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MUM’S BUSINESS LOOTED AND HOUSE BURNT IN POST ELECTION VIOLENCE
PATROSE WANJIRU MAARA I was born on 5th May
1984 in Kikuyu, Kiambu District. Then, my parents were civil servants; my
mother was a secretary at the Kenya Institute of Education
and my father a primary school teacher. At the time,
we rented a house in Barely a year after I was born, my
mother and father separated. My father moved to Eldoret
in the Rift Valley Province, while my mother, my two
sisters and a brother were left at my grandmother’s
home in Kikuyu. I therefore grew up in a single-mother
family set-up. My mum quit her demanding job to run
a business and cater for us. However, the financial
situation in the family went from bad to worse and
by 1987, my mother was not only out of business but
was languishing in great poverty. After my secondary school education,
I was idle home for one year due to financial challenges.
I expressed my desire to join the university to an
aunt who promised to offset my studies in the university
on condition that my parents would reconcile and take
back their responsibility. My parents have not reconciled
yet and my mum is in Eldoret
while my dad, who was laid off in 2003 is now jobless. The post election violence has upset
my education. My mum had just stocked her clothes
shop for Christmas shopping hoping to pay some of
my fees for this semester with the proceeds. However,
when violence broke out, her shop was looted and she
lost all her stock. To make it worse, our property which
she had moved to a neighbor’s house for safety was
burnt down as that house went up in flames. Weeks
later, our own house was burnt. My sister in Eldoret
lost her job as the place she was working was burnt
down. At the moment we are back at my grandmother’s
place. We are still trying to face the whole issue
but as things are, I face dropping out of To donate to assist
these students, follow this link: http://daystarus.org/donate/donation.htm
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