My name is Shamsa Adan, I come from Rombo, a small village where I was born and raised. We are seven children in our family, and I’m the firstborn. I started my education at a Nursery school called Nkasakinoi, then transited to Rombo Girls Primary School from 2009 to 2011, then moved to Rombo Mixed Primary from 2012, where I completed Class 8 in the year 2016. I worked hard and passed my national exams.
After that, I joined Rombo Girls Secondary School from 2017 to 2020. Due to the Corona virus pandemic, the National exam was delayed, and we did it in April 2021, where we completed our secondary school education, still studying alongside my sister who is a bit younger than me. During high school, life became really hard. My father lost his job, and that affected him. He became depressed, and sometimes he became violent, so they had to part ways with my mother. My mother had to take care of all of us alone. Paying school fees was a big challenge. Many times, my sister and I were sent home and missed classes and exams. But we didn’t give up. Despite all the struggles, we both passed our KCSE exams.
I was selected to join Pwani University, and my sister got a place at Egerton University. But because of our poor financial situation, we couldn’t join. That was heartbreaking. We had to stay at home because we couldn’t afford school fees to join the universities. Then, our uncle, who saw that we were just at home with no hope for joining university, suggested that I get married off so the family could get some money for my younger sister’s education and also some support to our family since the man who was to marry me was rich. My father agreed, and they all pleaded with me to accept, but deep down, I wanted to continue with my studies.
I was so overwhelmed that I even tried to run away from home, hoping to escape the pressure of being forced into marriage. I didn’t know where to go, but I knew I had to do something. That’s when I remembered someone I trusted, my former high school principal. I decided to reach out and tell her everything. She listened to me, understood my situation, and stepped in to help, starting with the admission of my younger sister to secondary school. That moment gave me hope again and helped me believe that maybe, just maybe, things could change. She also offered me and my sister a job at the school, where we worked for about 5 months.
In January 2022, my mother heard about Nice Place Foundation. She asked us to apply, and we did. We were called for interviews, and we were accepted. We went through the Leadership Academy training, and that’s where I met Nice Nailantei Leng’ete, who listened to our story with kindness. At that time, we still had fee balances at our secondary school and couldn’t collect our result slips. Nice helped us clear the fees so we could get our documents. Later, she helped us apply to Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC). In September 2022, I was called to join KMTC Msambweni to study Community Health Nursing. Nice Place Foundation gave me a full scholarship. It was the miracle I had prayed for.
I studied hard for three years. In July 2025, I did my final qualifying exams and passed well. I’m now preparing for my Nursing Council exams to get my license to practice, and I’m waiting to graduate in December 2025 as a Registered Nurse. I am so grateful to Nice Place Foundation and Nice Leng’ete for believing in me and supporting me when I had no one else. Because of them, my dreams are alive.
