It is 3pm when Chep walks into St Catherines Chepnyal Girls in Kapenguria, West Pokot. She is clad in a dirty skirt, a stained while T-shirt and sandals made from old tyres. She has an old shuka on her shoulder.
In her own words, the school’s principal Salome Chesire thought she was looking for a menial job.
However, she was shocked when Chep — not her real name — said she was looking for admission in Form One.
For Chep, it was a step of faith, as she was unsure if she would be admitted.
“I had no idea they would accept me. I decided to try hoping it would turn out well for me. All I wanted was to join Form One,” Chep says.
“At first, I did not get an impression of a student. I thought she was looking for a job. But that was before she handed me her KCPE result slip and said she was seeking admission to Form One,” said Ms Chesire.
Chep could not express herself in English or Kiswali. Chesire had to call her deputy, who understood the local language, to help interpret.
“It was a sad story,” Chesire says. “I saw her resolve to learn and decided to admit her. I issued her with an admission letter and asked her to go back home, prepare and come back,” she says.
After one week, Chep was back. She was in the same clothes. Apart from a small piece of bar soap, the girl had nothing else.
“She looked desperate and tired. I had many questions but I did not ask any. Instead, I mobilised my teachers to contribute money and we bought her uniform and a few other things,” says the principal.
Chep has settled in school and believes she will achieve her dream of becoming a doctor.
“I am happy to be in school, in boarding school, away from my father,” Chep says.
By the time she arrived at St Catherines Chepnyal, she was not living with her parents. She lived with a relative who took her in after her father’s home became hostile.
She breaks down as she describes her torturous journey to the school.
In 2012, then a Standard Six, Chep was forced to undergo Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Internationally, female circumcision is categorised as a human rights violation.
Later, the then 11-year-old girl was married off to an elderly man. The marriage did not last. However, she was already pregnant by the time she was leaving.
She gave birth in 2013. When the baby was two months old, Chep’s father organised for a second marriage.
Chep says she was shocked when people arrived at their home one evening singing and dancing. She did not understand what the party was all about. No one had told her there would be visitors.
“Amid the celebrations, my father announced my second marriage,” Chep says.
The same night, she was forced to leave to her new husband’s home at Cheptaboyo village, Amudat District on the Kenya-Uganda border. They had just given Chep’s father 30 head of cattle. She went with her child.
Unknown to Chep, the elderly man who asked for her hand in marriage was doing it for his son. However, his son rejected Chep, as she already had a child with another man.
Chep says she was happy when she was rejected. She hoped she would return home. However, this was never to be. The elderly man, with five wives, decided to marry Chep. He said he could not release her after giving the cows.
“It was torture. They would force me to walk many kilometres in search of water. I would also work for many hours in the farm. Meanwhile, no one took care of my baby. I think they wanted to kill my baby. I would find him at the same place I left him,” Chep says.
After one year in the second marriage, Chep escaped with her child one night. It took her two days to get home.
A day later, the man who had married her arrived. “He demanded that either I go back with him or my father gives the cows back,” says Chep.
She says she ran away and reported to the area assistant chief, Christopher Adoywan.
Adoywan said they resolved that she lives with her relative. “Since she was determined to continue with her education, we took her to a local primary school,” the assistant chief says.
That was in 2016 when she joined Standard Six. Chep lived with the relative under the watch of the administrator. The relative also took care of her baby. Meanwhile, her former husband took back his 30 cows.
Early marriage
Last year, Chep sat the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations and scored 204 marks.
Chesire says the school has many girls rescued from FGM and early marriage.
World Vision has been facilitating some of the girls to resume education.
Moses Chepkonga, Child Protection and Education manager at the NGO, says FGM is common locally.
“Illiteracy levels are very high, as people continue to be guided by culture. They still look at girls as a source of wealth through bride price,” says Mr Chepkonga.
He accuses local leaders of lacking goodwill to end the vice. “We invite them to our forums but they never address the issue for fear of going against culture, which means political suicide for them.”
He says as the world marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM on Wednesday, more needs to be done to end the vice.
Chesire says most of the girls have returned to school thanks to ‘Girl Child programme’ by World Vision.
It is 3pm when Chep walks into St Catherines Chepnyal Girls in Kapenguria, West Pokot. She is clad in a dirty skirt, a stained while T-shirt and sandals made from old tyres. She has an old shuka on her shoulder.
In her own words, the school’s principal Salome Chesire thought she was looking for a menial job.
However, she was shocked when Chep — not her real name — said she was looking for admission in Form One.
For Chep, it was a step of faith, as she was unsure if she would be admitted.
“I had no idea they would accept me. I decided to try hoping it would turn out well for me. All I wanted was to join Form One,” Chep says.
“At first, I did not get an impression of a student. I thought she was looking for a job. But that was before she handed me her KCPE result slip and said she was seeking admission to Form One,” said Ms Chesire.
Chep could not express herself in English or Kiswali. Chesire had to call her deputy, who understood the local language, to help interpret.
“It was a sad story,” Chesire says. “I saw her resolve to learn and decided to admit her. I issued her with an admission letter and asked her to go back home, prepare and come back,” she says.
After one week, Chep was back. She was in the same clothes. Apart from a small piece of bar soap, the girl had nothing else.
“She looked desperate and tired. I had many questions but I did not ask any. Instead, I mobilised my teachers to contribute money and we bought her uniform and a few other things,” says the principal.
Chep has settled in school and believes she will achieve her dream of becoming a doctor.
“I am happy to be in school, in boarding school, away from my father,” Chep says.
By the time she arrived at St Catherines Chepnyal, she was not living with her parents. She lived with a relative who took her in after her father’s home became hostile.
She breaks down as she describes her torturous journey to the school.
In 2012, then a Standard Six, Chep was forced to undergo Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Internationally, female circumcision is categorised as a human rights violation.
Later, the then 11-year-old girl was married off to an elderly man. The marriage did not last. However, she was already pregnant by the time she was leaving.
She gave birth in 2013. When the baby was two months old, Chep’s father organised for a second marriage.
Chep says she was shocked when people arrived at their home one evening singing and dancing. She did not understand what the party was all about. No one had told her there would be visitors.
“Amid the celebrations, my father announced my second marriage,” Chep says.
The same night, she was forced to leave to her new husband’s home at Cheptaboyo village, Amudat District on the Kenya-Uganda border. They had just given Chep’s father 30 head of cattle. She went with her child.
Unknown to Chep, the elderly man who asked for her hand in marriage was doing it for his son. However, his son rejected Chep, as she already had a child with another man.
Chep says she was happy when she was rejected. She hoped she would return home. However, this was never to be. The elderly man, with five wives, decided to marry Chep. He said he could not release her after giving the cows.
“It was torture. They would force me to walk many kilometres in search of water. I would also work for many hours in the farm. Meanwhile, no one took care of my baby. I think they wanted to kill my baby. I would find him at the same place I left him,” Chep says.
After one year in the second marriage, Chep escaped with her child one night. It took her two days to get home.
A day later, the man who had married her arrived. “He demanded that either I go back with him or my father gives the cows back,” says Chep.
She says she ran away and reported to the area assistant chief, Christopher Adoywan.
Adoywan said they resolved that she lives with her relative. “Since she was determined to continue with her education, we took her to a local primary school,” the assistant chief says.
That was in 2016 when she joined Standard Six. Chep lived with the relative under the watch of the administrator. The relative also took care of her baby. Meanwhile, her former husband took back his 30 cows.
Early marriage
Last year, Chep sat the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations and scored 204 marks.
Chesire says the school has many girls rescued from FGM and early marriage.
World Vision has been facilitating some of the girls to resume education.
Moses Chepkonga, Child Protection and Education manager at the NGO, says FGM is common locally.
“Illiteracy levels are very high, as people continue to be guided by culture. They still look at girls as a source of wealth through bride price,” says Mr Chepkonga.
He accuses local leaders of lacking goodwill to end the vice. “We invite them to our forums but they never address the issue for fear of going against culture, which means political suicide for them.”
He says as the world marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM on Wednesday, more needs to be done to end the vice.
Chesire says most of the girls have returned to school thanks to ‘Girl Child programme’ by World Vision.
