felista's story

Felista lives with her mother, two elder sisters and a brother. When her parents divorced, she moved in with her maternal grandparents, a long walk from her school. Her mother is a housewife.

The home has 4 rooms and solar heating, but for water they have to walk one mile to the river. Felista enjoys biology, agriculture and history, but is not so good at Swahili. She used to want to be a doctor, but now she would like to be a minister like Martha Karua, Kenya’s justice minister, whom she admires greatly.

She takes a lot of interest in the world around her. She is interested in the Kenyan government’s efforts to help internally displaced people. She likes reading novels—her favorite is “Across The Bridge”, which is about a girl who succeeds despite many sufferings. She says, “Some girls skip class, but I do not, because I know what I am here to do.”