By KENFREY KIBERENGE

When Michael Onjiko heard that street children were being taken off major towns around the country in February 2003, he desperately wanted to escape the dragnet.

What he did not know, though, is that the day he was bundled into a police lorry, under the street families rehabilitation programme spearheaded by former Vice President Moody Awori, would mark a turning point in his life.

In hindsight, Onjiko, 20, is grateful that the swoop netted him as he is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the Kenyatta University.

This transformation, however, has not been a walk in the park as he was among those displaced by the 2007 post-election violence, and had to do menial jobs to pay for his school fees.

Born in 1992 in Homabay, Onjiko had hoped for a normal life until his parents died in the 1990s and everything was turned upside down.

Being children of a second wife, Onjiko and his five siblings were kicked out by their other family members after their father’s demise and had to fend for themselves.

Admission criteria
He dropped out of school while in class four, then aged only six, and took to the streets of Kisumu. A passer-by would later take him to Overcomers Orphanage School.

But he was later to be sent away in 2001 after the school’s management did a background check on him and established he did not meet the admission criteria.

“They said the rule is that you can only be admitted there from a court of law meaning I did not qualify. I was thrown out after completing class five,” he recalls. This forced Onjiko back into the streets of the lakeside city where life became hard and unbearable, forcing him to relocate to Nairobi.

“I hid under the backseat of a bus for the entire journey. Once in Nairobi, I went  Kijabe Street,” said Onjiko.

Onjiko found shelter at the former Globe Roundabout while scavenging for food at the Central Police station mess.

But an announcement by then Vice President and Home Affairs Minister Moody Awori in February 2003 that all street children would be taken off towns caused panic among Onjiko’s peers. They engaged the law enforcers in hide and seek as they tried to protect their turfs.
But Onjiko was among those captured and taken to Getathuru Approved School in Lower Kabete where, as part of the rehabilitation, they used to till large tracks of farmland using sticks.

He was then taken to Kakamega Rehabilitation Centre where he joined class seven, skipping class six. In 2005, he sat the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination and scored 296 out of 500 marks. At this point, all the students were released to their respective homes and without any bus fare, Onjiko had to trek 48 kilometres from Kakamega to Kisumu.
“I hustled and secured a job at a hotel where I washed the dishes for Sh50 per day as I slept outside,” he said.

In January 2006, a determined Onjiko made the trip to Nairobi, this time paying for a seat using the money he had saved.

Manual work
He then rented a single room in Kahawa Sukari for Sh1,200 a month using the rest of the savings. He also looked for manual work in construction sites.

One day, Onjiko struck a conversation with one of his employers and after narrating his story he offered to take him in so that he could re-sit KCPE.

He enrolled for the examination at Kwang’ethe Primary School and got an impressive 356 marks.

“Teachers at the school organised a fundraiser and paid for my fee for a whole year and buy other requirements,” he recalls.

This went on until the 2008 post-election violence forced him to flee to Homa Bay High School. His benefactors also withdrew.

“I obtained a letter from the DEO which I used to beg for support from well-wishers. I also did construction work to chip in,” he says. Interestingly, during holidays, Onjiko would travel to Nairobi and without a house, he would sleep within the confines of city council toilets.
He also managed to negotiate with the school’s principal for a gradual payment of fees, which saw him complete in 2010 scoring a B- (minus).

Back in Nairobi, he continued working at construction sites as a casual labourer while spending the cold nights outside Ambassadeur Hotel.

A resolute Onjiko, however, managed to raise Sh2,000 to apply for a Bachelor of Commerce  at the Kenyatta University.

He also successfully applied for the University’s scholarship and joined last year as a Module II student. However, the scholarship covers just the tuition with the student being left to cater for accommodation, reading materials, transport and other expenses.
Onjiko, who intends to pursue either Accounting or Finance option, says he finds it hard to juggle between construction work and his studies, and fears the latter, may eventually suffer.

“Having come from the streets to being a University student, I thank all who have supported me this far. I’m now appealing to well-wishers to help me pull through this last, yet most important part of my education and I will be a better person,” says Onjiko.