Helping Hand Appeal 2017
With the energy-giving food from Mary’s Meals, Angeline is working hard so she can return to South Sudan to help others
Sometimes in life you just need an opportunity to succeed. At 14, Angeline, who lives in Eldoret in Kenya, is well aware of this. As a South Sudanese refugee, she faces challenges every day and is working hard to overcome them.
First and foremost is survival, then it’s education, where the support of Mary’s Meals, who provide a daily meal to pupils, is vital, and eventually a better, more prosperous life.
It won’t be easy, but she knows only hard work and perseverance will get her where she needs to be. Speaking in Swahili, she sums it up as thus, “Maisha sio kitanda cha maua cha kufurahia” – “Life is not a flower bed just for enjoying.”
The past four years have been quite a journey for Angeline. At the age of 10, she wasn’t playing or chatting to her friends as many youngsters of her age would be doing. Instead she was alone, on a bus, travelling towards Kenya, after being sent from her home in South Sudan by her parents who wanted her to have the prospect of a better life, away from the civil war that has torn the country apart. As there was only money for one family member to go, it was decided Angeline should live with a woman she calls Aunt, who followed her from South Sudan, and who isn’t actually a relative, but rather a kindly soul who provides shelter for South Sudanese refugees.
Back home, Angeline has an elder brother and sister, but she hasn’t seen them since she moved to Kenya.
Faced with loneliness and hardship, many girls of her age would have found it difficult to go on, but Angeline – an intelligent, thoughtful and compassionate young woman – is determined to do well so that one day she can help the family and friends she had to leave behind.
Although many people in Kenya live in conditions of poverty, South Sudanese people are generally welcomed into the communities, largely down to their work ethic and determination to work hard. At Border Farm Primary School, which Angeline attends, out of 1,048 pupils, 358 are from South Sudanese families.
She said, “I came alone by bus and then my aunt
followed. We were running away from South Sudan. Family friends got me a space on the bus. It was the last space. I felt very sad when I left. I would like to go back to South Sudan. There are so many people suffering there.
“In South Sudan, my family had to move a lot because of the war, so it was difficult to follow my education. So I would like to go back there to offer medical help.
“I love science, because I want to be a doctor, because
“I AM VERY HOPEFUL ABOUT THE FUTURE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I AM IN SCHOOL”
my aunt, who I love very much, is sick, and we don’t have money to take her to the hospital. One day, I want to be able to save lives. Living in Kenya is very helpful to me. Even though I don’t like having no-one from my family, but then I can go back to South Sudan to help my family.
“I’ve found it easy to live in Eldoret, because the Kenyan people are friendly and welcoming.”
Despite the fact life is better than in South Sudan, poverty is still an issue that blights every day. Food is hard to come by, and often Angeline will have nothing to eat. However, the daily meal provided by Mary’s Meals in schools gives her a lifeline, as it’s packed with nutritious ingredients so she has the energy to get through the day at school, and do chores and homework at home.
“Mary’s Meals is really helping me and my friends. At times, we want to stay at home, but there is nothing to eat at home, so we have to come back to school for the meals. Without the food, I would not be able to study.
“I am very hopeful about the future because right now I am in school, and I know that when I keep on studying I can achieve my dream and help my community.
“Mary’s Meals is part of that, because if I have no energy or strength, I will not be able to study. I need at least one meal a day to study.
“My friends and I do play sometimes, but mostly we like to revise our notes. One person who is good at one of the subjects tutors the others. With my friends, I am the tutor for science.”
With your kind donations, young people like Angeline can realise their potential.