Nakuru girl who scored B sacrifices her dreams to raise ailing mother, younger siblings

• Njoki was born and raised in a stable and comfortable family with a banker father and an entrepreneur mother
• When her father died after a short illness, their 12-bedroom house, cars, and business were seized by relatives
• With her mother becoming mentally ill, Njoki had to sacrifice all her dreams to keep her fractured family alive

Elizabeth Njoki, a 21-year-old woman from Nakuru, has spent most of her young life fighting battles that would break many adults.

From losing her father at the age of 12 to caring for a mentally ill mother and raising her younger siblings through poverty, grief and homelessness, her story is one of relentless hardship.

Njoki was born and raised in what once seemed like a stable and comfortable family. Her father, a banker, had built a 12-bedroom mansion and owned two cars.

Her mother ran a boutique business, and by all appearances, the family was thriving. But everything changed when her father was diagnosed with cancer and diabetes.

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Just a month later, he died, leaving behind a grieving wife and children whose lives would unravel almost immediately.

According to Njoki, only two weeks after the burial, her late father’s brothers arrived and allegedly forced the family out of their home.

The cars and the boutique were also taken away, with the relatives reportedly claiming that all the property belonged to their deceased brother.

Suddenly homeless, the family sought refuge with one of Njoki’s mother’s friends before relocating to Naivasha, where another well-wisher helped her mother secure a job.

For a while, the children returned to school and attempted to rebuild some sense of normalcy. Then another crisis struck.

Njoki’s mother fell into severe depression and nearly lost her mental stability. The teenager helped take her mother to Mathari National Teaching and Referral Hospital for treatment.

With their mother hospitalised, Njoki dropped out of school and began doing casual jobs to feed her three younger siblings.

Though her mother later recovered enough to return home with support from the local MCA, life remained painfully unstable.

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Despite the hardships, Njoki excelled academically and scored 378 marks in KCPE. A Good Samaritan stepped in to sponsor her secondary school education, offering a rare glimpse of hope.

However, during her third year in secondary school, her mother’s mental health deteriorated again.

She would reportedly disappear for days before returning home. In one tragic incident, men allegedly took advantage of her vulnerable state, and she later returned pregnant.

Njoki once again abandoned school to provide for the family as her mother eventually gave birth to a fifth child.

The family’s struggles deepened when they failed to pay rent and were locked out of their house with all their belongings still inside.

Another family friend eventually relocated them to their rural home in Kinangop to stay with their grandmother.

For a brief period, life steadied. The younger children returned to school while Njoki continued doing casual jobs to support the household.

But the cycle of loss soon returned. Their grandmother died in 2024, and the family was once again forced out of the home.

Using her small savings, Njoki rented a single room and continued carrying the burden of holding the family together.

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Then, in June 2025, her own health collapsed. Doctors discovered she had uterine fibroids that required urgent surgery costing KSh 80,000.

Unable to raise the money, Njoki continued enduring daily pain and bleeding while still trying to care for her mother, provide food for her siblings and keep a roof over their heads.

Even after everything she has endured, Njoki still managed to score a B plus in KCSE, a grade many would consider a ticket to a brighter future.

But while her peers prepared for university and careers, she remained behind, sacrificing her dreams to keep her fractured family alive.

Source: NGBREAKINGNEWS