Beatrice’s Dream

Beatrice is a thirteen-year-old orphan in Kibera, Nairobi- a Kenyan shantytown build on refuse and rubbish and one of the biggest slums in Africa. In this book she describes her life: her walk to school, the dust that blows between her teeth and the mud she wades through, her teacher’s down-to-earth encouragement, her fear of being alone, how safe she feels at school.

This sensitive account in words and photographs by Wendy Stone reveals the realities of life for some of the world’s most deprived people – and offers hope as Beatrice follows her dream.

Wendy Stone contacted me to ask if I would be interested in writing books about children from the different tribes of Kenya. Wendy’s passion for Africa as portrayed in her photographs was contagious. When I was invited to speak as a visiting author at the American School in Nairobi, I stayed on for five weeks to do research. While I was there I realized we were missing an important tribe of children, those who lived in Kibera slum. This is the story of children in Kenya that ultimately captured my imagination. I spent two weeks following Beatrice to school and through her daily life. Wendy spent more time capturing Beatrice’s life in photos. Of course this is only one story of Kenya. Wendy and I hope to collaborate on more stories about the lives of children in Kenya and around the world.