My Journey to Start Our School

I’m Lydia Awuor Onyango, I’m married and another of two a boy and girl.

My husband is called Hurryson Votega

My firstborn is called Tiffany Jahenda she’s 8yrs old and my son is called Trevian Gabriel he’s 4 years old.

I have been a teacher for the last 14 years, being in this field of teaching in slum settlements exposed me to many challenges of education, feeding program and the poor learning environment in our community that these children endure getting an education which in most cases is not quality education.

My journey to start Happy Gardens community school.

It was in January 2021 that I started a daycare in my house after I saw many children in my neighborhood were very malnourished and their parents were unable to provide them with three meals a day.

I did not have much or a big house to keep these children.

Deciding to be receiving them from their parent’s house from 7:30 am to 3 pm and even to sometimes extend staying with them up to 6 pm.

I used to take of them in my one-roomed house for 5 months, the number grew rapidly and in May 2021 I then decided to look for school space to start school to teach and feed them as well.

Being a nonprofit organization school, I did not know where the rent for the school space will come from! but by taking the step of faith.

We used the church hall for school space for three months without paying rent for the place.

The pastor of the Church got tired of our arrears and finally, he was able to evict us, it was hard, challenging, and frustrating for me because I did not know where to take the children because the number had grown to 25 children whom I was teaching and feeding.

By God’s grace the Lafrikana organization came to our rescue and paid the arrears for the church place and moved us to the school space that we are using up to date.

Lydia, her husband Hurryson and their two children Tiffany and Trevian.

Paying for the school space rent, teachers and food have been the greatest challenge ever.

We are behind one-month rent space and I will appreciate it if you can help us get a permanent place for the school space to solve this problem of eviction and being behind on rent.

I will also appreciate it if you can help with the teacher’s salaries, it’s now going to be 4 months without a salary, and this has led to change of new teachers almost monthly due to lack of payment hence leads to poor performance of the students.

With salaries for the teachers, we will achieve quality education and the students will perform well like any other child in the world.

We also need additional classrooms, utensils, children chairs and tables, beddings for the children, school shoes and uniform, school bags and teaching and learning materials being that the number of the students have grown and now we are having 55 children which might double to our first term opening on April 25th.

Please let’s join our hands together to educate a child and help my dream come true.