest from her tireless giving. By the way, she's the first donor in this campaign.

Something else that convinced me that I had to start crowdfunding was that the scramble for resources in Kenya is cut-throat. If you think Mildred's story is sad, there are a million others a hundred times sadder. There are a thousand other children who've scored much higher grades than Mildred. Everyone knows that passing exams in Kenya is not just a matter of literacy. Excelling in school can fundamentally alter the trajectory of one's life, family, clan, tribe. Most of the Kenyans with the earliest exposure to education in the colonial times became presidents & ministers, own thousands of acres of land and other resources. But I deviate. So, despite her good grades, Mildred doesn't stand a chance in winning most of the high school scholarships available. Yet, access to education isn't a right for the best performing students. It's a human right. I hate that in Kenya you have to be a genius or wealthy to access good education. Mildred deserves a chance despite not being an A+ student.

Donations from family, friends and well-wishers would make a world of difference for Mildred. With our support, she can break the cycle of poverty before it swallows her. Mildred is on the fringes of society right now, yet she too can flourish and enjoy a 21st-century lifestyle if we help her along at this critical time in her educational journey. Don't let her be a statistic of the poverty and disease that Africa is unfortunately so well known for. Any amount is welcome, $1 is invaluable.

Annual Breakdown of Costs

1. School uniform $165

2. School fees $375

- First term $165

- Second term $130

- Third term $80

3. Pocket money $45

4. Shopping for personal effects and stationery $100

5. Revision books $100

6. Food and clothing while on holiday $140

7. Expenses incurred in visiting Mildred $75

Total $1000 per year