Meet Dindi Mbingi, 23 years old and currently studying at the University of Nairobi. Dindi has been a Valor to Virtue beneficiary since late 2017, writing ‘Valor to Virtue’s kindness means a lot to me as great as a mountain. The only thing I can do to reward your generosity is to study hard.’ Valor to Virtue came just at the right time for Dindi, describing his desperate state as a ‘disaster’ writing that without Valor to Virtue’s help, his ‘confidence’ would have been lost.
But we can’t speak of Dindi’s present without first understanding his past. Dindi’s story is a tough one to read, dealing with hardships as a child that many of us reading this will probably never have to face in our entire lives. So in Dindi’s words ‘Let’s begin with my life’s short story’.
Tough Beginnings
Dindi was born in 1997 in the slums of Kawangware, Kenya. Dindi’s mother and father, both hardworking but had limited education and the little work they could get paid was barely enough to support the family. Dindi’s father worked as a security guard, helping pay the rent and Dindi and his elder brother’s school fees, but other essentials like food were tasked to Dindi’s mother. In Dindi’s words ‘I and my elder brother were left with no option and at around 10 years old we started helping my mother who was cleaning people’s homes for income’. By 12 years old, Dindi and his elder brother started work as ‘hammer boys’ at a nearby construction site. The work was tough and soon the brothers took up garbage collection, often being referred to as ‘Chokora’ (Kiswahili for street kid/beggar) to raise extra cash needed for the family. The young boys did all the manual work that they could, but everything changed in late 2007, as post-election violence in Kenya spilled onto the streets. Dindi’s family home was burnt down and he and his family took refuge at a friend’s house. Dindi’s family who was just scraping by were now in a dire situation and in 2009 had to move away to the ‘rurals’, leaving his father to continue working in town.
A very young Dindi with his mother and older brother.
Life became harder for him and his family, their first time living outside the city, Dindi explains ‘we did not know how to source a living. We tried adapting… working on people’s farms for pay.’ They had no home, so had to build a simple ‘grass-thatched home’. It was basic and there was no extra money to ‘fix’ the house up, so Dindi did his best to make an income as well as work hard at school.
School Life
Throughout all the troubles Dindi and his family faced, Dindi and his older brother did their best to continue their studies. Dindi’s initial view of school was very different back then, ‘I went to school to avoid the boredom at home I think, or to make sure I will not miss a job because sometimes my brother went straight to work after school.’ Dindi loved being with his elder brother and was determined to be with him as much as he could.
Impressively, Dindi worked hard and graduated to his elder brother’s class, showing early signs of his intelligence and determination. He and his brother became ‘desk mates’ and at the end of the school day at 1pm, they would go to work to help their family. Dindi knew that his father could not cover school fees for all his children (Dindi also has 3 younger siblings), and times were only getting harder, so if they wanted to go school, then they would need to work as well.
Dindi and some of his siblings ready for school.
Around the time of the post-election violence and shortly after they had to move to the ‘rurals’. They changed schools and Dindi, even though younger, was able to enroll in his brother’s school year. Dindi recollects fondly about how he and his brother would enjoy ‘competing’ for the best scores and how his ‘mother as a motivator’ would push her sons to study hard. It was also here where he met his mentors and realised his dream.
The Inspiration
It was in Class 7 that Dindi met the deputy headteacher. In Dindi’s words, ‘he demanded perfection and punctuality’. Dindi struggled to live up to these standards and eventually broke under the pressure. It was his teacher, who was there to pick him up, Dindi describing him as ‘my turning point in life, not just academically, he offered us manual work at his home after school and sometimes provided our meals at school… he became my mentor’. Dindi was so moved by his teacher, he worked the hardest he could at school.
By the end of the term, Dindi was the second best student out of 200. He was awarded a geometric set, 3 A4 size books and Ksh 300, ‘I had never earned money in such an easy way before, I was encouraged and started focusing in class’. For the rest of his time, he outperformed his classmates and older brother, sometimes being ranked at the top of his county!
By 2012, Dindi was taking his KCPE exams alongside his brother. He did well and was invited to attend Nakuru Boys High School, one of the top-performing schools in the county, but this was not to be. His father could only pay school fees for one of his sons and could not afford the fees required for Nakuru Boys High School. His father advised them that the other would need to wait until the other brother completed his studies. Dindi stepped aside for his elder brother, Dindi instead worked, making money to help towards his brother’s school fees.
Dindi and his older brother graduating.
Dindi’s absence from school was quickly noted by his teacher, who desperately tried to find a school for Dindi but the school fees were still a problem. So Dindi returned to his old primary school once again. Dindi’s school and home were several kilometres away from one another, this meant Dindi would need to leave home at 4am and without his brother to keep him company, the decision was made that Dindi would move in with his teacher.
This new experience, so different from his own upbringing, was an eye-opener. He learnt to use the phone, to cook, he had access to a television and radio. Dindi notes ‘they were educated in their family, I met his brother who was a doctor, we spent time talking about the profession’. The doctor came his second mentor, teaching him about the different medical professions, advising Dindi that he had the potential to become a surgeon. The deputy headteacher made a promise to Dindi, if he scored 400 marks in his exams, he would get him a sponsor.
‘I was first made to believe that this was the only way, I never thought of any other form to earn a living, when I resided at my deputy head teacher’s place, I learnt different professions, different businesses’
Any money or rewards Dindi received, he sent back to his siblings to help them at school. Because Dindi was not able to attend secondary school the first time, he had to re-sit his KCPE exams, but to Dindi’s disappointment he missed the 400 mark, ‘I was broken, I had no hope’. Dindi would still be able to enroll in another secondary school but with no sponsor, he had no way of paying the fees. ‘I think I was illegally admitted, I had no documents, my mother begged for my uniform’, Dindi eventually received an ‘extremely’ oversized uniform, and off he went with nothing other than his books.
Dindi worked hard and got top scores (144 out of 144) in his first set of exams. But with no money to pay for school, he had to move school yet again to a cheaper alternative. His situation worsened and Dindi was in and out of school, Dindi felt lost.
Dindi would spend whole terms at home, studying from his friend’s notebooks. He would return to school to take his exams and despite his absence, still scored the top of his class. In 2016, Dindi took his KCSE, receiving a B, but knew he could do better, if only he could go to school like everyone else, maybe he would have achieved a higher score. However, Dindi’s exam was still accepted to University to study Health Science, ‘to become the best doctor and to help my family… to care for my little brothers’. But there was still the question…. How would he pay his university fees?
New Beginnings
Dindi’s father, through his work as a security guard, was posted at a new residence, it is here that he heard about Valor to Virtue. His father sat down with the founder and told him about his son. Unbeknownst to Dindi, he was already on the Valor to Virtue radar and after receiving his KCSE exam results, he was contacted shortly after in early 2017. Dindi talked about his roller-coaster journey through his entire education and to Dindi’s surprise, Valor to Virtue offered to pay for his studies. Having no laptop or email address, Dindi had to use his friend’s email address. Unfortunately, Dindi lost contact with Valor to Virtue and not for the first time, Dindi was lost again but determined to continue with his education he enrolled into University and applied for funding, which helped pay for his first semester.
But all was not lost and Valor to Virtue had not forgotten Dindi. In December 2017, Dindi was able to reconnect with the organisation, and was told that they would pay for school fees, accommodation, any other expenses and even some extra for ‘pocket money’. He even received a laptop. When Dindi returned for this second year at university, he felt both prepared, motivated and no longer lost.
Dindi at University with his peers.
The Challenges Still Continue
The support Valor to Virtue has provided has given Dindi the confidence and motivation to do the best he can to make his dream of becoming a doctor come true. However, although Valor to Virtue has changed his life for the better, he still has much to overcome.
Dindi still needs to clear his secondary school fees, and although he is at university, his certificates cannot be released until he can pay his outstanding fees. He also needs to help his family back at home, in Dindi’s words ‘I cannot live comfortably while they’re in the cold… I have four siblings, one in primary… and 3 in secondary school, they all need financial assistance’. His brother also has health problems, which means he no longer can take on hard exercise, so Dindi helps by paying for his brother’s health insurance.
Valor to Virtue continues to provide support to Dindi throughout his studies, advising how best to manage his scholarship, encouraging him to save, but like so many, Dindi’s reality makes saving any amount of money challenging. Not wanting to disappoint Valor to Virtue, Dindi does the best he can but is torn between building his future and helping his family in the present, admitting that at times ‘the circumstances are overwhelming’.
Dindi is hopeful about the future, but like most students, he thinks about what he will do after, how he will pay for his medical school fees after completing his degree, if he will find employment or get the experience he needs to further his career. ‘I feel like I have just started walking the walk… I need to stay up’.
Valor to Virtue will continue to support Dindi to the best of their capacity. Dindi has shown the courage to go against all odds to change his future. We know Dindi’s journey is not yet over and that there will be many hurdles ahead, but Dindi’s determination is an inspiration to us all because it is characters like Dindi, when given the right opportunities, that will not only change his future, but his families, his community and will inspire others to follow in his footsteps.
Dindi on University Campus ready to study!
