“I finished my final KCSE paper this morning and am on my way home. I completed my KCSE at an advanced age because I dropped out of form three in 1993 due to unforeseen circumstances.
I started doing manual labor after dropping out of school. I later started a business, which failed and caused me to become depressed. I hadn’t seen my parents since I was a child, so I had no one to lean on.
My depression was so severe that I contemplated suicide. Many people became concerned and wanted to know why I wanted to commit suicide despite the fact that I showed no signs of doing so. People’s concern, as well as the rising levels of depression, compelled me to reach out to them.
In November of 2018, a woman from Canada heard about my story in the media and called me. I told her about my life and what I was going through at the time. She assured me that my life would change from that day forward.
We prayed together, and she provided me with food and a place to live because I was unemployed. After a year of assistance, she suggested that I start a business, but I told her that I was 38 years old at the time and that finishing high school was preferable.
She put me in touch with a pastor named Monica who lives in Mombasa and advised me that it would be best for me to finish my high school education in a conducive environment with a home setting.
She asked for the nearest town where I used to live and promised to find me new parents. Later, when we met with my new parents, we both cried after I told them about my life story.
They assured me that they would always be there for me and welcomed me into their home. My mother and the principal of Kiamuriuki Secondary School were friends, and they were able to find me a place at the school.
I was worried about how I would get along with my 16- and 15-year-old classmates at school. I knew what I wanted for my life, and it didn’t bother me. The teachers also psychologically prepared the students, and when I arrived at the school, they were very supportive.,” Gladys Gakii said in an interview with BaiteTV.
