Meet Hannington

Ever wanted to meet one of the kids we help?  Here's your chance.  Hannington is a high school student at the New Dawn Academy.  We hope you find his story as amazing as we do.

My Autobiography
By: Hannington Odhiambo

I was born in Githogoro slum, which is situated around Runda estate where my parents worked as coffee pickers in the nearby factory. I am the third born in my family of five boys and a single parent (brother). The names of my brothers in descending order are: Nicholas Ochieng, Fanuel Otieno, I (Hannington), Freedom Ouma, and Philip Oluoch.

My mother passed away when I was nine years old. She died on sixth November nineteen ninety nine of an illness that I don’t know up to now.

After her burial in the rural area, we returned to Githogoro to continue with our life. That’s when I joined a local Muslim school, which was free at the time and was the only affordable option for my father. We (my brothers and I) went to this school for several months until my father saved some money enough to take my elder brother to a government school which were not free at that time.

I continued learning at the Muslim school as my father worked day and night to take me to a better government school but all was in vain, since my father worked only for hand to mouth due to his large family and his small wage income.

Fortunately, In the year 2003, the government introduced free primary education program countrywide, where we (my younger siblings and I) joined the government school. I and my second born brother were together taken to class two as my elder brother progressed to class four. I actually don’t know the reason why, but we were later taken to the same as my eldest brother and so three of us shared the same class since.

At home my father fought for our survival day and night but he was unable to due to the high living standards that arouse after the free primary education. We were forced to drop out of school and go pick coffee to boost my father for our daily provision. Due to these conditions my elder brother dropped out of school permanently in order to help my father.

As life got harder and harder we were all forced to go to school for three or four days and the rest of the days to go and help our father. We continued with this trend until my eldest brother and I finished the primary course where I got an average grade of B in the year of two thousand and five.

I got a scholarship from my local church members who took me to a classy national high school but they later backed off. They left my father to struggle with all the expenses alone. Unfortunately he was unable to support me in that school and I had to drop out.

At this time, New Dawn Educational Center had started and it was progressing well. My eldest brother was already a student at this school and asked me to join him and my father also advised me the same.

Before then, I had always misunderstood high school. I thought that it was a place of total freedom and independence with all the luxurious things around but the time I joined New Dawn Educational center I found a true and real school. A school that not only concentrated on academics but also on discipline matters as well as spiritual growth. A school that no facilities but had special teachers who helped me to grow upright in the epoch society.

I struggled with different kinds of changes compared to the school I was before. I prayed hard not to loose hope and persevere all. We lacked several facilities but the teachers worked hard for us until the end of the course.

I did my Secondary National exams in New Dawn educational center and God blessed me with an aggregate grade of B-.

I still live with my father and my four brothers. I trust in my Almighty Father that He will open doors for me so that I may be able to further my studies and do my long-life career as a electrical engineer.

This is my brief life history and I still hold that if it was not for God, I could have been really nowhere in this world. May He guide me all through my future life.