Mother of four beats odds, goes back to form One at 29

Mr. Amos Ayoko marks assignment of Monica Achieng during English lesson in form one at Shiongo secondary in Khwisero. [PHOTO/ DUNCAN OCHOLLA]

Neglected by her parents when she was only three, Achieng has lived a life of misery since. But she hopes to turn the tide through education. 

Monica Achieng has been to hell and back. She was married at the tender age of 13 when her age mates were still skipping rope and playing hide-and-seek.

And that, she thought, was the best thing that ever happened to her.

Antony Muyale, now 39, came into her life while she was going through difficult times.

Her parents went their separate ways when she was only three, leaving Achieng in the hands of her grandparents in Nakuru town.

Rough time

After she learnt that Achieng was going through a rough time, her jobless mother came for her and enrolled her at Bukwala Primary School and then Mushiangubu Primary School a year later.

Things were heading in the right direction. But not for long.

“When I was in Standard Five, my mother fell sick and was in and out of hospital for two years. She died and I became the breadwinner at the age of 12. I started to take care of my younger sister who was aged four,” said Achieng.

The principal Reuben Nyauma Achoki serve Monica Achieng at the staffroom at Shiongo secondary in Khwisero.[ PHOTO/ DUNCAN OCHOLLA]

It is during this struggle to fend for herself and her sister that Antony Muyale, now 39, came into her life. Muyale would help Achieng with money and food to take care of her younger sister. The friendship blossomed into a romantic affair. A year later, Achieng fell pregnant and gave birth to a son. The two decided to live together as husband and wife.

That arrangement, as expected, did not please some people.

“My husband was arrested and arraigned in court after my relatives reported him,” she recounts.

But Achieng was not ready to let go of her man. “I pleaded with the court to release him since he was the one taking care of me and the baby; we had not planned for the pregnancy,” she said.

They agreed to settle the matter out of court. Muyale was released and Achieng again decided to move in with him, this time, she said, to avoid the wrath of her relatives who had disowned her.

Monica Achieng and her husband Anton Muyale at Shiongo in Khwisero. [PHOTO DUNCAN OCHOLLA]

Today, Achieng and Muyale have four children aged, 13, 11, 9 and 7.

And although she is now 26, many challenges still dog her life. But she is confident that a bright future lies ahead for her family.

It is not hard to see why. Achieng is a Form One student at Shiongo Secondary School in Ebuchero Eshiongo in Khwisero sub-county.

Monica Achieng serve her children lunch at her home in Khwisero. [PHOTO/ DUNCAN OCHOLLA]

She juggles between being a wife, a mother, a student and a cook in the school to raise Sh8,000 tuition fees. 

Clearly, not even grinding poverty can stop her from achieving her dream to become a surgeon.

Before she joined the school, Achieng worked as a cook, earning Sh2,000 a month at Shiongo Primary School.

Turning point

“This was my turning point after teachers realised I still had thirst for education. They registered me for Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination last year and I scored 234 marks despite having been out of class for many years,“ she revealed.

“In the morning, I used to prepare food for the pupils and after serving them lunch, I would go to class in the afternoon.”

Three of her children were also studying in the same school at the time.

Her husband is happy with her determination and big dream. He hopes that one day she will succeed and lift the family out poverty.

“I cannot get a well paying job since I am a Standard Five dropout,” he confessed.

Muyale does menial jobs to, among others, help pay his wife’s tuition fees.

Monica Achieng during interview with standard media at Shiongo secondary in Khwisero. She is a cook and a student at Shiongo Secondary School [PHOTO/ DUNCAN OCHOLLA]

Shiongo Secondary School Principal Reuben Achoki Nyauma said Achieng is disciplined and hardworking. 

“Balancing between motherhood and school is challenging. Now that she doesn’t have a young child, we want to admit her to the boarding section so that she gets ample time to study. She can go home to see her family during weekends,” said Mr Achoki.

However, raising Sh32,000 for boarding is a tall order for Achieng who is described by her class teacher Amos Oyoko as “a bright student who gives other classmates sleepless nights’ due to her exemplary performance”.

Millicent Lubanga, Shiongo Primary School head teacher, appealed to well-wishers to come to Achieng’s aid.