My name is Dorcus Kangu Andati, the founder of Mombasa Rays of Hope Women Project, born and raised in Kenya. For a long time, I wondered what life is. I ask myself this question many a time, but anytime I get closer to the “answer,” I get confused even more. This is because I have met a well-to-do dweller telling me life is hard, the same answer you will expect from an insolvent person.

Do we really have to be rich or poor to have a well-defined life? What exactly are we supposed to achieve so we can live our life to the fullest? Definitely, this question means everything but differently to all of us because many of the people die before realizing their purpose.

If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live

Martin Luther King, Jr.

“People give rise to people.” This is the truth that I have come into reality with. This is the very reason I have devoted the rest of my life to serving humanity. This is the most fulfilling part of my life. It makes my life whole.

Walking down the streets and the slums of Likoni-Mombasa, one will wonder when did the rain start beating us. Who are we really to blame? The society? The community? The government? Or are we to blame the gods or our actions? There has ever been an increasing number of vulnerable children, school dropouts, early pregnancies, drug abuse and trafficking amongst minors, widows, HIV cases spreading like bushfire, disabilities due to accidents, poverty, social crimes, environmental injustices among many more others

You will agree with us at Rays of Hope that it’s not a coincidence that all these things are happening or have happened in Kenya while most of us decide to give it a blind eye. The root cause of all these problems, according to the research and the indicators from the same community, are: lack of sensitization to the right group of people, failure to provide timely necessary skills to families so they can sustain themselves economically, improper life skills training that leads to poor decision making, lack of reproductive health education to girls, improper love and care to the less privileged in society among many other reasons...