Chiku Wetu! (Our Chiku!)

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” 2 Peter 1:5-7

“Chiku Wetu! Chiku Wetu! Chiku Wetu!” the staff and students chanted as Jennifer Wanjiku Guthera received her Certificate in Tailoring and Dressmaking during graduation from eduKenya’s Skills Training Program. It was a long journey for one of eduKenya’s own, but students, families, and staff celebrated with her on that rainy graduation day, November 13, 2014.Jennifer Wanjiku Guthera, affectionately known as ‘Chiku’ within the Kwa Watoto School (KWS) fraternity, has worked with the children at KWS for seven years. Chiku started as a jack-of-all-trades when the school was a childcare center housed at the Believers Centre Mathare Church. She now works solely in the Catering Department of a growing educational center with eight grades and a wonderful reputation.When talking about her past, conflicting emotions cross Chiku’s face. She has endured much loss, struggle and deprivation. Chiku is the eldest of three children. After her mother died and her father remarried, he abandoned the children, making it necessary for Chiku to assume a parental role with her younger siblings. That is when she took a job at the Believers Centre, cooking and cleaning for KES 3000, or $33.13 per month - barely enough to pay her bills, feed and clothe her siblings, and send them to school. Many times, the only meals she ate were at the school. Chiku sacrificed much to raise her siblings, who are now grown and on their own. She says those days and struggles seem like a lifetime ago.Many of Chiku’s fond memories center on KWS expansion and her work duties. She remembers the early days when the church served as both classroom and dining room. There was one blackboard, shared by all classes and the children’s diet comprised only porridge. As the school grew, so did the number of classrooms, the menu, and the complexity of Chiku’s duties - multiple classrooms and offices to clean, full meals to prepare, and many dishes to wash. Her responsibilities also included finding vendors to supply food. She sometimes made long treks to get the best deals on dried-foods, fresh vegetables, and charcoal for cooking.During those years, eduKenya added a Skills Training Department for adults. Chiku’s colleagues encouraged her to join the tailoring class, which she did, but dropped out when she felt the burden of juggling work, home and studies. Sewing tutor, Roseland, encouraged Chiku to return to the tailoring course. Eventually, as Chiku’s duties focused exclusively within the Catering Department, she gained more time for personal development and returned to sewing classes. Four years later, Chiku earned a Certificate in Tailoring and Dressmaking, providing her with a professional skill and the potential to improve her circumstances.

At the 2014 annual eduKenya staff retreat in Mombasa, Chiku earned ‘Employee of the Year,’ receiving recognition for her role at KWS. She is lauded as a godly woman, team player, and steadfast employee who adapts quickly to change. On that evening at the Kenyan Coast, Chiku felt humbled and tongue-tied. She expressed her deep-felt emotion with tears of joy. Besides recognition by her colleagues, she received a KES 10,000 ($110.43) award. Chiku plans to buy a sewing machine with the prize money and start her second career as a tailor. Yes! We are blessed that Chiku will continue her career at KWS!On graduation day, as the cries of “Chiku Wetu” filled the air, it was not only a great moment for Chiku; it was a communal victory for the eduKenya family. It serves as a reminder that we do indeed transform lives through education, one life at a time.