Princess Alice

Hi, we are Honora Clarke and Sitara Soleil--two high school seniors from New York. This summer, we had the pleasure of traveling to Nairobi, Kenya where we were privileged to work with the Hawkers Market Girls Centre through Global FICCS, a foundation dedicated to both providing health services and educating communities on cardiac care.

The Hawkers Market Girls Centre has been supporting girls from Nairobi slums since 1996; most of these girls, ages 16-23, haven't access to fresh water and many other necessities in these cramped, unhygienic accommodations. HMGC is a sanctuary, providing "safe water, free food and free education" as well as vocational training to girls who are unable to access formal education.

In our terrific time spent with these girls, we met Princessalice, a bright girl who was recently accepted to Machakos University in Nairobi after a tumultuous past few years. She hopes to pursue a 2 year degree in education services.

Her story:

“My name is Princessalice Kamonya. I am eighteen years old and I live together with my parents and sisters in Eastleigh south location in a village called Kiambiu. I finished my high school education in December of last year. I would not have joined high school if not for Mrs. Shariffa Keshavjee who bought me books and worksheets for school after I received a scholarship from the county government of Nairobi.

I remember on the 6th of April 2022 our house burnt down and we lost everything. That same year, my sister and I were supposed to sit for our national exams. We had lost all hope but Mrs. Shariffa and Mrs. Ashraf opened new possibilities for us; they bought us new school uniforms, new shoes, exercise books, a calculator and other supplies.

May God strengthen you and bless you for me. I have been admitted to Machakos University but my parents have no funds to put in my education. I am supposed to report this month on 29th but I don't meet all the requirements.”

Any donations would contribute to her accommodation, tuition, registration, and exam fees, in addition to supplies (e.g. mattress, blanket, books, mosquito net!, etc.), transportation, and food. Her mentors at the Hawkers Market Girls Centre have opened an allowance based account to monitor her spending for the duration of her time at university.