The end of the year is here and EC’s annual appeal has been sent out far and wide. So far the response has been tremendous! Our goal is to raise $25,000 by the end of 2018. As of this writing, our supporters have contributed over $14,000 in the space of one month. We are well on our way to meeting our goal!
A Year of Growth
I am amazed when I look back at all that has happened in 2018. This has been an expanding year for Everyone’s Child. With your help we have provided over 500 children with a daily meal in five different locations, given an education to 15 orphaned secondary students, and sponsored a Mentorship Program for orphaned and vulnerable teens. Together we also built Kateri’s Kitchen and dug a well for an impoverished village in northern India.
This year we saw the establishment of the EC Kenya Board of Directors, and welcomed Jedidah Kuria – a graduate of our sponsorship program to our Kenya staff. We received a grant from CBN allowing us to pay teachers at Miruya Primary School in western Kenya. Those of you who follow this monthly blog have seen the photos and read the stories. Hopefully, you’ve felt the hope and love that emanates from each posting.
providing a meal for a child in Kampi Ya Moto
Your Support
It takes a lot of effort to build something – whether that “thing” is a physical building, a program, or a relationship. EC’s Board of Directors and I spend a lot of time planning, praying about and discussing the direction for this non-profit. I believe that the same can be said for those of you who support what we do. Your contributions are not something we take lightly, so it is with great heart and much gratitude that I offer my thanks to you in this season. We understand that there are many organizations doing wonderful things for children all over this world, which makes your support that much more meaningful to us.
World map of EC locations
During this season of giving
I am writing to ask you to please continue working alongside us as we serve the orphans and vulnerable children who are counting on us for their education and their future. If you have not already given, you can learn how to make your contribution by visiting our donate page.
All donations are tax-deductible, used for and appreciated by the children we support. With your help we will continue changing a generation through education.
It has been another exciting year for Everyone’s Child! EC’s programs have grown in Kenya as well as India this year, resulting in the needs of orphans and vulnerable children across the world being met. The Board of Directors and I owe a large debt of gratitude to you, our faithful contributors, for your steadfast support for our programs. Here is a brief synopsis of what has happened this year:
Orphan Feeding Program
EC now partners with school administrations in five different locations to provide over 550 meals a day to orphans and vulnerable students across Kenya. This year we added 138 students from the Miruya Primary School in western Kenya to our numbers. The average monthly cost of this program is $1,500.00.
Sr. Kateri feeding the EC children in Kampi Ya Moto
EC Scholarships
This past year, the Kenyan government made the wonderful decision to provide free education to secondary students. Families are still required to pay for their children’s lunches and uniforms, but costs are now lowered to $150 per student. In the coming year this change will allow us to help orphaned preschool children who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity to attend preschool. The cost to give the gift of an education to an orphaned preschooler or secondary student is just $150 per child per year. Our goal is to offer scholarships to at least five orphaned preschoolers and 15 secondary students during the 2019 school year, for an annual cost of $3,000.
EC scholarship students at Bishop Donovan Secondary School
Partnerships
Miruya Primary School: This year, we were blessed to receive a sizable grant from Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). We combined this funding with our own to cover needs at the Miruya Primary School, the newest school in our program. We were able to pay for a lunch program, uniforms, teacher salaries, three latrines and a kitchen, as well as books and equipment for the children and staff at this primary school. In 2019, our goal is to continue supporting them and also to provide them with a well and an Administration Block. The total cost of this endeavor is $30,000.00.
EC Kenya Board of Directors: This fall, a group of eight people from eastern and western Kenya met to establish the first official EC Kenyan Board of Directors. The formation of this board allows EC to register as an NGO in Kenya, making it possible for them to raise funds and increase their operations throughout that country. This group is made up of people from different tribes, making this an exciting and historic event for EC. Everyone’s Child is now becoming a national program that encompasses the whole of Kenya.
EC Kenya Board of Directors
Northern and Southern India
“When the water gushed out of the pump … we saw joyful tears in the eyes of the children and families. These children were thirsty and starving, and were suffering without water, but you met their needs. Truly the Lord is great.”
Pastor Kishor of Orissa, India
This year we learned about an orphanage in Orissa, which is in northern India. Their water pump had broken, and the children were suffering from dysentery and other water borne illnesses. Our supporters responded immediately, one in particular saying that high on their “bucket list” was giving a drink to those who were thirsty. In 2019, we hope to help fund a lunch program for these children. We also plan to continue partnering with Abundant Life Care Ministries in Hyderabad, India, providing education to the orphans in their care. With your help we can continue supporting these programs. Annual cost: $2,000.
Watching the drill and waiting for water in Orissa, India
During this season of giving and gratitude,
I am writing to ask you to please continue working alongside us as we serve the orphans and vulnerable children who are counting on us for their education and their future. You can learn how to make your contribution by visiting our donate page.
All donations are tax-deductible, used for and appreciated by the children we support. With your help we will continue changing a generation through education.
“Jedidah’s Journey” is the story of a young orphaned Kenyan girl whose hopes and dreams came to an abrupt end shortly after she graduated from high school. It’s a tale of heartache and brokenness, but also one of hope and resilience. It’s a story that has been told throughout history, and one that must be told again.
Earlier this year I sent her story in booklet form to EC’s supporters. This month’s blog makes her story available to a wider audience. Even if you already received this via snail mail, please don’t let that stop you from reading her amazing story again online.
Jedidah’s Journey
“Jedidah’s Journey” was garnered from a series of emails between Jedidah and me during the early part of 2018. There were many questions and edits, followed by more questions and more edits. In the end, however, I felt confident that her story was one that she would feel good about sharing with the world.
Jedidah with her grandmother in 2007
Responses and Reactions
An hour after emailing her my final draft, I received a text from Jedidah. She wrote: “Waoh, waoh [wow wow] am lack of words i just could not hold my tears reading my story.” Moments later she continued with this note: “…it touch my heart soo much. i just hope with my story there [will be] some kids there that will benefit from it. i know there [are] those who go through much more in life. it will be my greatest achievement in life to know i am able to help them.”
Needless to say, I was humbled by her reaction, and found myself hoping that those who read her story would want to find a way to help young women who find themselves in similar circumstances.
I wasn’t disappointed. In the weeks that followed the printing of “Jedidah’s Journey”, I received wonderful feedback from people whose hearts were touched by this narrative. Many people took the time to thank me for publishing it. Some even donated to our Mentorship Program in hopes of helping orphans who often find themselves feeling unwanted or unloved. It was encouraging to hear from readers who wrote words such as these:
“I enjoyed reading Jedidah’s story. The challenges she faced were heartbreaking, and yet by the end of the booklet I felt moved and inspired by her words. There’s undeniable strength and hope in her story; her journey. Thank you for sharing it with me.”
Jedidah reading her story in 2018
Read her Story, Help a child
While Jedidah’s story isn’t picture perfect, it illustrates the struggles that face so many of the children we serve. Instead of ignoring them; we need to be the hand that helps them up.
Everyone’s Child relies on your help, not just to get children to the finish line, but also to keep them on the track. we need to encourage them so that they, like Jedidah, will keep getting back up, even when life throws them down. With your support, we can reach many more orphaned and vulnerable students who need to learn how to make good decisions in their lives.
You can click on Jedidah’s Journey to read this story online. And please click here to learn more about how you can make a difference in a child’s life. You’ll never be sorry that you did.
As always, Asante Sana (thank you so much) for supporting what we do by serving the orphans and vulnerable children who are counting on us for their education and their future.
Everyone’s Child has some exciting developments to report! First, very early on Saturday morning, September 8th, I was honored to join (via Skype) a meeting of the first official EC Kenya Board of Directors. Men and women from different tribes and different parts of Kenya participated in this historic meeting. Their group is made up of a school principal, a school counselor, a nutritionist, an accountant, teachers, an urban planner, and other highly qualified professionals. However, their best common qualification is that they are all committed to making a difference in the lives of Kenyan children who have the greatest needs.
The meeting took place at William Aludo‘s home in Rongo, which is in western Kenya. Four Board members are from Rongo, and three Board members live in Nakuru, a six hour trip from eastern Kenya. I was grateful for a good connection and clear reception, despite the sudden rainfall that drowned out the conversation for a while. EC USA is looking forward to working with this stellar group of people!
EC Kenya Board of Directors left to right: Director Dorcas Njorge of Nakuru, Director Joseph Rayudi of Rongo, Secretary Collins Awuor of Rongo, Director Josephine Kinuthia of Nakuru, Director Baraka Someh of Rongo, William Aludo, EC Program Coordinator of Rongo, Treasurer Josephine Omwanda of Rongo, and Chairman James Maina, principal at Bishop Donovan Secondary School in Nakuru
Kateri’s Kitchen
The second of these exciting developments is that Kateri’s Kitchen is 99 % of the way finished! Many of you contributed to get this project off the ground. The chimney and a cookstove are the final pieces that need to be put in place before the building is officially declared open for use. Altogether we need an additional $300 to finish the job. The cost of a cookstove (a.k.a. “jiko”) is $50.00. The cost to build the chimney is $250.00. Please click here if you would like to help see this project through to the end. Once it is finished, Kateri’s plaque will go up. But best of all, the children will be fed from a sound building, showing them that there are people who care and want the best for them.
Kateri’s Kitchen as of early September 2018
As always, Asante Sana (thank you very much) for supporting Everyone’s Child. Your efforts truly are helping to change a generation through education.
This past June I wrote about a donation that came from a relative of mine who was checking things off a bucket list. The item was “I was thirsty, and ye gave me to drink”. Without even knowing it, this relative was quenching the thirst of many children.
Children in Orissa, India
A Board Decision
At about the same time, the EC Board of Directors had decided to provide a hand pump to a ministry serving children in Orissa, which is in northern India. This ministry has been faced with tremendous persecution, making it very difficult to support these children. They had asked us for help with a hand pump, nutritional care and educational supplies, so our first effort was to provide them with a hand pump and repair their bore well. Our hope was that the pump and repaired well would prevent the sickness and disease they have all been dealing with from drinking dirty river water.
Waiting by the drill and watching for the water to come
Checking things off our list
My relative’s bucket list inspired others to give, and as a result, I am overwhelmingly excited to report that this item can now be checked off our list too. In mid-June the funds were sent to India, and a month later I received an email and a video from India, showing that the water pump is now in place. The video is below, followed by the portions of the email:
“Hallelujah thank you Lord Jesus Christ for this water facilities to these children and families. Lord we bless Everyone’s Child for bringing blessings to these vulnerable children we serve in Orissa.”
“When the water gushed out of the pump … we saw joyful tears in the eyes of the children and families. Truly the Lord is great. See the children how they are very very happy and grateful to you and to the Lord. They prayed. Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for this wonderful water facilities you provided to bless these children and families. These children were thirsty and starving and were suffering without water but you met the needs thank you Lord for giving us provisions to serve these tribal children in Orissa. Amen.”
Connecting others to the need
I recently visited the bank where funds for the water pump were transferred to India. The teller who had helped with the transaction was there, so I had an opportunity to share the video and texts with him. He was visibly moved, and then asked me if I would be able to share the video and text with him.
His reason was simple. His children recently had friends over for the evening, and when all the soda pop, bottled water and juice was gone, they found that their only option for quenching their thirst was to drink water from the tap. “I want to show them this,” he said, “because I told them that there was plenty of good drinking water right there at the sink. I said that the local Water Authority had deemed it safe to drink, but they still couldn’t bring themselves to drink it. They need to see what other people deal with when it comes to having clean drinking water.”
Mealtime for the children in Orissa, India
Quenching the thirst
Looking back, it seems that many of my blogs have been about water. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Water is one of the most needed elements in our world – for people, plants, animals – in fact, for all living things. And yet, potable water makes up a very small fraction of all the water on the earth. According to National Geographic*, “While nearly 70 percent of the world is covered by water, only 2.5 percent of it is fresh. The rest is saline and ocean-based. Even then, just 1 percent of our freshwater is easily accessible, with much of it trapped in glaciers and snowfields.”
We all have thirst. Quenching that thirst is a driving force in life. For so many of us, having potable water is a non-issue. However, for every one for whom it is a non-issue, there are at least three who struggle with access to clean drinking water. The numbers are overwhelming. 844 million people on the earth today lack sanitary water**.
Waiting by the drill for water in Orissa, India
Everyone’s Child is committed to providing clean drinking water for any of the schools we help to build. Beyond that, we will do all we can to make clean water available to children in developing nations.
I am grateful for the privilege of partnering with so many of you to take care of this and many other needs in our world, especially when children are involved.
Please click here if you would like to support our programs in Kenya and India. Your tax-deductible gift will help with educating, feeding and quenching the thirst of children we serve in these countries.
As always, thank you and bless you for seeing, understanding and responding to the need. I pray that your hearts and buckets will be full to overflowing time and time again.
A friend of mine has been feeding the hungry for more than a decade. Dyan Walker, also called Sr. Kateri as she belongs to a Franciscan lay order, has indirectly and directly been providing meals for hungry children in Kenya for many years.
The Message
A couple of weeks ago I asked Sr. Kateri how she happened to get involved with feeding needy children. She said that it all started in 2007 when she attended a church service where a missionary to Kenya was bringing a message about the work he was doing in that country. She was deeply affected by his stories of children in an area called Kampi Ya Moto – a name which translates to “Camp of Fire”. Needless to say, life was challenging in that region. Kampi Ya Moto is located in sub-Saharan Africa where daily temperatures reach high into the 80’s and 90’s and rainfall is scarce during most of the year. She learned that HIV/AIDS had claimed the lives of many adults in that area so most of the children were orphaned. Education was considered a luxury. A primary school was built in 2003, but prior to that there were no schools near their homes. Their excitement at finally being able to learn was beyond measure. However, in spite of their enthusiasm, they were fainting in class due to lack of food.
The Orphan Feeding Program
This missionary was reaching out to the church for help with an Orphan Feeding Program, allowing the children in Kampi Ya Moto to receive a daily meal.
Sr. Kateri was profoundly moved by his stories, so she began to pray for a way to help them. As a recent widow, her budget was limited, but it occurred to her to put aside $10 a week for the orphans. She began to do that, and continued to pray for their situation.
Then in May 2007, Sr. Kateri was gifted with the opportunity to travel to Kenya with a group of missionaries. The trip had a profound impact on her life. She vividly remembers the sights and sounds, the incredible wildlife, and most of all, the children.
Sr. Kateri, third from the left, with missionaries in Kenya
In her visit to Kampi Ya Moto she had a chance to serve lunch to the school children, an experience that is still fresh in her heart and mind. She also remembered that “…there was a kitchen there but it was dilapidated and falling apart.” She returned home and began to tell her friends, co-workers, and anyone else who would listen about these children and their needs. Before long, there was an outpouring of donations for the Orphan Feeding Program, and the effort began to take on a life of its own.
Children in Kampi Ya Moto waiting for their daily meal
Feeding the Hungry
Sr. Kateri’s passion for alleviating the suffering of these orphans in Kenya began to affect people throughout the USA and Canada. Funds continued to pour in, making it possible to address other needs as well. The kitchen she had seen during her trip was in need of repairs, and two other schools in Nakuru were asking for help with feeding orphans in their schools. Fr. Paul Stewart, her pastor of many years, told her: “The money you set aside also inspired others to give, so they were able to repair the kitchen and start the Orphan Feeding Program in two new locations.” Her prayers and continued concern and care for the orphans also led her to join EC’s Board of Directors, a position she held for several years.
Sr. Kateri feeding the children in Kampi Ya Moto in 2007 – the kitchen is in the background
Kateri’s Kitchen
Today the kitchen in Kampi Ya Moto is once again in a state of disrepair. Severe drought and extreme heat have taken their toll on this small tin, wattle and daub building. This summer, EC is raising $2,100 in order to build a structure that will withstand the climate and provide nutritional meals to these school children.
The kitchen in Kampi Ya Moto
Upon completion, EC will be dedicating the new kitchen to Sr. Kateri. A plaque honoring her commitment to feed the children will be placed in this building, and in future kitchens also. Her legacy of giving to the least of them will continue to impact children for years to come.
The plaque that will be placed in the new kitchen in Kampi Ya Moto
If you are in a position to contribute to Kateri’s Kitchen, pleaseclick here to help us continue with our goal of feeding the hungry. Your gift will make a huge difference for the school children who rely on these meals to get them through the day.
As always, Asante Sana (Thank you very much) for your help!
Providing for needs is constant in life. We have basic needs that deal with our survival as humans: water, food, and shelter. Then there are less-essential needs, such as designer jeans, computers and dirt bikes. What you have been blessed with in life defines your perspective on your own personal sense of needs and provision for those needs.
A Donation
A relative of mine recently decided to give a recurring donation to Everyone’s Child. I asked where the donation should be directed, and received the most amazing response, copied below:
“My goal was to donate enough to bring water to a school in a year…I went online to learn more and saw the need for water. It was something on my bucket list that has not been fulfilled. Here is my bucket list:
I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat:
I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Naked, and ye clothed me:
I was sick, and ye visited me:
I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”
EC Program Coordinators Susan Enoch and William Aludo providing a meal for a child in Kenya
Provision
I was in awe of my relatives’ ability to use Matthew 25:35-40 to identify a selfless list of objectives for life. These objectives were all about providing for needs. I wrote the following reply:
“Yours is a more than worthy bucket list. Thank you for sharing it with me. As to your dream of bringing water to a school in a year’s time, we are always on the lookout for that need. After walking to that muddy river in Kampi Ya Moto, Kenya it has become my personal quest.”
I was thirsty
I went on to say that the EC Board of Directors had just recently decided to provide a hand pump to a ministry in northern India. I mentioned that this ministry is providing for the needs of 85 children, but they have been faced with tremendous persecution, making it very difficult to support these children. They had asked us for help with a hand pump, nutritional care and educational supplies, so our first effort was to provide them with a hand pump and repair their bore well. This pump and repaired well will hopefully prevent the sickness and disease they have all been dealing with from drinking dirty river water.
I ended my email by saying how glad I was to be able to participate in this bucket list, made only more meaningful by the fact that I was proud to be related to this special person.
Providing for Needs
Providing for needs includes the act of caring for and about others. Sometimes that act is a prayer, other times it involves an action or a financial gift. Here at Everyone’s Child we appreciate contributions of all kinds.
Love is the defining expression in my relative’s bucket list. Please click here to give to someone who will greatly appreciate your gift of love.
Walking to get water at the river in Kampi Ya Moto
“Maji” is Swahili for “water”. Here in the USA we are rarely without it. With it we steep our tea and brush our teeth, water the lawn and rinse off the dog, brew our coffee and wash the car, launder our clothes and cook our dinner. When we’re thirsty, we trust that a turn of the wrist will result in a drink of cool, clear water.
In many places in our world, “maji” does not magically appear. Not clean water at any rate. For years, the children at the Lord Ranjuera Primary School in Kampi Ya Moto, Kenya – many of them orphaned – had the daily task of walking a hot and dusty two-mile trek to a muddy river to collect water that was then used for drinking and cooking. The water was usually boiled before it was consumed, but the mere fact that the mortality rate in this area was 50% or higher leads me to believe that boiling alone didn’t remove the incidence of water borne illnesses.
Carrying water from the river in Kampi Ya Moto
Kampi Ya Moto
Kampi Ya Moto is an arid region of Kenya that literally translates to “Camp of Fire”. Many of EC’s supporters have walked with the children to the river in this area on visits to their school. In a word, it’s repulsive. The water is brown, and the shore is filled with mud-pocked holes made by the hooves of the cows and other animals that shared this watering hole with members of the village.
Sharing the river in Kampi Ya Moto
Partnering
During the summer of 2013, Orphan’s Promise of Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) partnered with Everyone’s Child to install a rain harvesting system for the school. The impact has been nothing short of revolutionary. Children and teachers no longer spend hours a day walking to and from the river to get water. Mary Cheshire, the Head Teacher at the school has reported that overall the children’s health has markedly improved. And their garden is amazing.
CBN Living Water plaque in Kampi Ya Moto
Real Time
Not too long ago, on a beautiful sunny morning, I had just brewed my first cup of tea when my phone began to ding. Simon Wanjala, one of EC’s Kenyan staff members, was sending me photos and videos from the school in Kampi Ya Moto. It was mid-afternoon there. The children had finished their lunch and were gathering outside to play football (soccer). Some were bubbling with excitement at having their photo taken, others were more shy and reticent to be on camera, but all of them looked very healthy.
Getting water from the tap at the Lord Ranjuera Primary School in Kampi Ya Moto
This was happening in real-time, so I asked Simon to take pictures of the garden as well. What I saw was astonishing. The scraggly corn field I remembered from 2012 was replaced by a lush and abundantly green crop of corn that was beginning to reach the tops of the children’s heads. But even better than seeing all this new growth was the joy that I saw in the faces of the children. The daily struggle of getting water was removed, and they could just be children, learning and playing under the African sun.
Kampi corn!
Maji
EC is incredibly thankful for this gift of maji (water) from Orphan’s Promise. But our gratitude pales in comparison to the thankfulness of the children who use it every day of their lives. From all of them we say ASANTE SANA to all those who contributed to this project.
Girls gathering around the faucet in their schoolyard
The mission of Everyone’s Child includes providing clean drinking water in each school we build. Please click here to learn more about supporting the programs of Everyone’s Child.
2.2 billion children in the world today. It is estimated that 153 million children of these are orphans (UNICEF). That moves my heart. But caring for all of those children is beyond my reach, beyond my capabilities.
Everyone’s Child serves over 500 orphaned and vulnerable students. That’s a lot less than 153 million, but it’s still a large number of children to keep track of. We rely on our staff, as well as the teachers and administration we partner with to let us know how they are all doing in their studies and in their lives. Thankfully, whenever I travel to Kenya I have the opportunity to meet many of these children. And there is always at least one who captures my attention each time I am there.
Simon Wanjala
This was the case with a young man named Simon Wanjala. Simon was one of EC’s first scholarship students at Bishop Edward Donovan Secondary School (BEDSS) in Lanet Umoja. This scholarship allowed him to complete his high school education. I met him once or twice while he was enrolled there, but it wasn’t until after he had graduated that I began to learn about his life.
Simon was an orphan and was also a victim of the post-election violence that took place in Kenya in 2007. He and his brothers were displaced five times in the span of four years. He wound up living with family members who mistreated him as he struggled to complete his high school education. Despite these hardships, upon graduating Simon found a job teaching in a primary school, and eventually was able to find a place to live. He brought his two youngest brothers into his home, and gave them an opportunity to complete their education together.
Simon showing off a new t-shirt in 2014
His story
The overriding aspect about this young man is his attitude. In spite of the difficulties he faced, the loss of his parents, his home, and his struggles to survive while completing his education, Simon has always been upbeat, positive and thankful. After graduating from BEDSS he went out of his way to thank EC for the education he received. That single act made a lasting impression on me.
Simon’s journey from 2006-2010
Today Simon is a successful entrepreneur who owns a shop selling kitchen wares in Nakuru, Kenya. He also volunteers his time for Everyone’s Child, taking food to the orphans in Kampi Ya Moto and assisting in EC’s Mentoring program each month.
Simon Wanjala and William Aludo in 2017
Last year I wrote a story about Simon’s life and mailed it to all of our contributors. It’s a story full of hope, and shows the difference that supporters of Everyone’s Child make in the lives of those who count on our help. The story can be downloaded here.
Caring for children
I’ve thought about caring for children for as long as I can remember. As I grew into adulthood that transpired into serving the needs of orphans and vulnerable children.
There is no doubt that supporting all of the world’s orphans would be an overwhelming mission. But I do know that each one of their lives is important. And I’m grateful to be able to help even one of the 153 million who are alive today.
Everyone’s Child begins by focusing on the one. But a task is always easier when others join in to help. Please click on this link if you would like to help to make a difference too.
As always, thank you for partnering with us to make life easier for people like Simon. I hope you enjoy his story.
everyone’s child. changing a generation through education.
I have some very exciting news to share. Last month EC received a very generous grant from Christian Broadcasting Network! The grant is designated to help establish a struggling primary school in western Kenya.
The Miruya Primary School
As some of you already know, last summer EC’s Program Coordinator, William Aludo, discovered a school not far from his home where young children gathered each day, hoping to get an education. The only problem was that there were no teachers there to help them learn. The school building was solid, but it was unregistered as a public government school. Apparently the Kenyan government had run out of funding to register the school. As a result, they were not paying to send licensed teachers there to teach the children.
Outside the Miruya Primary School
Each day between 50 and 100 students showed up and sat on the floor as there were not enough desks. They stayed simply because there was no where else for them to go. Parents from the area pooled their money to hire an untrained teacher to stay with their children, hoping that she could teach them some skills, and trusting that she would at least watch their children throughout the day. Unfortunately, because their resources were limited they were unable to pay her regularly, so sometimes she chose not to show up. The children continued to go to the school, mainly because they had no where else to go. Needless to say, it was distressing for parents to learn that their children were left on their own day after day.
The Promise of Assistance
The grant we have received from Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) will help put the Miruya Primary School on the map in western Kenya. Five teachers will be hired, desks and textbooks will be purchased, and a lunch program for orphaned and vulnerable students is being established. Best of all, plans are underway to dig a well on the school grounds! At our last staff meeting William reported that the promise of assistance has breathed new life into this area, and already new students are beginning to come to the school.
A circle game with students and their teacher at Miruya Primary School
Two Events
This past January two more important events for the Miruya Primary School happened. First, parents in the area held a successful fundraiser, raising enough to begin purchasing textbooks for their children. And secondly, William initiated a breakfast program of porridge for all the students, allowing everyone to focus on their studies instead of their empty stomachs. These events have given everyone a sense of ownership and pride in their school and their community. And now the additional promise of funding from CBN has made an impact that goes beyond many of these villagers greatest expectations.
CBN
CBN’s funding couldn’t have come at a better time for this small primary school. Beginning in April, desks and textbooks for teachers and students will be purchased. A much needed latrine will be dug, and a lunch program will be established soon afterward. The hope of a well with potable water is also in the works. None of this would be possible without the help of CBN’s Orphan’s Promise. This is a program that assists orphaned and at-risk children throughout the world, helping them to “thrive so that they can live full of hope and realize their God-given potential”. It goes without saying that we are extremely grateful for the opportunity to partner with CBN.
Exciting News
If you want to be a part of bringing exciting news to at-risk primary and secondary school students in Kenya and India, please click here. Please note that there are several ways to lend a hand. This link outlines other ways to contribute to Everyone’s Child.
As always, ASANTE SANA (Thank you very much) for being the best part of Everyone’s Child!
