My name is Daisy Kosgey Mugiira. I am 31 years old. I am married and a mother of a five year old girl and a one year old boy. I am the Founding Director of Dear Little Sister Foundation, an Assistant Manager at SBM Bank Kenya Limited and Author, Dear Little Sister Novel. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Sociology from the University of Nairobi.
The Foundation and the Book aim to curb cases of teenage pregnancies, rated at 18% prevalence amongst Kenyan teenage girls. We have reached out to over 8000 girls in Kenya through training and sensitization, provision of sanitary towels, initiating sister’s keeper clubs in schools, issuing of the Book and by rehabilitating teenage mothers. Our vision is to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies and resultant forced early marriages while increasing the number of enlightened girls pursuing education and other constructive social and economic activities. Our mission is to nurture girls who are informed of the effects of unplanned teenage pregnancies and forced early marriages. We desire to see girls who know they are entitled to say no to these practices that are oppressive in nature by enlightening them through open forum mentorship sessions, coaching through accountability groups, rehabilitation of teenage mothers and providing material support to enable girls pursue education and later on engage in constructive social and economic activities.
When I was in Primary school, I was always the best in English and my English teacher would read my compositions to the rest of the class as a sample of how a well written story should be. I loved reading stories and the first storybook I ever read was Onyango’s Triumph by Omolo Leo Odera, when I was in class three; Captured by Raiders by Benjamin S Wekesa stirred a desire in me to one day have my own book. One particular holiday as I approached home from school, I noticed that my mother was not as jovial as usual. For a moment my heart started beating fast as I wondered what the issue was. My mum’s beautiful smile was replaced by gloom and sadness. As she moved closer to hug me, she broke into a sob and I started crying too not knowing what the issue was. When she finally calmed down, she told me that my sister who was then in form two had written a letter informing her of her pregnancy.
As she narrated the events to me, she could not control her tears and for the first time since I was born, I saw my mother, the strongest woman I know break down as I watched helplessly.
It is then that it dawned on me how much it meant to her to have a small girl who was pregnant.
As I went back to school after the holidays , I prayed so hard that my mother would never be in a similar situation ; at least I promised myself that I would not make her shed tears because i fell pregnant before marriage. But wait…How about my other sisters? What if they also got pregnant when they were still teenagers? What would become of my mother? I am a second born in a family of six, five girls and one boy. Even though I was 16 years then, I started talking to my sisters and reminding them of the situation my mother was when our sister became pregnant. I saw some of my neighbors get pregnant as teenagers and read about the shocking statistics of teenage pregnancy in Kenya. I had a desire to reach the entire country with a message that ‘motherhood waits’ and I thought writing a book will make the message move faster.
I started writing in 2008 when I was in form four but could not publish the book until 2018 due to lack of finances. Eventually, by the grace of God, I launched the book on 30th June 2018. My Book is on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09F6DSCDD/ref=sr_1_26?dchild=1&keywords=dear+little+sister&qid=1630496698&sr=8-26
*Facebook page* Dear Little Sister Foundation- https://m.facebook.com/DearLittleSiz/ , Website http://www.dearlittlesisters.org . I also deliver the books countrywide through parcel services. It goes for 400 ksh a copy and 100% of the sales go to Dear Little Sister Foundation.
Dear Little Sister Synopsis
Cheptoo, a teenage girl brought up in a staunch Christian family, gets pregnant in her final year in High School. Despite her strong sense of discipline, hard work and constant guidance from her parents, she falls victim to this trap due to peer pressure and negative influence from her bosom friend Marie, who introduces her to male lovers. Cheptoo’s life takes a terrible twist as the pregnancy forces her out of school and in turn her father disowns and drives her away from home. Cheptoo leads a devastating life for several years with dwindled academic, social and economic ability. Luckily, through a Good Samaritan, she goes back to school, recollects her life and eventually becomes a successful medical doctor. In this novel, Cheptoo writes a letter to her little sisters sharing her experiences and advising them on how to avoid the mistakes she made and lead a better quality life. Dear Little Sister is a life transforming story aimed at enlightening girls and young ladies while inspiring hope to those already faced with teenage challenges.
My publishing journey
As mentioned above, I started writing my book in 2008. It was done and ready for publishing around 2011 when I was at the University. Then, I didn’t know about self publishing. I also didn’t know that there were so many other great publishers out here apart from the mainstream publishers. I wrote emails and made calls to the big publishers including but not limited to East African Education Publishers, Story Moja and Queenix Publishers. All of them gave me explanations why it would take long before having the book published. I almost gave up when one of East African Education Editors offered to assist edit my book and challenged me to consider self publishing. I was referred to Neno publishers and Book sellers and God used them to make my dream a reality. I am quite grateful to be considered here to give my personal testimony in my writing journey.
