Eunice’s Story
March 2024
My name is Eunice Juma and am 23 years old. I come from a small village called Buchirinya in Mumias Town. I am a total orphan after the death of both my parents. My childhood wasn’t a good one because I had to be relocated every now and then to different relatives which means I had to change schools too, that affected me in one way or the other but the good part of it is that I went through education despite all the challenges.
I joined Nasio Trust at the age of 14 in 2011 when some visitors from Nasio Trust – St. Irene came to our school and I was in a music group in Primary School that I used to solo and one of the visitors called John Cornelius liked my singing and was interested in knowing me more and that is how I got into the program. I count it a blessing and I believe that it was in God’s plan for me to get such opportunity.
After joining the program, a year later I joined secondary school and through Nasio Trust I managed to enrol in one of the local schools where I completed my Secondary Examination in 2015. I never felt like an orphan because I had found a new family at Nasio Trust who really loved me and cared for me so much.
I started volunteering with Nasio Trust after my secondary school, I had no career choice by then so I had to think of one, I was placed in the Social work department and as time went by, I began to develop interest in social work and settled on taking a course in that field. During my volunteer period, I got pregnant and delivered my baby Mike in November 2016 and felt that I was a disgrace to myself, my supporter and Nasio Trust family but despite everything that happened, I never gave up and I really thank God for my supporter John who believed in me and agreed to continue with the sponsorship. I took care of my child for two years as I continued volunteering at the project. Life was not the same for me since I had another added responsibility of the baby. I used to carry him with me everyday because I had no one to take care of him at home. I really thank God for the support I got from Nasio Trust family who took the responsibility of giving me a hand of taking care of the baby while doing my work.
I never gave up and luckily I joined college in September 2018 in one of the colleges in Western Kenya called The Sigalagala National Polytechnic where am studying Social Work and Community Development at a Diploma level. I am now in my second year and was looking forward to completing next year but the bad thing is that we have been affected with Covid – 19 which means we might repeat our classes again for another one year to recover the lost year.
Working with youths in 2022 gave me an opportunity to learn a lot including improving my listening skills and boosting my confidence. I have also learned to listen with intent of understanding rather than listening with the intent of replying. Having interacted with many young people in the community and schools and through sharing experiences I also learned that youths could succeed only if they are ready to learn from their past mistakes and avoid being harsh on themselves. I have learned to turn challenges into opportunities for growth and success. Most young people are not able to face reality of life and the challenges that come with it. Therefore, I believe that through the Youth Assistant post, my story has inspired some youths to realize what difference they can make in life if they choose to accept the reality.
In 2024, My current role is working with the community as the Head of Sustainable Livelihoods Department and the main goal is to make a difference by helping people who are struggling in some areas in life. Apart from Professional benefits, this job helps me to increase my overall satisfaction and fulfilment. I have also learned to interact with diverse group of people and learned a lot about them and the world. All thanks to Nasio for giving me all these opportunities that has enabled me to be independent and am glad my son and my sister can depend on me without any worries.
I really thank God for this opportunity and I count it a blessing for this opportunity. I love Nasio Trust.
“I’d like to nominate Eunice Juma for recognition. I started sponsoring her many years ago. She is an amazing young lady. Against all the odds she has recently completed a college course and has just signed a contract to work for Nasio. She has done so well.” – John (her sponsor)
This story is listed in: Achievements, Child Stories, Inspirational Women
