Simon and his siblings currently live with his Aunt Agnes because both of his parents were killed years ago during cattle raids. His attendance at school has been irregular due to lack of finances to pay the school fees. He has had to take grade 7 three times because of his lack of finances to finish. But during the times he was in school, he always performed well and got high grades. Thankfully, he was finally able to do his final exams for P7 and is now waiting for his results to get into secondary school. But he will not be able to go to secondary school without a sponsor.

The family eats only one meal a day. His Aunt Agnes is HIV positive and earns a meager living through brewing and selling alcohol to the community, as well as gardening duties for neighbors, in return for food or money. They have no other source of income. Despite the family’s poor conditions, Simon is a brilliant and well behaved young man. Simon enjoys playing soccer, debating with his classmates, and reading books! During the lockdown while many of his peers were engaging in bad behaviors such as alcoholism and vandalism, Simon was working hard helping his Aunt plant seeds in their garden. Simon says he would like to work in government someday. He wants to become a leader in the community to represent the views of the vulnerable and silent people in his community to the outside world. Could you be the one to give Simon hope and empower him, so that he can then make a difference in his community?

Update as of May 2022: Simon recently lost most of his family members who were living with him and his Aunt, due to violent cattle raids that have been going on again this year in the Napak district. He is struggling with psychological trauma and our staff have helped him get to a professional counselor so that he can work through his grief and shock and continue with his schooling.