Maai Mahiu, Kenya
Grade 5
My mother ran away from home at a young age to get married. She lived with my father for a few years, having me and later passing from pneumonia. When she passed her body was returned to my grandparents who were very poor. My father had not paid her dowry, making the burial a heavy finanical burden. He also disappeared, leaving me alone. I was eventually taken to my grandparents but they could not afford basic care for me. I was in deperate need and the Children's Home in Maai-Mahiu took me in.
