Mary Roitel Nabulu Story

Name: Mary Roitel Nabulu

Age: 17 years

School: St Francis Girls Secondary School

Form: 2 (Grade 10) – (in 2020)

Her parents passed on when she and her brother were very young. Since then they have been under her grandmother’s care. She can’t recall her parents. She only sees them on photos.

Family Background

Mary’s grandmother is approximately 80 years old. She depends on well-wishers for food and clothing. Looking at the situation at home, Mary knew her chances of joining secondary were almost nil. However, this did not deter her from working hard. Her neighbouring best friend who is currently in grade 10 happened to be sponsored by Equity Foundation, a banking institution in Kenya. This motivated Mary to work hard with a hope she will be one of the beneficiaries in 2019.

Unfortunately, she didn’t manage to attain the minimum marks for corporate sponsorship. She completely lost hope of joining secondary school. When all this was happening and speculating what next her grandmother received a call from one of the community leaders she had qualified for a scholarship.

With tears rolling down her eyes she says;” Having come from Maasai community my greatest fear was that I will undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) and later be married off to an old man. This is a common practice among the Maasais and I was not an exemption. This thought gave me goosebumps and at times I contemplated fleeing to an unknown destination. I couldn’t imagine my dream of becoming a teacher shattered down. ”

Community

Where Mary comes from FGM and marriage of young girls is a common practice. She considers this is a retrogressive culture which “steals” the dignity of a girl. She feels it is high time community members unite to condemn it. In future, she hopes she will be able to advocate for girls rights and sensitize the community on the need to educate and value them.

Achievements

Mary loves her new school because of the climate which is neither too hot nor too cold and the friendly teachers.

Her team also emerged winners in a football tournament and they are expected to proceed to the next level.

Thank you message to the donor

“Thank you so much for willing to support me. I believe this chance will boost my self-esteem and I will be a role model and a mentor to many girls in my community.”