My name is Winfed.

I always dreamt of becoming a great entrepreneur. You see, my mum sells fish in the Kibera Slum of Nairobi. As a child I used to help her with her business, nurturing the young entrepreneur in me.

We were six of us living with our parents in the slum. I wanted a better life for all of us. Mom and dad did not earn enough money to pay for me to go to high school, so my only chance was to excel in my eighth-grade exams. In the end I did very well and got a KEF scholarship for 4-years of boarding high school.

I am most grateful that KEF concentrated on making us well-rounded people with their workshops, coaching and community service activities. KEF Career Workshops helped me network with various local professionals who advised me on career opportunities and how to get there by focusing on my dreams.

Using the confidence and knowledge I developed with KEF, after high school I managed on my own to get a 90% scholarship to Strathmore University - a prestigious business school in Kenya! Today I have a Bachelor of Business Information and Technology.

As someone who has benefited from the support of strangers, I now have it my heart to help others. After volunteering at Kenyatta Hospital, the national hospital in Kenya, I founded Love Health Foundationto help families pay their children’s medical bills.

In Kenya, patients are not released from the hospital until payment is received. Love Health Foundation makes sure children do not spend months trapped inside hospitals because their parents are poor.

Currently, I am working at Cellulant in Nairobi as a Support Engineer. I hope to rise even higher as I focus on becoming a data scientist. I believe I am in the right company that will help me grow my career.

Thank you to KEF and everyone who helped make me who I am today.

Winfred Anyona
(KEF 2013 Class)