From a Walk Along the Highway to a Movement for Education

How one encounter with a 12-year-old boy selling cashew nuts sparked a mission to keep children in school across Kilifi County

Read Our Story Our Vision

Where It All Began

A Personal History of Inequality

Most of us are who we are today because of the education we were fortunate enough to receive.

If my brother had impregnated a girl and been forced to marry her at a young age, I would probably have dropped out of school and been married off early so that my dowry could help pay for his wife's dowry. This is exactly what happened to my paternal aunt.

Such practices have existed for years in Kilifi County, and today many students can still be seen loitering in villages and streets during school hours instead of being in class.

Sharon Nina — Founder, Farina Foundation

The Crisis

A Growing Dropout Epidemic

The rate of school dropouts increased significantly in Kilifi — higher than most counties — and worsened when schools reopened after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rising Dropouts

Kilifi County's dropout rate is higher than most counties in Kenya, with numbers surging after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Teenage Pregnancies

Teenage pregnancies remain one of the leading causes of girls dropping out of school in the region.

Parental Illiteracy

Many parents and guardians lack the education to understand or prioritize the value of schooling for their children.

Extreme Poverty

High poverty levels force families to make impossible choices between school fees and basic survival needs.

In many schools, enrolment decreases as students progress to higher classes. It is common to find students who are older than the expected age in a lower class because of delayed school enrolment or interrupted education. In such situations, we are left asking ourselves: why are so many children still waiting for access to quality education?

"Education is not a privilege for the few, it is a right and a pathway to breaking the cycle of poverty."

Sharon distributing dignity packs

The Encounter That Changed Everything

A Boy, Cashew Nut, and a Broken System

One day in early May 2021, after I had finished my day's online exam, I took a stroll in Kilifi along the Kilifi-Malindi highway. I met a young boy, around twelve years old, selling roasted cashew nuts by the roadside — yet it was school hours on a weekday.

I asked him why he was not in school, and he explained that he had been sent home to collect school fees. His mother had told him there was no money. Instead of staying home idle, he decided to collect cashew nuts from their farm, roast them, and sell them by the roadside. And now he did not see the reason for him to return to school since he was already earning some cash daily.

That encounter left me with many questions. How many other children are facing the same situation? What practical solutions can truly address the increasing cases of school dropouts in Kilifi County?

Identifying the Gap

Why Existing Efforts Weren't Enough

Although several interventions have attempted to address this issue, many affected families have still not benefited from them. Parents and guardians are partially part of the problem, yet few interventions involve them directly to find sustainable solutions to reduce the number of dropout cases.

In some families, parents and guardians no longer view education as a necessity after weighing the financial burden associated with it. Without addressing the root economic pressures on families, providing school supplies alone could never be enough.

The Birth of a Movement

TUmaini Na Uwezo (TUNU) Is Born

This realization inspired me to start an initiative that not only supports students with basic school requirements but also empowers their families economically for sustainability.

TUmaini Na Uwezo (TUNU) was hence born. The focus was on supporting vulnerable students by providing essential school items such as uniforms, sanitary towels, exercise books, and stationery to help them remain in school. In addition, the initiative also works with parents and guardians on how to start or improve small businesses and income-generating activities.

School Supplies

Uniforms, sanitary towels, exercise books, and stationery for vulnerable students

Family Empowerment

Training parents and guardians to start or improve small businesses

Sustainable Income

Helping families generate income so children can stay in school

Building for Impact

Growing Through Mentorship & Partnerships

YALI RLC East Africa

Beneficiary of the Young African Leadership Initiative Regional Leadership Center East Africa — building leadership capacity to drive community change.

The Pad Project

Trained and mentored through The Pad Project, deepening expertise in menstrual health and dignity for girls in underserved communities.

AFWAG Network

Farina Foundation is a member of the Alliance For Women And Girls (AFWAG) Network, receiving capacity building to better serve the community and make a greater impact.

Looking Ahead

The Dream: A Self-Sustainable Empowerment Cycle

My dream is to build a revolving fund model that creates lasting change — one family, one cohort at a time.

Counseling & Behavioral Change

Parents and guardians of vulnerable children receive counseling sessions to enhance attitude and behavioral change, getting them fully committed to ensuring their children remain in school.

Entrepreneurship Training

Training on basic entrepreneurship skills, marketing, and saving — equipping parents with the knowledge to build sustainable livelihoods.

Revolving Start-Up Capital

Parents receive repayable start-up capital to begin income-generating activities, linked with additional avenues for expansion capital as grants or loans.

Monitoring & Graduation

Each cohort is monitored for at least 18 months to ensure profitability, repayment of the revolving capital, and sustainable growth.

Peer Mentorship & Scale

Graduated parents become peer mentors for the next cohort, creating a sustainable empowerment cycle that grows organically and reaches more families over time.

Our Vision

A Community Where Education Is a Right

Through the TUNU initiative, I hope to create a community where education is not viewed as a privilege for the few, but as a right and a pathway to breaking the cycle of poverty and generational illiteracy — beyond Kilifi County.

Being a student with limited resources and entirely depending on friends and well-wishers to help fundraise on a need basis, the activities have not reached many students. But the few we have impacted have a positive story to tell.

Every child in Kilifi County deserves the chance to learn, to grow, and to dream. That is the future we are building — one student, one family, one community at a time.

Be Part of the Story

Whether you volunteer, donate, or simply share our story — you become part of the movement to keep children in school across Kilifi County.

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