The story of Ruth

At ACT our work is to support children who are otherwise forgotten.

We are concentrating on helping orphans and disadvantaged fatherless children so that they can reach their full potential. Our work is largely focused on supporting such children through their education and school career. We encourage them to pursue higher education, allowing them to complete university degrees, diplomas, vocational education training and even medical qualifications. ACT facilitates opportunities to allow these young people to live lives that otherwise would not have been possible.  It is important to reflect on the achievements of those children who seize the opportunity that ACT provides and who are working hard to make a success of their lives.

Ruth – A life transformed

Ruth Mutenyo is from Lumunyasi village, Webuye district in western Kenya. Kenya is one of the 8 African countries where ACT works. Born in 2000, Ruth now 20 years old recently started her degree course at the University of Kabianga, Kericho and is studying Clinical Medicine. This in itself is a fantastic achievement, as she has always had a passion to study medicine and become a medical doctor.

While Ruth’s path in life now looks bright and promising, it did not start like that. In fact, her early years were littered with tragedy, and she has faced significant challenges in just 20 years than many people will face in a lifetime.

To start with, Ruth’s father was murdered in 2000, one month after she was born, leaving her mother to care for Ruth and her 10 siblings all by herself. Uneducated and without a job, life was difficult, and she struggled to provide for her family. She began to work the land around their home in the village, planted food crops and depended on help from her neighbours to survive and feed her children.

With ACT support Ruth was able to attend primary school and quickly demonstrated that she has a clever mind. She is the only one of her siblings to continue fully into secondary school, but this too proved challenging. Ruth was unable to settle in to the first secondary school she attended, due to being excluded by fellow students. They were envious of her brilliance and accused her of witchcraft as the reason for her academic success. Fortunately, an alternative school was found for Ruth to attend, where the headmistress was more understanding and therefore helped Ruth to settle in. Alongside her enjoyment of singing, Ruth worked very hard at school as demonstrated by her KCSEs results (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education). Her average grade was an A- across all her subjects, which considering an A is the highest grade possible, is a massive achievement.

ACT’s support for Ruth and all the children we support includes school fees, school uniforms, books and other educational items. It also covers school meals, health care and other items that may be needed for the child to settle and not be distracted from their studies. This has allowed Ruth to not just complete secondary school with flying colours, but to now also study at university. Ruth, like many of the young people we support is grateful for the opportunities we have helped facilitate and wants to work hard so that she too can one day give back, by supporting other children in need.

“My dream of being a doctor is going to be a reality just because of your support”

                                        (Ruth 2021)

Ruth (centre left) with friends at Nangwe Secondary School. On the right is the school headteacher.

Ruth’s story is one of perseverance and hard work, and we are honoured to have been able to help her to reach this stage in her life. ACT will continue to support her on the journey to reach her potential. We are proud of Ruth’s achievements so far and cannot wait to see what is next for her.

Help us transform lives
There are many children just like Ruth who need our support. This is especially pertinent in light of the Covid-19 pandemic which has hugely disrupted children’s educations and has been a big setback for many poorer families in Africa.

If you have been inspired by Ruth’s story, please consider sponsoring a child or making a donation to our work. Click here to find out how.