Let’s meet: Simon!

Simon was born in 1986 in Molo, Nakuru Province. His mother is from the Kamba tribe, his father is a Kisii. He is the seventh in a family of nine siblings.

Growing up in Molo was not always easy. His mother was uneducated and had to work to take care of them, because their father lived in Nairobi and was an alcoholic, unable to take care of his children. Simon was sponsored by a Catholic missionary school during his elementary school years and when he had finished, there was no money for secondary school. Therefore, he moved to Nairobi, hoping that his father could pay for his school fees. Unfortunately, this was not the case.

For this reason, he started working as a waiter in a restaurant. After saving up for a year, he was able to attend school at Agbon High, a private school in Eastland. He went through school by the support of others and his own saved money. Because of his good grades, he was able to go to college, but because of the disagreements in his family, it was not possible to start a study. He felt very discouraged and he gave up the idea of continuing his studies.

During his high school days he became a Christian and immediately after that he became a volunteer to teach teenagers in his previous school on a weekly basis. In addition, he volunteered to work among the youth of his church. Here he discovered his passion for teenagers. He went from school to school sharing with the teens there and giving them hope for their lives. He did this work for ten years, both in Nairobi and Mombasa.

When his father passed away in 2012, he came back to Nairobi from Mombasa and began working for Teens for Christ Africa, an organization that provides extra classes to young people in high schools. He married his wife Faith in 2014, and they worked side by side at the organization until she quit there in 2017 to start their own business in wedding and birthday cakes. In 2014, they had their baby son Moses.

In early 2016, Simon and a friend registered the organization Teens Impact Africa in Mombasa to teach young people in secondary schools additional life skills.

After not attending school for ten years, he enrolled in September 2016 to study theology at Africa International University. He was admitted and started his studies, but could not finish his semester because he did not have enough money. This meant that he did not receive a diploma and would have to take the classes again, should he want to study there again. So last year he took some courses in personal development at Calavary Church.

His desire is to study theology again in order to deepen his knowledge. This will help him to be a better missionary and encourage more people to never give up on their dreams.

Maryosa has decided to give Simon a chance to further develop his knowledge and skills by going back to school. He will start his new  degree in September 2017. At the same time, he will continue his work for his organization. He will incorporate the Maryosa budget program into his curriculum, teaching young people financial skills.