EC’s Annual Appeal

05DecMay 18, 2020

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.

a good year: providing a need for a meal for a child in Kenya — 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.

EC's Annual Appeal: Where we are: World map of EC locations — 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.

With warmest wishes for a blessed holiday,

Ruth

EC – the year in review

09NovMay 16, 2020

Dear friends,

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 hungry children in Kenya — 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 students sitting in a classroom in Kenya — 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.

exciting developments of a new board of directors in 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.

EC Children Watching the drill and waiting for water — 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.

With warm wishes,

Ruth

The Miruya Primary School Challenge

09OctMay 19, 2020

The School

This past June I wrote about the Miruya Primary School in western Kenya where children were in attendance, but there were no teachers. Since then, William Aludo, EC’s Kenyan Program Coordinator, has told us about the hardships these children face on a regular basis.

As many as 112 children are on the rolls at this school, but their teachers only come once in a while and do more crowd control than any actual teaching. The issue is that although the Kenyan government provided a school building for these children, soon afterward they placed a moratorium on registering new schools due to a lack of government funding. Therefore, there are no trained teachers at the school. However, parents in this rural area continue to send their children to the school and have hired three untrained teachers who are paid infrequently and show up sporadically. The children technically have a school, but they aren’t receiving a quality education. What’s more, they face a multitude of difficulties every time they go to school.

Outside wall of the Miruya Primary School — Outside the Miruya Primary School

The Challenges

Here are some of the hardships that children are confronted with at the Miruya Primary School:

Lack of potable water – There is a need for clean drinking water. The nearest water source is a river that is two kilometers from the school.
Lack of trained teachers – Ideally, the school should have at least five trained teachers. Instead, it has three untrained teachers handling 112 children in preschool through to grade 5.
Inadequate classrooms – The school has only four classrooms, one of which is incomplete with an unfinished floor and un-plastered walls. Students in different grades have to share one room; which causes confusion and distraction when more than one teacher is teaching. The school needs four additional classrooms to accommodate the current number of preschool and primary students (grades 1 to 5).
Inadequate desks – Some students sit on the floor due to a shortage of desks. William Aludo donated desks to the school, but more desks are needed.
Lack of textbooks – The school does not have the requisite textbooks for covering the current curriculum set by the government. Ideally each pupil should have a textbook for each subject, although in many schools like this one, three or four students usually wind up sharing one textbook between them.
Inadequate toilets – There is only one toilet at the school. The school should have separate toilets for girls, boys and teachers. Two other latrines need to be built.
Lack of adequate nutrition – There is no food provided for the children. A daily, nutritional lunch program for the children is also needed.

The Miruya Primary School Challenge

In a few weeks, EC’s annual appeal will be starting. Many of you choose to contribute regularly throughout the year, while others choose to give generously once a year. We are very thankful for both types of giving. Your gifts help to fund student scholarships and lunch programs for orphaned and vulnerable primary and preschool children in Kenya, and a unique after school study program in India. This year we are also hoping to raise funds to help the Miruya Primary School get on its’ feet. We are aiming for $50,000 to get us well on our way to funding our current programs and addressing the challenges the children in Miruya face every day.

Please click here to learn how you can help us provide a quality, sustainable education for these children. All donations are tax-deductible, used for and appreciated by the children we support. With your help we truly can change a generation through education.

Children playing at the Miruya Primary School

As always, Asante Sana (thank you) dear readers!

The Orphan’s Foot Soldier: Tiring but Worth it

14FebMay 19, 2020

Getting There

As the foot soldier for Everyone’s Child (EC) in Kenya, I always look forward to my monthly trips to Nakuru with joyful expectancy. The journey to Nakuru takes about six hours by public transportation (via matatus and bodaboda – traveling on the back of a bicycle) from my home in Migori County. I normally change vehicles twice on the way. The trips are physically tiring, but the satisfaction from serving the orphans makes it all worthwhile.

William Aludo on the way to Nakuru in a matatu

Serving There

EC is currently providing meals to a total of 350 orphaned students in three schools within Nakuru. The schools are Lanet Umoja Primary School, Nakuru Teacher’s Primary School and the Lord Ranjuera Primary School.

Unlike the first two schools, breakfast and lunch is served at the Lord Ranjuera Primary School in Kampi Ya Moto throughout the year due to the desolation in this arid region of Kenya. This meal program is more important than ever for these children as the drought this year has made food scarcity the number one issue in their lives. Here, food supplies get replenished on a monthly basis. My responsibilities include procuring the food supplies and arranging the logistics of getting the same to the school. I also ensure that the lunch programs at Lanet Umoja Primary School and Nakuru Teacher’s Primary School are being conducted for the orphans in those schools, visiting the students and staff in those schools several times throughout the year as well.

Picking up the food at Crater Flour Mills in Nakuru

Eager helpers unloading the truck at the Lord Ranjuera Primary School in Kampi Ya Moto

Children receiving their breakfast in Kampi Ya Moto

Being There

At the Bishop Edward Donovan Secondary School (BEDSS) in Lanet Umoja, EC is currently sponsoring 15 orphaned students in Forms 2, 3, and 4 (sophomores, juniors and seniors). During my first visit this year, I made sure that the Term 1 school fees were paid for each of these children so they would be able to enjoy learning without the interruption of being sent home for lack of school fees. The six Form 2 students whose applications were approved for an EC scholarship this year are pictured below. Getting these students to Nakuru town to be measured for new school uniforms is part of my to-do list for next month’s trip.

Form 2 orphans at Bishop Donovan Secondary School

Mentoring There

I’m excited to be starting the second year of EC’s Mentorship Program for the orphaned juniors and seniors at Bishop Donovan Secondary School. This program is aimed at assisting these students in making good life and career choices. We meet on a monthly basis, holding our second session early this February.

During that meeting, I invited Simon Wanjala to meet and encourage the students in the program. Simon is an alumnus of BEDSS and one of the first beneficiaries of the EC Scholarship program. He lost his parents when he was a young teenager and was left to raise his younger brothers while remaining in school himself. Despite these challenges his teachers remarked that his attitude was always positive. After graduating from BEDSS Simon found a job at a nearby primary school helping students who were struggling in class. Simon understands loss very well and knows firsthand how difficult it is to be a child, an orphan, a student, and the sole bread winner in a family. He talked about the hardship he experienced as a young adult, telling the students that he never lost his faith in God, and sharing with them how he continues to experience God’s providence in his life.

Simon Wanjala – former BEDSS student and beneficiary of the EC Student Scholarship Program

Simon meeting with the BEDSS Mentorship Program students

Blessed There

I am coming up to my one-year anniversary as Program Coordinator for Everyone’s Child in Kenya. My gratitude and appreciation goes to those who support EC financially, through prayers and otherwise in order to make my monthly trips to Nakuru possible. It is a blessing to be a foot soldier serving these orphaned students. I am always thrilled!

Keep blessed!

William Aludo

PS If you would like to help the orphans that William sees every month, please consider giving to Everyone’s Child by clicking here. Your gift will be gratefully applied to either the Orphan’s Lunch Program or to the EC Student Scholarship Program and will have an immediate impact on the lives of the orphans we serve in Kenya. As always, Asante Sana!! (Thank you very much!!)

Grateful Today

16JanMay 19, 2020

Everybody needs to be grateful. Gratitude is what fuels us, allows us to go forward, especially in challenging times. Today I am grateful, and more than that really, because in reality I’m overwhelmed at the many people who have given to the 2016 EC annual appeal. Today we are just $758 short of our goal of $20,000 for this year. However, we are already $3,500 ahead of where we were last year, so I have great hope that we will meet our goal.

I used to recoil at messages like the one I just typed, thinking that they were written to guilt people into giving or worse yet, to brag about how well an organization was doing. I am not interested in doing either of those things here. Instead I am rejoicing at the generosity of those who have given and continue to give to Everyone’s Child. I know firsthand that there are many worthy organizations to give to in our world, so anytime someone gives to EC I am grateful and hopeful that they will find as much joy and satisfaction in the giving as I do in being able to pass their donation on to those who will benefit from the gift. The benefits from this support are measurable and many: they manifest in an orphan lunch program that feeds over 300 orphaned school children in three different primary schools each day; in a school sponsorship program, and in a successful mentoring program for orphaned high school students.

Who are those who benefit? There are hundreds, but here are a few examples from children who have received something from EC and have written to us to express their gratitude:

“I want to appreciate you for the things that you have given us…I say thank you because we can’t survive without lunch. Learning would have been so difficult to us without eating lunch.” Joyleen, Nakuru Teacher’s Primary School student

“The mentorship program has helped me to create friendships with my fellow students…and to know how to choose a career and to know what steps to follow towards that career. It has helped me to know my gifts and talents and even my personality.” Anthony, Bishop Donovan Secondary School student

“The mentorship program made me realize my worth and value in this world. It encouraged us to do better in life and even in my studies. – Silvia, Bishop Donovan Secondary School student

“…through our study about self-esteem I am now able to understand how important I am and I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Samuel, Bishop Donovan Secondary School student

Moving into 2017, we have become aware of seven more orphans at Bishop Donovan Secondary School in Lanet who are hoping to be sponsored this year. Our goal is to be able to help them and the eight others we are currently supporting, as well as to continue feeding the 300+ students who rely on us for a daily meal. The cost of this in 2017 will be $20,000. We are so close to making this happen. If you are in a position to help us reach this goal, please Click here to make a secure online donation, or send your check or money order to Everyone’s Child, 19304 Cole Road, Conneautville, PA 16406. A one-time contribution makes a difference, and so will your monthly support.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I am grateful for your help, but not nearly as grateful as the children who benefit from the gift of an education received at your hands.

Many blessings,

Ruth