Meet a staff member: Willis

Hello! My name is Willis, and I am the first born in a family of seven, five girls and two boys. One of my sisters passed away in 1997 at a tender age. My only brother passed away in 2005. They both succumbed to anaemia and we are still nursing one of my sisters who is anaemic. Both my parents are alive. They are small scale farmers, and occasionally do odd jobs in the community.

I attended kambajo primary school from class one to eight, where I sat for my KCPE in 2003. It was a struggle to raise my small fees and most of the time I was out of school due to lack of fees. This affected my school performance. After finishing primary school, I was admitted to Got Agulu secondary school. Due to lack of fees I resorted to Kapiyo Mixed Day secondary school. I managed to stay in school from form one to two, my parents were unable to raise the required fees for the second term of form two and I had to leave school to join them in search for fees and family support. I would carry out manual jobs in the community to raise money enough to support the family and medicate my ailing sister. The school administration agreed to offer me supplementary exams after form two and three. In 2007, I was enrolled in form four for KCSE even though I was not attending classes as from form two. The school deputy by that time stood firm in this arrangement that he may see me off with a secondary certificate rather than dropping out at form two due to fees. I would do voluntary works in the community, for passion and survival, among the organisations I volunteered with were the Tuungane programme, that focused on youth and HIV: Nyanza Reproductive Health Society, that focused on male circumcision; Action Aid, that focused on community social audit.  The stipends I received from these organisations enabled me to support my parents in raising up the family. I sat for my KCSE in 2007 and scored grade C. I finally achieved my dream of completing secondary education, opening another window for full time voluntary and casual jobs in the community to clear my secondary arrears as my certificates were retained until I pay the last cent.

In 2011, I joined WVP Kenya. Getting a full-time job helped clear my fees, care for my ailing sister and supporting the family. Working for WVP Kenya have changed my way of living and perception in life greatly. The job I was offered was relevant to my previous voluntary activities and I am enjoying it greatly. I found a dedicated team who would always advise me where necessary to ensure that the organisation´s goals are met in time.

Through working for WVP Kenya, I managed to collect my secondary certificate in 2014, afterwich I enrolled for a certificate course in Human Resource Management, later on to Diploma in Human resource management at the University of Nairobi. I graduated with a diploma in HRM in 2015 Dec 4th.Through working for WVP Kenya, I´ve managed to comfortably advance in education, support the family, including the education of two of my sisters, who are currently in secondary school, as well as gain a lot of experience in community and organisational work.

I feel glad and privileged to work for WVP/CACOP and very grateful the opportunity I was given to be part of this team. Thanks to WVP/CACOP and its supports for enabling me, and the rest of my family, reach this far.

---