NeLsoN kiSuNdi

19 years old
Resident of Gachie, outside Nairobi
First Year University student
When he grows up, he dreams of becoming a Nurse!
Expected to begin in September 2007
Total funding for Year 1: US$6,000

Administrator:
Anne-Marie Di Lullo +254-727-238-997 tabasamu.trust@gmail.com

PARTIALLY FUNDED FOR '07-'08: Ms. Christine L'Heureux, QC, Canada

Nelson lives just outside Nairobi, with his 2 brothers and 1 sister, and an orphaned cousin. He is the eldest boy in his family, and his mother works every day as a cook in order to provide for her family. We met Nelson through Edwin, in fact, because he has entrepreneurially started offering tutoring classes for Elementary School students to help them score well on their finals, so that they have a better chance of accessing good high schools. Nelson graduated from Jamhuri Boys’ Secondary School, with high grades and is currently hoping to be invited to join Nursing School at Kenyatta University in Nairobi. He has done a lot to help Edwin so far, providing him with both daily tuition after class, and brotherly companionship on the side. Nelson is focused, determined and hard working. He came to Nairobi at age 5, brought here by his parents looking for a better life than that they could get in Western Kenya. He is a graduate of Gachii Primary, where Edwin is now studying, and it really makes him feel great to come back and help a fellow student. Nelson asked me specifically to mention that his personal drive to succeed and help his mother improve hers and the lives of her children comes from an important event in his life: his father leaving. He says that after years of mistreating his mother, his father just turned his back and walked away from his wife and 4 children, leaving the jobless mother to cope on her own. In the meanwhile, her niece joined them in Nairobi, adding to the financial burden. Nelson says that he is determined never to do that to his children, and he respects his mother for working so hard. His goal is to make sure his younger siblings get as many opportunities as he can offer them, and going to university is his first step towards that dream!