Dreams are often born in some of the most difficult circumstances. For Johnson Ong’any, founder of Saabiko Group of Friends, his journey began in Kibera, an underserved community where life is deeply challenging, but hope still lives on. Johnson’s story is a living testimony of resilience and it proves that one pen can change a life. That a pen can power a dream.
Kibera is one of the largets urban low-income neighborhoods in Kenya and Africa. It is located in Nairobi and is home to hundreds of thousands of people living in closely-knit settlemnets and deeply affected by poverty and limited access to basic services such as education. However, this does not stop generations from dreaming of a brighter future. Children play, they go to school with big dreams, and hope that one day they will leave, achieve success, and return to change the situation at home.
“Growing up in Kibera, I knew the weight of walking into class without a pen,” Johnson recalls. “I borrowed, shared and sometimes just sat and listened, hoping I could remember enough to pass. But the day someone gave me my own pen, something changed. That small act gave me the confidence to write, to dream, to believe.”
That pen did not just write his first exam; it wrote his story, carrying him from Kibera’s classrooms to graduating from university and taking part in global platforms.
Johnson, together with the Saabiko Group of Friends team, is leading the Write to Learn Stationery Drive, which aims to give back by mobilizing pens, pencils, and hope for children who are where he once was. ‘A pen can power a dream. Let us write the future together,’ he urges.
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Paybill: 7820869
Account Number: 1280789743
Account Name: Saabiko Group of Friends
Contact: saabikogroup@gmail.com for partnerships.
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One Response
Changing narratives, one story at a time. Glad to see Johnson going to give back to the community. We are agents of change and our backgrounds do not define whom we grow up to be, but we can change the livelihoods of the people in these places.