Day in the Life of Havila Anyango: Grade 2 Student
Havila Anyango was born in the year 2012 in the family of Mr. Samwel Agono Ngasi and Mrs. Beatrice Achiengo Agono, of Kisumu West sub-county, of Kapuonja village – 3 miles away from Mwanzo Education Center (MEC). The village is a neighbor of Rabuor where MEC is located. She is the last child in their family of five children. Her brother Oliver Omondi is in grade 6 and the School’s bell ringer since he is always the first to arrive.
In January 2018 Havila’s started missing school then we learned her father was ill. He died in October 2019 having not recovered after a fall in sewage at work where he was a security guard in Narok. When we from MEC attended the burial, we learned Havila was very close to her father and that he was the breadwinner, and that her mother was a homemaker. Since the mother could not fully afford the children’s basic needs, Havila missed school often from the time her father got sick to when he passed away. This we learned was because they had no food and also, she was helping her mother with many immediate chores as she searched for odd jobs to feed her family. Therefore, Havila fell behind by a year. In 2019 whenever Havila came to school and even up to date, she was and is always not tidy and looks tired and hungry. She is so aware of herself that she continues to be withdrawn.
Even though she comes to school irregularly thus missing some classwork, at the end year exams and midterm test times, which as her teacher I call her mother to ensure she does not miss. Havila tops my class. I am told that when at home she is always studying. It is clear to me that she is a gifted and talented child who needs all the support she can get to allow her to complete her primary education and beyond.
Whenever she comes to school, I, her class teacher, spend time with Havila to help her catch up as best as I am able to and also make sure that I am equally available for the rest of the 30 students in my class. When I ask Havila what she wants to be when she grows up, she tells me she wants to be a teacher to help other children like she gets help when she lags behind.
I am so proud to see how much effort she puts in her schoolwork when she is in school. I also know as a parent and her teacher that the feeding program at MEC is a life saver for Havila and many children like her at Mwanzo Education Center.
As told by Mollyenter Awuor, Grade 2 teacher