What is the story of your journey to Ensign College?
I was born and raised in Kenya. My grandmother raised me, and she set an example of service that I was prompted to follow. Although she was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she nurtured us and built a very firm foundation of faith in Jesus Christ. We learned to share, love, be kind, and be generous even when we did not have anything at all. My grandmother lived in a mud hut, but she would share food with anyone. She would say, “No, when you have been blessed with even the little that you have, you share because when you share, Heavenly Father rewards you.” She had so much love in her heart.
My husband and I married and lived in a small shanty. We were both orphans. We worked for people in their homes and got paid one or two dollars a day. We saved fifty dollars and decided to start a small school and orphanage in the slums. Government officials threatened to close our school/orphanage because we did not have a college education. I determined then to get an education so we could keep our school and orphanage.
No colleges in Kenya would admit me. So a member of the Church and a friend encouraged me to go to Utah for school. Sisters in my ward in Utah encouraged me to apply to LDS Business College and helped me find a scholarship. I also had a student job at the cafeteria.
I loved the small classes. The teachers were so wonderful and understanding. They made my experience at the college so comfortable and peaceful. I also accessed the tutoring center. I would not have passed mathematics or a required accounting class without it. I studied medical assisting because it would be so useful in Kenya.
Tell us how you came to join the Church.
I felt prompted to investigate the Church because of the example of some women from Salt Lake City who came to visit our school in Soweto, a slum in Nairobi. I was so impressed with them because they were so sweet, loving, and caring and were completely unafraid to hold children who were not clean and well-groomed.
I invited them to my home for some food. One of them stopped the tour van and said, “Those are missionaries from my church.” I knew immediately that they were devil worshippers because that was the rumor about the Church.
The women invited the missionaries to come to the house. I did not want to meet with them, so I kept missing appointments. One night, when I returned home, Elder Bricknell and his companion were there. He encouraged me to just “come to church without listening to any other voice.” I felt bad that I had been avoiding them, so I went. When I got to the chapel, they sang two hymns that I knew: “Count Your Blessings” and “Sing We Now at Parting”. I soon felt right at home. I began attending every Sunday after that and joined the Church after a few months.
Were there any pivotal moments or memorable experiences that shaped you as a student at Ensign College?
When I was growing up, both of my grandmothers prayed with such gratitude. Even in our poverty, they would find reason to thank Heavenly Father. My grandmother would say, “Thank you for giving me life, and another opportunity to see a day. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to take care of these children. I know you will make a way.” So, when I came to LDS Business College and we began each class with a prayer, it felt so familiar to me. Those prayers and my religion classes helped me walk through the storms in my life. My psychology, coding, and medical procedures teachers, all of them, were filled with the Spirit.
What did you do after graduation?
I returned home to Kenya with an Associate Degree in Medical Assisting. I had been empowered by my education and I now knew what the Church was all about. My husband no longer valued our marriage, so I chose to step away and go back to my rural village. I chose to start over with a new school and orphanage in the rural village where I had been so poor.
About a week after I arrived, I went to a bank to ask for money even though I did not have an account. The manager heard my story and gave me $1,500 of his own money. He did not know me. Tell me there are no miracles in this world. I was dancing and praising Hallelujah and Hosanna. I went to the hardware store and bought the tin, nails, and boards. My friends and neighbors helped me build. The rooms were classrooms during the day and dorms at night for orphan children.
What are you doing now with your school?
Last year, Daisy Centre celebrated our 10-year anniversary. We are at the top of the list of academics in our region. We have been selected as a pilot school for the new curriculum. Our syllabus includes arts and crafts, agriculture, and music. We are working on getting a workshop for welding and woodwork as well as a salon. We want all our children to have some kind of opportunity so they can earn a living and don’t have to wait to be employed.
Have any of your students gone on to do anything that really makes you proud?
Yes, Diana was a young girl who dropped out of school when she was in grade 6. Her parents died. I took her in to protect her. She had torn clothes and no shoes. We got a sponsor for her; she excelled in school and went to the university to become a high school teacher. She came back to volunteer at Daisy Centre. She wanted to pay it forward.
Lavendar’s father began threatening her mother and the children. The children went to stay with their impoverished grandmother and had to drop out of school. We took Lavendar in. She went to high school and is studying accounting in college.
We have a plumber who works elsewhere but volunteers his service at our school. We have an electrician and a mechanic who attended our school. These children were rejected, abandoned, and marked as useless. With schooling and their own initiative, they have learned a trade. Many students are now embracing the fact that even if you cannot go all the way to the university, you can still do something else.
How does the school support itself?
We fundraise for food, tuition, medical care, and other operational costs. We also have a small farm on our campus. We do grow our own crops, sukumu wiki, bananas, sweet potatoes, and yams. We rear our own chickens and cows.
What advice do you have for our Ensign College students today?
Because I have faced it, worn the shoes, so to speak, I have a testimony that miracles can happen and that Heavenly Father will bless us. I struggled all the way in high school and did not even get my diploma because I could not pay the 25-dollar fee.
I am grateful to the LDS Business College, now Ensign College, which gave me an opportunity. Their tuition was low, and I was able to work and get some support.
I would encourage the Ensign students to stay close to the principles Jesus Christ taught. Those principles are going to guide them as they tackle life. They should embrace God’s word with positivity. A positive attitude will take them through. If they can learn to be grateful for whatever they have, small, big, wide, and large, they will succeed.
