Bright orphan with disability seeks help to join secondary school

By , K24 Digital
On Sun, 12 Feb, 2023 13:42 | 3 mins read
Jackline Nyambura, the 14-year-old struggling to raise fees for her secondary school education. PHOTO/Mathew Ndung'u
EDITOR'S NOTES: Jackline Nyambura gave us the consent to use her photo for this article.

For most parents and especially mothers, the rewards of bringing to life a child heavily outweigh the sacrifices they make during their nine-month pregnancy.

Delivering a healthy child however brings double joy to every family and parents often wear excited faces when doctors declare that their newborns are free from birth defects.

But imagine giving birth to a child without a vagina, with a double uterus and with zero organs for excretion.

This is the story of Jackline Nyambura, a 14-year-old former pupil at Muthithi Primary school in Maragua, Murang’a County.

Despite having been born normally like other children, Nyambura lacked key body organs such as vagina, urinary and anal systems to not only enable her to go about key excretion but also exercise reproduction when she becomes of age.

Worse still, the girl was born with a double uterus, a rare congenital abnormality that occurs during development as a fetus.

When she breathed her first and her father heard about her condition, he proposed that she either get killed or be dumped as she ‘harboured spirits’ and would be a bad omen to his family and the society.

In most parts of the African content, children born with physical and mental disabilities are regarded as bad omens to their families and the society and in some areas, the innocent children are forced to drink a deadly poisonous herbal mixture that, if it kills them, would prove that they were possessed.

This, according to some cultural beliefs, would get rid of bad luck to their families and the society at large.

“When my father came to check on me while at Kenyatta National Hospital, he could not even face me. He proposed that I get killed or be dumped somewhere as he could not tolerate my condition,” explained Nyambura.

Her mother however declined the invitation and despite so many struggles decided to bring her up, the societal stigma related to her status notwithstanding.

As a result of the dispute between the parents, Nyambura’s father fled without trace but the mother soldiered on and took her to Kijabe Mission Hospital where she underwent several procedures that saw her start defecating using tubes, a challenge she beat in all her lower-primary schooling years.

But Nyambura could not mingle with her fellow pupils and her esteem was lowering by day until the mother took another step that saw doctors further operate on her, creating artificial organs that got her off the hook.

“The problem was not gone still as I would experience frequent urination and defecation, a situation that is often interrupted by routine studies. Doctors however recommended some medicines that saw me start going to the toilet once or twice in a day. This was a relief to me and the assistance saw me go about my class five and six,” Nyambura said.

Her mother died when Nyambura, a third born in her family, was in Class Seven, a state of affairs that almost plunged her into desperation and hopelessness.

Through the help of her elder sister, the bright girl however managed to complete her primary school education and exceptionally managed to garner 353 out of possible 500 marks during the 2022 KCPE exams.

Nyambura, an aspiring surgeon who has been dreaming to live a better life is however grappling with frustrations, despair and total sufferings after she failed to report to South Tetu Girls High School where she had been called to start her secondary school education.

While members of her extended family abandoned them, her poor siblings cannot raise the money that is required for her to join the school in Nyeri County.

“My elder sister takes care of me and has struggled so much to get me here. She however cannot take me to high school as the money she makes from menial jobs cannot only feed us and buy me medication,” Nyambura who has been hosted by a well-wisher in Githurai 45, Kiambu County decried.

Determined, Wanjiru who pleaded with well-wishers to support her education vowed to do everything possible to help Kenyans out of disease struggles saying she would not want anyone to undergo what she has undergone since she was born.

Gladys Wairimu, the elder sister who has been taking care of Nyambura revealed that their father excommunicated them leaving them struggling in life.

As a result of mountainous struggles, Wairimu says she sometimes develops suicidal thoughts but is often encouraged by Nyambura that life would one day offer them a smile.

“Currently I don’t even work as Nyambura has been developing some complications and this requires me to be there for her every hour. Our plea to well-wishers, is to kindly come through for us, wipe away our tears and get my sister to school,” Wairimu cried.

Nyambura is among thousands of poor 2022 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) candidates whose fate hangs in the balance due to lack of school fees.

The situation has rendered the 100 per cent transition from primary to secondary school program by the government into a pipe dream as most of them have only been loitering while others could end up becoming wasted despite their top performance.

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