KISUMU COUNTY, Kenya — Nineteen-year-old Sharon Akoth remembers the moment her ambition to become a doctor felt possible.
In 2021, she enrolled in the U.S.-funded DREAMS program, an initiative aimed at supporting adolescent girls and young women at high risk of HIV. Orphaned at age 12, Akoth had struggled to stay in school and relied on relatives in Kibos, a small town in Kenya’s Kisumu County, to cover school fees and meals. Frequent inability to pay for required supplies, such as books and uniforms, often forced her out of class. The DREAMS program, she said, changed that.
“It's through the DREAMS program that they gave me a school uniform, shoes, and they provided me with food, which I took home,” Akoth said.
Printing articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions and copyright policy. Please use the sharing options on the left side of the article. Devex Pro members may share up to 10 articles per month using the Pro share tool ( ).
About the author
Victoria Amunga
Victoria Amunga is an award-winning multimedia journalist with 14 years of experience covering stories that drive public conversation and strengthen communities across Africa and beyond. Her reporting has appeared in Voice of America and TRT World, where she has produced in-depth coverage on health, technology, gender, and development.
