A Discussion with Faith Njeri, Graduate, Nyumbani School, Nairobi, Kenya

With: Faith Njeri Berkley Center Profile

June 5, 2016

Background: As part of the Education and Social Justice fellowship project, undergraduate student Khaliyah Legette interviewed Faith Njeri, a graduate of the Nyumbani schools in Nairobi, Kenya. The Nyumbani family of programs provides HIV/AIDS services to children and affected families in Kenya. In this interview, conducted in June 2016, Njeri discusses the influence of her Catholic education and her future plans.
What is your name, and when did you graduate from Nyumbani?

My name is Faith Njeri, and I came from Nyumbani in 2010.

What are you currently doing?

Right now, I’m looking for a job. I finished college last year, so I’m hustling, looking for a job.

How would you say Catholic education has shaped who you are as a person today?

For me, personally, Catholic education has helped me to be able to face challenges of being an adolescent. Like when I was in high school, you could see some girls getting pregnant, dropping out of school, but me, from the way I was taught here at Nyumbani, I could be able to face that and come out of high school okay. So Catholic education has been very useful to me.

What were some of the most challenging parts about living here?

Living here, the most challenging part is you are enclosed in a small world where you don’t meet other people. And when you meet other people, they discriminate against you. So you are enclosed. Like when I was here, I was very, very lonely, and I was with people. And when you want to be friends with the children outside, it is not possible. Because you know children, they normally visit each other at home, but they can’t come here, and you can’t go to them. Like us, we were studying in Kibera—you know, the big slum—so, we used to sneak out of school just to visit other children because, you know, you can’t just say: “Mom, I want to visit so-and-so.” So it is a very lonely place.

What were some of the most enjoyable parts about living here?

Traveling. I have gone to many places in Kenya where normal people cannot go. I’ve traveled many times to Mombasa, Mount Kenya region. I’ve gone to big hotels—it was fun going to big hotels and eating good food.
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