El cas de la Grace, que s'hi explica, és bastant significatiu: el pare marxa de casa, la mare educa els fills a base de sacrificis, només el gran pot estudiar, el qui treballa paga els estudis als germans... A vegades les càrregues familiars són -per al nostre punt de vista- molt fortes, però allà no es contempla d'una altra manera. La solidaritat no és tant una actitud voluntària d'un individu respecte a la societat o a d'altres individus, sinó que la mateixa estructura familiar està construïda donant per descomptat la solidaritat. Bé, potser una mica més de solidaritat dels pares de família seria desitjable...
Grace Wanjiku (age 24) is currently working at the Cafeteria of Strathmore University. She graduated from Kimlea in 1998 and got her current job immediately after training.
Wanjiku has 3 brothers and 2 sisters. When they were growing up, her father abandoned the family leaving her mother the sole bread winner. She was a tea picker in Maramba Tea Estate where they were paid KShs.2/- per kg of tea leaves picked. On a good day during the peak season, she would pick 50 kgs but during the off-peak season, she sometimes picked only 5 kgs. This income had to cater for food, clothing, fuel and education for the family. In spite of all the hardships, Wanjiku's mother managed to educate her children up to Standard 8 and the first born boy up to Form IV. By the time Wanjiku finished Standard 8, the situation had become too hard for her mother to pay secondary education for her. She then decided to come for training in Kimlea with the aim of helping her mother fend for the family and perhaps educate her younger brothers and sisters better than herself. She successfully completed the course and got a job with Strathmore University Catering Department.
As soon as she started working, Wanjiku decided to divide her monthly salary into 3 portions: one third to cater for her family's household needs, another third to pay for secondary education for her brother who finished Standard 8 one year after her. She then opened a savings account where she deposits the third portion of her salary with which she hopes to start a business of her own in the future.
Her brother has now completed Form IV thanks to Wanjiku's support.
Besides paying school fees for her brother, Wanjiku also used some of her savings to rent a room in Limuru Town for her mother who has now moved out of the Tea Estate. Wanjiku had a kiosk built next to her mother's house in Limuru Town so that she could sell vegetables of all kinds for her living. With the kiosk, her mother earns more than twice the amount she earned as a tea picker, besides living in much better conditions.
To top it all, Wanjiku enrolled for evening classes and sat O level exams as a private candidate last year. She has all along wanted to raise her level of education and it was a great day for her when she learnt that she had passed. It was taxing to go to class from 5.30 to 7.00 pm after a hard day's work, but she was determined to continue her studies. She is currently trying to buy a piece of land for her mother and build her a permanent house. She plans to get married when this is done.
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