I am Latifah, an 18 years old Ngong Road Children’s Foundation (NRCF) 2022 high school graduate. I was born and raised in the Ngando area where I still live up to date. I grew up with my 3 siblings and we were privileged enough to be raised by both parents as most children in my neighborhood are either raised by a single parent or a guardian. However, life growing up was challenging. My parents were casual laborers thus making it almost impossible for them to give us a comfortable life, let alone provide basic needs.
Luckily, I got the opportunity to join the NRCF program in 2012 while I was in grade 2. I was schooling at Nelson Mandela before joining the program and so once I joined, I did not have to change schools. Nonetheless, there was a huge difference then because I could stay in school throughout without having to be sent home due to lack of school fees. Every school need was also being catered for and so my academic grades really improved. In 2012, I was elected as the school head girl, a position I held until my final year in primary school. I was a disciplined student as well as hardworking which made me a good fit for the position. I really loved being a head girl as I got the opportunity to exercise good leadership skills towards other students and lead them by example.
After sitting for my Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), I scored 383 out of 500 marks. This earned me a slot at St. Joseph Girls High School, an extra-county girls boarding school in Kitale. I was excited to join high school especially because it was a new environment for me since I had not schooled outside of Nairobi county. While in high school, I also had 2 leadership positions; I was a dining hall captain and also an entertainment captain. I am really good at dancing and so it was easy for me to get the entertainment captains’ position. Apart from the leadership positions, I was also involved in a co-curricular activity. I was part of the drama club and part of the team that represented my school in different competition levels.
I sat for my Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in 2022 and when the results came out, I had scored a B plain! This made me the top-performing female student for the high school class of 2022 in the program. I aspire to join the University of Nairobi and take a Bachelors degree course in Law. I have always had an interest in law studies since I was in primary school. I would also like to venture into arts and graphic design when I am done with my course.
I would like to thank my sponsor Chris for sponsoring me and giving me the chance to pursue my education and NRCF for making sure that I maximize the opportunity. I hope to succeed in my university studies, get a job and transform my life and that of my family.