Joy was born in Kericho county, Kapsoit ward a village called Kiboybei on 2nd July 2008. She is the last born in a family of three all of them are girls. She started school at Kosisit primary school but on reaching class 6 she got and accident in school which took her leg bone (tibia) thus she cannot be able to walk properly.
After the accident which occurred on November 2017 she had to stay at home and relied on traditional medicine and painkillers to alleviate her pain. The family couldn’t afford proper medication due to financial difficulties.
Joy at Her Home
Joy with Her Father & Mother
Thank God, she got healed but now walking to school was a huge challenge. For years, she depended on motorbike riders around her home who would normally volunteer to take her to school at no cost. Other times, her mother had to carry her on her back, and on occasion, she was even abandoned in the rain until a kind stranger carried her inside.
When Joy joined class 8, she was lucky to get help from a well-wisher, director of Destiny Primary School, who transferred her to a boarding school. This opportunity helped Joy to avoid the long distance she had to cover to her previous public school and also gave her the chance like all the other children to attend morning and evening preps.
All this paid off when it came to the final exams as Joy’s performance was exemplary. Her commitment, discipline and hard work allowed her to gunner a total of 326 marks out of possible 500 in her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education. Though all this might go down the drain as her parents are struggling to send her to high school due to financial limitations.
Granary
Joy comes from a large family of five children. She has two sisters, Mercy and Tabitha, who are also pursuing a bachelor’s degree in education arts at Kabarak University. The Higher Education Loans Board is helping with her siblings’ tuition costs after the town banded together and contributed to their admission fees, allowing her siblings to enroll in the university.
Joy and Her Mother on The Background
Joy’s father is a tea plucker and the family depends on the little he gets, though many times the job is not consistent thus a burden to the family. Her sisters are in Kabarak University studying Bachelor’s degree in Education courtesy of government school loan (HELB) and well-wishers in school including the staff.
Once asked, the father explained that in more than one occasion the family at home and the girls have slept hungry for up to two days. In an incident way back in 2006, Joy’s mother suffered a serious headache and almost lost her eyesight. Now she strains to see during the day and is practically blind during the night. She cannot get work due to her condition, leaving the father to be the only breadwinner for the family.
The far that Joy has gotten has been through the generosity and kindness of her neighbors who have contributed many times towards hers and her sister’s education but even for them there is only so much they can do. Their recent donation was of a total amounting to 20,000 Ksh. The family used part of this donation to buy the essential shopping for the girl and was left with a balance of 12,000Ksh. With the school fees for the first term being at 20,000 Ksh and her uniform and others totaling at 35,000 Ksh, she still has an outstanding balance of 23,000 Ksh.
Joy is a talented student who with just a little assistance can do a lot of great things. Truly God works in mysterious ways. Even before Joy’s story got published and shared to the public, Daraja 360 received a donation that helped cater for her admission at Cheborge Girls Secondary School.
Joy with Her Uncle & Aunt
Even before we finished sharing Joy’s story, we managed to secure funds for her admission into form one. We thank the well-wishers who made that possible.
Joy Chepkoech
I want to take this opportunity to thank Daraja 360 and its partners. And I will work hard to make my parents proud.
