NAME: Mercy Muriuki
Age: 18
Form: 3 (Grade 11) – January, 2020
PA-MOJA Scholarship started: Form 1 (Grade 9)
Supported by: Langley Fine Arts School, Langley, BC, Canada
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Mercy is tall and self-assured. It is evident in her voice which exudes confidence and even authority. This is hardly misplaced, given she was the “governor” of her former primary school.
She lives with her parents and siblings in a small village called Ngobit near Ol Pejeta. She is the first born in a family of three. Her second-born brother Alex Mundia is in grade 5 and her last-born brother Emmanuel Koi is one year old.
Mercy’s struggles started dodging her early in life when most kids are enjoying the innocence of childhood. Between grade 6 and grade 8, her family was were squatting on a piece of land where someone had grudgingly let them put up a temporary shelter. She was more than once put in a situation where she was out of school doing casual labor to pay for her uniform and shoes. Sometimes even to augment what little food her mother could put on the table. 
When in grade 7, the worst happened. The family was forced out of the place they called home. Fortunately, in the same village, someone else offered them temporary shelter and allowed them to use a vacant, if slightly decrepit, house as they tried to get their lives together.
Mercy’s parents are farm laborers. Their income is not always reliable due to reduced rainfalls. During dry spells, which happen in much of the year, there are no jobs on the farms and this means they sometimes go to bed hungry, even for days. However, Lydia a community representative with Ol Pejeta Conservancy occasionally sends them food packets and lobbies for them to get support from the local administration.
Mercy says the greatest challenges she faces when at home is lack of food forcing them to sleep hungry and lack of electricity making studying difficult in the evenings. The current situation of living like refugees is also psychologically stressing her because it’s only a matter of time before they are kicked out again. However, she is hopeful that this will not come to pass when she finishes school and pursues her careers; she looks forward to building a house for her family.
Credit to her sunny outlook in life, Mercy counts herself as one of the luckiest girls in her community. She was the top student after doing her final primary school exam but there was no money to take her to school. With no alternative left, she resorted to doing casual work labor again. Her dream of going to secondary school was fizzling away until the Ol Pejeta community representative informed her parents of the PA-MOJA scholarship and they followed up with an application. After long weeks of waiting, Mercy received the good news that she had qualified for the scholarship. She says that’s one of the best days in her childhood.
Mercy would like to be a Civil Engineer when she grows up. This is from the fact she does well in Mathematics and during her primary school years, motivational speakers in that field used to come to school thus developing the passion. She also has a passion for community work. During holidays she joins her church mates to visit the elderly and children’s homes. From her experience, she hopes to start a scholarship foundation in her community.
In her free time, Mercy loves reading story books and newspaper articles.
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[one_third_last]Christmas Grretings, [/one_third_last]
