A common quote says, “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” At CHS, we believe in the power of educating a child, and that is why, through the Determined Resilient Empowered AIDS Free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) initiative, we have been running an education subsidy programme to support school-going DREAMS girls.
It is a calm Friday morning, so we head to Mulaha Secondary School to pick up Roseline Atieno Odhiambo, a form-one girl, to take her shopping. It is a unique and rare occurrence, so we first stop at the principal’s office to explain our visit. Mr. Emmanuel Owino, the principal, is well versed with the DREAMS programme since some of his students are beneficiaries of it.
After a moment of introduction and conversation, we leave the school with Roseline and an accompanying teacher to Siaya town to get her school uniform and stationery. We get a chance to speak to her, and she explains that she comes from a family of six siblings and is the second born.
“After KCPE, my life came to a standstill. My single mother sells charcoal to feed her children, and that could not pay my school fees to start secondary school. I got 230 marks and secured a place at Mulaha Mixed Secondary School. I had hopes to secure a brighter future and help my family, but that was no longer in sight,” says Roseline.
Our meeting with Roselyne began months before, in January, when the technical lead for the DREAMS programme had gone to the office of the county director of education to attend a meeting, and Roselyne showed up with her mother and sibling carried on her mother’s back.
“Roselyne was dressed in tattered clothes and a sagging skirt; every now and then she had to pull it up. Her blouse was extremely torn, and her hair was unkempt. They wanted to see the county director for education to request for assistance so that Roselyne’s KCPE results slip could be released to allow her to join secondary school,” says Patrick Ndeda, DREAMS Technical Lead.
According to Roselyne, her uncle had sponsored her primary education, but towards the end, it became so difficult to complete her school fee payments, and as a result, after completing primary school, the results slip was held back due to school fee arrears.
“Seeing her situation was dire, I went out to the nearest shop and bought her a top to at least cover her well before walking into the director’s office. Once the director heard her story, he requested that we admit Roselyne to the DREAMS program. We then conducted background checks to ascertain need before enrolling her,” added Patrick.
As the situation at home was getting more and more difficult, she opted to go to her grandmother, who sells herbal medicines, to sustain herself and her other grandchildren. She reported to school like other students but kept being sent home due to lack of school fees.
During the second term, CHS, through the DREAMS programme, reached out to the school with an assurance to pay her full school fees. By that time, she had been sent home several times and was lagging behind in the course work.
“My grandmother told me to keep faith that I would somehow go to school despite the challenges,” adds Roseline.
As part of ensuring Roseline will remain in school, CHS has paid her annual school fee for the year 2024, and got her a new pair of school uniform and stationery.
“Asante kwa jambo mumenifanyia, sikuwahi fikiri mtu atanishika mkono na kunifungulia njia ya masomo. Nitafanya bidii katika masomo yangu ili niwe na maisha bora na niwasaidie jamaa zangu, » says Roselyne.
(Thank you for what you have done for me. I never thought that someone would hold my hand and help me go to school. I will work hard in my studies to secure my future and help my family.)
This financial year, September 2023–September 2024, CHS has supported 3,161 DREAMS girls to go to school through the education subsidy programme under DREAMS.
We remain committed to providing targeted HIV prevention services among adolescent girls and young women through the Determined Resilient Empowered AIDS Free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) initiative.
