Mercy Syombua

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Our little sister in Kenya is Mercy Syombua, who was born in 1993 and is now 15 year old. Mercy is a double orphan - both her parents have died, and she and her younger sister are cared for by their aunt. Mercy lives in Mukuru - a large slum outside Nairobi, Kenya, where poverty is a tragic reality for its residents. It is estimated that families of five members are surviving on an average of USD 1.30 per day. Mukuru has an estimated population of 500,000+ of which 60% are under the age of 18. There is an estimated HIV prevalence rate of 15%, and approximately 30% to 40% of the children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

Mercy loves to read, especially novels. She strives to excel in school, so she can become a doctor or a nurse. Mercy is now in Standard 8 (8th Grade) and doing very well. In Kenya there is a national exam at the end of Primary School, called the Kenyan Primary Standard Exam (KPSE). The results from the test rank the students nationally and determine their placement level for high school. It is a critical exam for qualifying for a good high school and creates much stress for the students. Mercy will sit for her KPSE in a few weeks, so we are all wishing her Good Luck!

To read a recent letter from Mercy to the Club, dated August 2008, click here.

The 41-74 Club of New York, Inc. started supporting Mercy in 2006, and all meetings' 50/50 charity collections have been forwarded to AmericaShare (www.americashare.org), and sunsequently forwarded to Mercy Syombua. The collected funds support her tuition, books, living expenses and cover other education-related needs. For additional information how to support Mercy, please send e-mail to:   Info@4174.org