Reflections: Sarah’s story 1 of many many more…

Hello good people of the internet! That sounds off, but oh well, you are good people and we connect over the internet, so it sounds right ish. My name is Sarah Wanjiru, I run the TIES Kenya organization https://tieskenya.co.ke/  TIES stands for Technology in Education Society. Well you might be wondering how did we come up with that name? Mmh well we got connected with TIES Canada https://ties.charity/ and adopted the name, so TIES Kenya. Most importantly we also have a shared cause- empowering girls and young women through education and learning opportunities. That’s how our connection began in the first place.

It will be 4 years in September since the university sponsorship program began in 2021. Sometimes I’ll admit it feels like we are doing so little, like we have such big ideas but apart from the sponsorship program none of the others have taken off. They’re still on paper. Last month I sat down with a film maker who helps organizations in storytelling to amplify their impact. His name is Eric Mwangi https://linktr.ee/emmwangi What I took away from the meeting is that our story is special, dare I say even powerful, but our storytelling sucks. He challenged me to do what I can in our current circumstances (think the most obvious and pressing ones- no funds or expertise for professional top notch content like videos, documentaries etc.) So writing articles for our blog was one. It is over a month now and here I am finally getting started.

Well this will be the first of many articles and stories to come under the “Reflections” folder. Look at how organized I am, everything has to have a folder and a subfolder! Anyway let be proceed swiftly before you lose your interest and leave. I am 34 years young, and have one beautiful baby girl called Ariana Njoki. I mention her because she is a big part of the story. I was pregnant with her and jobless in 2020. And it was COVID time, so yeah, I was stressed big time. By God’s grace I gave birth through the Linda Mama GoK program. https://www.nhif.or.ke/linda-mama-hospitals/ Basically for mums who cannot afford maternity care. It was totally free at a local government hospital. Sadly, the program went down for a time when the new government came in 2022. Something about new governments wanting their new stuff and scrapping off the old- in with the new, bye to the old sort of thinking. Politics eeh? Anyways, I have seen some article about it coming back new and revamped. I really hope it does.

So after Njoki came in November 2020, I was worried sick about how will I provide for her? At the time I lived with her father, in his parent’s place. We tried a few things like pig farming, academic writing, transcription but the money was never enough. Also, we were going through a rough patch in our relationship. I was realizing quickly that I jumped into the relationship too fast, without really taking time to think about our compatibility and suitability for each other. I did not want to turn 30 without a baby, so yeah, I stayed even though I had no business staying. Not because he was not a good

man, or he treated me poorly, but we “forced issues” forced the relationship way past its time.

Around June 2021 I heard from Ross Thomas. I had been initially introduced to him in

2018; virtually by Megan, a friend I had met while on holiday in Lamu Island, back in

December 2016. The short of it is that what I really hoped would be a job transfer from Lamu to Kakamega to a Canadian charity organization  https://canadianharambee.ca/ didn’t work out. So, 2 years later, I hear from Ross. And he has this idea and plan to pilot a university scholarship or sponsorship program for girls in Kenya. Talk about perfect timing, this mama desperately needed a job and income! You may wonder how would someone entrust his money to a person he had never met or known in person. I wondered the same. Up to date I have never met Ross, my boss and our donor in person. We talked on a WhatsApp video call, exchanged emails back and forth and the program began 3 months later, in September when our first group of girls joined university. But really, why he trusted me, I believe is my back story. I had also been educated through a charity organization in high school. https://www.avsi.org/en/whatwe-do/countries/kenya paid for my education at Ngara Girls High School. So, this was more than just a job for me. I had grown up really admiring the work my social workers did, and hoped to one-day give back to my society. Granted I envisioned me being in a big UN job office and earning lots of money, while at it, lol! Also, and Ross may not be aware of this, I grew up at a Children’s home for a part of my childhood- class 4 to 6. 3 years in Starehe Children’s home in Nyahururu, again I was there because my mom couldn’t afford to pay for primary education for my brother and I. So, I had to leave because I wanted to go to school so bad! And that was the only viable way out at the time.

I believe in my heart that this is what I am meant to do, it’s like my whole life has prepared me for this. Like I said, it feels like such a small organization, like our impact is so small. But as I am thinking of my 4-year-old now, I see how far she has come as well. Njoki has been part of my life equally the same time TIESK has been. And so I am encouraged and challenged to keep pushing the dream. We want more, we see ourselves running a profitable farming business, enterprises that can generate income and so that we can have the financial independence and capacity to do things we are passionate about. To provide employment and income for ourselves, to have funds to sponsor more girls and young women in Kenya and Africa. Take them through a short course or training program, and even university education.

And so for now, what I have on my hands is a laptop and WIFI. And my story, reflections and most importantly the quiet time and space to write before Njoki is back from school. So I am here keeping a commitment I made last month, and believing that this is one way to share our story. And hopefully, one of you, or many of you, our internet folks get interested in our work. I believe that God is not incapable of connecting us to do what He already planned for us to do together in this world. So yeah, watch out for more reflections to come, and more from all of us here at TIES Kenya. Hopefully the girls catch on the storytelling journey too. Who can tell our stories better than us?

Asante sana for reading all the way to the end. This girl can talk! See you on the next one.