I come from the Tana River District. When I was 17, tribal clashes between the Pokomo and Orma were at an all-time high. I was in school, but it got too dangerous for students to attend school, so it was shut down. All we could do was stay at home, listen to radios, and wait for the school to open again. But then it became dangerous to be in your home. If someone from one of the tribes found you and you did not speak the correct language, the tribal men would either kill you or rape you. We had to leave our home. We had no place to go so we ran into the bush. My mother has ten kids, including me. We could not live in the bush for very long. That is when we fled here to Malindi.
When we got here, my mother was given a mattress to live on. That was all we had besides the shamba (garden plot) back in Tana River. My brother went out searching for a job and he was told to find a man named Stephen Thethe. He found the man and explained our family’s situation. Thethe asked to meet with our mother. When my mother met with him, he asked what had happened that brought her here with ten children. She gave him the same explanation my brother had given. This man responded by telling my mother to bring all of us kids to school at Mahenzo; so, she did.
We still had no place to sleep. After some time, my mother decided to go back to Tana River with the youngest two kids because we had a shamba there. Thethe let the rest of us sleep on the kitchen floor so we could continue our education as the schools back home remained closed. That’s where we stayed for about a year. Eventually, my younger brothers and sisters found houses to stay in, but I stayed alone at the school. I feared nothing then. I was young and had seen too much to be afraid.
When my mother arrived in Tana River, she found that our shamba had been taken over by the government. She went to the District Officer to try and receive compensation for the land because she had no other source of income. She was denied compensation but given a smaller shamba in the forest. This was during the height of Al-Shabaab (Somali Al Qaeda affiliates) who were known to be hiding in the forest. She refused to stay there because it was too dangerous and found a different place to stay for some time. In 2017, she became sick and could not walk. My siblings that were with her were four and six years old. They were unable to help her because they were so young. Then she received a letter from the county government telling her she was being evicted from where she was living. She did not know what to do so she called Stephen Thethe and told him that she was very sick and asked him to tell me. When he did, I was able to call her, and I begged her to come here. She said she did not have the money to travel so far. I told her I would figure out some way to get her here. I went to talk to Thethe about everything that was happening with my mother and that she needed help to get down here. He brought the situation to the church. Then I received some of the best news I have ever heard: the church raised money to bring my mother and siblings here. She was able to come to Malindi and get medicine. Soon after, she was able to walk again. However, she still did not have a place to live.
Thethe made a deal with me. He had an extra plot of land and said we could stay there if I promised to get a job after I graduate so I can buy a plot for my family. I graciously accepted. The church continued to care for us. They gave us money to build a structure of two rooms which was just enough for my mother and the small children to live there. Then they gave us metal sheets to build a roof. I think the biggest challenge for me is that my mother already asks me for food, but I am still in secondary school. I talked to the management here and they decided to allow the small children to come to school and get a daily meal here. But what about my mother? It is still a challenge.
Before we moved to Malindi, my family did not know about God. But when I started school here at Mahenzo, I was taught the Word of God and decided to be baptized. Any time I got to talk to my mother after that, I would share everything I learned about God with her. Soon after I started sharing, I got a call from my mother that she wanted to be baptized. Now she and my brothers and sisters are Christians. I am even a leader in the youth group here at the church!
I am part of the first graduating class in Mahenzo’s secondary school. I am the most educated in my family. I want to increase my family’s living standard and improve the society of our community. Reminding myself of that has helped me stay focused on my studies. The first thing I have to do after I graduate is stay true to my word and find a job so I can buy a plot for my family to live on. But my dream is to go to university and become a doctor. I wish to encourage younger students to continue in their studies. I want them to know that education is not simple, and it has many challenges. You may be discouraged when you look around, but you must remember that you have a goal and that you need to think higher of yourself.
I am very happy here at Mahenzo. I want to say thank you to the sponsors in America. Thank you. Keep helping. There are so many others like me that need help. You do not help others to see what you are doing, you help because you have a charitable heart. The help we receive builds our families’ standards of living.
I enjoy my English and Religion classes. My favorite hobby is singing. My family ran from tribal clashes into the bush to live. Now I am graduating from secondary school at Mahenzo. My name is Salim Kombe and I am not defeated.
