Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, on Saturday, July 4, gifted Yvonne Njoki, a student at Kinderstar Primary School in Buru Buru, Ksh40,000 in cash and bales of goodies for a poem she penned and narrated in his honour.
The young girl wrote the poem to mark one year since her school was almost demolished under the alleged orders of a private developer.
Sonko’s team made their way to the young girl’s home with sacks of rice, maize and wheat flour, among other food items.
“Thank you so much governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko for sending us help and I would really like to meet you in person with your beautiful wife Primrose Mbuvi, because she is my role model,” Njoki expressed upon receiving her wad of cash from a member of the Governor’s team.
Primary School Girl Earns 40K for PoemGovernor Sonko gifts Yvonne Njoki Ksh 40,000 for a poem she wrote to mark one year since her school, Kinderstar Primary was almost demolished.
Posted by kenyagist.com on Sunday, 5 July 2020
The gifted poet has been uploading videos of her work on her YouTube page, and this is how she caught the eye of the Governor.
On his part, Sonko explained that the poem spoke to him and moved him to help out the young girl and her family during what he described as tough economic times.
“It is exactly one year when something terrible happened to parents, pupils and teachers of Kinderstar academy. Today, the Sonko Rescue Team is honouring Yvonne from Kinderstar School in Buruburu who recited a very powerful poem on how we rescued the school from land grabbers. The Little girl caught my attention after she wrote the moving poem,” he explained.
On May 26, 2019, Sonko intervened and stopped the demolition of City Church in Nairobi’s Buruburu Phase 4 Estate, where Kindersar Primary School is also located.
Chaotic scenes were witnessed as a group of youth, armed with machetes and other crude weapons, started hurling stones at Sonko and his convoy when he arrived.
“This is a heinous act. Where on earth can one demolish a church and grab land? We cannot allow this to happen in Nairobi. We must respect human beings regardless of their status whether rich or poor. I will be the first person to die for defending the poor,†the governor stated at the time.
He went on to claim that the perpetrator behind the demolitions was a well-known businessman in the city, but did not reveal his identity.
Njoki’s school was completely destroyed during the chaos, where three youths were arrested by police and crude weapons, including machetes, recovered.
