Name: Risper Wanjiru Ngari
School: St Augustine Sirima Secondary School.
Graduated Student
Risper was one of our picks for the 2020 PA-MOJA scholarship. She is not sure yet if she wants to become a doctor or a lawyer but she is very optimistic about life now. Education, for many kids in Laikipia, is a make or break opportunity that will likely have a life long impact on her and her community.
Risper comes from a small village called Tharua. She lives with her mother -who is living with disability and has 3 siblings. She is the 3rd born in her family. A few years ago her father walked away from the family and her two elder siblings left home to fend for themselves doing casual labor.
Since then Risper has taken up the responsibility of taking care and helping out her mother navigate her physically challenged state. Risper runs the house chores, takes care of her younger sister and also farms a tiny piece of land while her mother goes to look for casual jobs. Often, she is turned away because of her condition.
With no permanent residence, they rely on well-wishers to offer them a place to live and food from government subsidies. This has always weighed heavily on Risper and she wasn’t sure of how she would join high school. The scholarship came as a great blessing and she promises to work even harder once in high school. Her mum says that Risper’s future is now bright and has great hope in her to help out the family in the future. She is expected to join St Augustine Sirima which is one of the best schools in her community and as you read this, she should be in class trying to change her world one page at a time.
