Sarah grew up in rural Kenya with five siblings. At seven years old, she went to live with her aunt but was mistreated so she returned home. Soon after, her parents separated, and Sarah lived with her father along with some of her siblings while others stayed with her mom. “Life was not easy,” she said. “I was always on and off from school, and when I asked my father to pay my school fees, he told me he did not have money.”

Meanwhile, Sarah’s siblings living with her mother were not being provided for. Sarah went to check on them, and her mother rejected her. While she was on her way to bring all of her siblings to her father’s home, she said, “Our uncle rescued us.” Sarah and her siblings went to live with her uncle Peter’s family where there were eight children and two adults. She returned to school but only until fifth grade because her uncle also did not have the money to pay for school fees. She says there were days when they did not have enough to eat because they “depended on casual work, [and] sometimes they did not [have] work. It was during this time that Sarah became pregnant and had a baby boy, Emmanuel.

When she joined Neema in 2021, Sarah was shy and didn’t interact much with the other students. But through counseling and the encouragement from the staff and other students, she’s grown in social skills and has become jovial and active in class. More importantly, she developed an unconditional love for her son. Sarah says that she can now see a future, and her lost hope is restored.

“Neema has really impacted my life, counseling has helped me in anger management and also forgiving. Discipleship has also helped me in praying and reading the Bible. I am [also now] able to sew different types of outfits. My life has really been transformed.”

When she graduates from Neema later this month, Sarah would love to have her own workshop so she can employ other vulnerable young women like she once was. She says, “I intend to start my own business, take my son to a good school, and be a supportive parent.”

Sarah is also hoping to support her guardians financially after graduating. Her uncle Peter says, “I’m so grateful to Neema for taking good care of Sarah and her baby … She’s been instilled with discipline, she reasons, and is proud to be at Neema. When her friends ask her about it, she’s glad to share about the education she’s getting.”

Sarah's Story: Lost Hope Restored