BY WENDY ORENGO
During the height of COVID-19, a time of uncertainty, the rise of the death toll across the world, and a grip of fear among Kenyans, Wendy Orengo, ventured into volunteer work at Crime Si Poa (CSP) in the pandemic interventions programme.
Her enthusiasm and commitment to giving back to the community, got her roped into community charity work across informal settlements in Nairobi and street families. The COVID -19 intervention program involved a team of 200 community warriors.
The charity work coordinated by CSP included erecting wash points at the entrances of informal settlements, distributing soaps, door-to-door sensitization of the community, especially children, training on correct hand-washing methods, social distancing, and everything they needed to know about the coronavirus.
During this daunting period, Wendy also dedicated her time every day to help the organization in feeding street families and sensitizing them on crime-related issues.
The act of selflessness saw Wendy, a beneficiary of the computer skills training program, awarded a scholarship in coding classes, becoming an ICT guru, and dispelling common myths that women play second fiddle to men when it comes to the ICT field.
Her diligence and determination to change her life course won her two scholarships. One at Moringa School where she pursued computer coding and the other at Akirachix where is presently studying software engineering.
Wendy further went ahead to form a group of 15 young people that would sensitize her community of the pandemic as Corona seemed unreal and also create awareness on crime-related issues. Every weekend with the support from CSP, she organized her group and carried out cleanups in her community.
Wendy is proof that when young people are given the right guidance and support they can evolve to become phenomenal people in society. People who can make strides by also uplifting others in their journey, extending a helping hand just as it was done for them.