BY STEPHEN KILONZI
The mud walls of their home at Kathanjuri village in Runyenjes Constituency, Embu County, tells a silent story of struggle.
Inside, the 21-year-old Fridah Kamwangi sits on a wooden stool, her eyes glistening with tears she has tried for too long to hide.
In her hands rests an admission letter from the University of Embu—proof that she earned a chance to join her peers in pursuit of higher learning. Yet, for now, it remains just a piece of paper.
When Arise Media visited the home, the silence was punctuated only by sobs—hers and her mother’s—as they spoke of dreams suspended at the edge of possibility.
Fridah had watched other freshers walk proudly into lecture halls. She, on the other hand, walked out, empty-handed and broken-hearted.
“It hurt me to stand outside the lecture halls and watch my classmates walk in,” she recalled in a hushed tone.
Her journey to the University gate was nothing short of extraordinary. In 2021, just a week after giving birth, Fridah strapped courage on her shoulders and walked back into school.
She endured whispers of ridicule, stigma, and endless poverty, yet refused to abandon her pursuit of education.
Unlike her six siblings, who were forced by circumstances to drop out of school, Fridah fought on—sometimes on an empty stomach, sometimes walking kilometers just to be present in class. The struggle had begun long before motherhood.
When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning, her KCPE performance was affected, yet she still scored 305 marks in 2021, enough to join secondary school. Through sheer determination, she emerged from Nguviu Girls High School last year with a B– grade, strong enough to earn her place at the University of Embu.
But even resilience has its limits. This year, Fridah stood at the university gates with no fees, no personal effects, and no relative to support her.
Her plea for government sponsorship had fallen through. The dream she had carried so bravely was suddenly out of reach.
Her mother, Bether Marigu, sat beside her during the Arise Media interview at their home, her voice heavy with pain.
“Sometimes we only eat cassava. Other days, we go without food. My chest pains have worsened from the struggles of life. Watching my daughter’s dreams slip away is the worst pain of all,” she cried, clutching her chest.
The family’s hardship traces back to a deeper wound. Fridah’s father, once the family’s pillar, lost a leg through amputation before passing away.
Since then, Marigu has carried the impossible burden of raising seven children alone, with no stable income, no safety net, and no relief.
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Still, Fridah refuses to be broken. “I don’t want to be defined by my struggles. I want to change my life and take care of my mother, who has sacrificed everything for us,” she says firmly.
For now, she remains at home, her books neatly stacked, her eyes fixed on a future that feels close yet painfully far. In her own words, she is “waiting for heaven to open.”
Her story, is a portrait of resilience and a desperate cry for intervention. It is not just about school fees—it is about giving a young woman who has beaten the odds a fair chance at life.
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