his parents could not sustain the family’s needs, a situation which was exacerbated by continued domestic violence. Alex’s father worked as a tea harvester, while his mother was a part-time shopkeeper and occasionally a casual labourer on the farm.
“We used to live in a small, wooden house (drum-made house) with one bedroom fitted with double-decker beds, and a shared outdoor toilet and bathroom. We relied on water fetched from the river, rainwater harvesting, or the nearby borehole”, Alex narrated.
Alex's school life was deeply affected by the situation at home. From changing schools quite often to being occasionally sent away for school fees. But things got worse when his parents separated while he was 12 years old. He was in Grade 5 at the time.
The children went to live with their grandmother, who struggled to support them financially. To survive, Alex and his siblings often worked in coffee plantations, earning as little as 200 shillings (1.52 USD) a day. Despite the hardships, Alex remained determined to continue with his education from Grade 6 up to Grade 8.