This week was a busy one, but a good one. I went to Purpose Driven Academy on Thursday and sat and talked to Margaret Wanyoni, the head teacher for a while. She was telling me about their theme for this term, which is Psalm 102:17. It says, “He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.” They decided to put this verse into action and use it as a pathway to step out and help the community around them. The school decided to take one child in every class at the school (Preschool through Highschool) that comes from the slums in the area and currently does not have the opportunity to come to school. The class is raising the money to pay the student’s entrance fees and the school is covering the rest. They only needed the initial things: soap, clothes, uniform, bed, sheets and other personal items to get started. Margaret knows that I spend a lot of time in Shimo, so she asked if I could find some kids to fill the open spots before the term ends next month. She asked me to find a second grader and a preschooler that were not in school. It is encouraging because many of the students at the school are needy themselves and they are reaching out as a whole to help those around them who are needy. I’m sure that most of the kids that the school helped would have never had the chance to get a real education.

The dorms where the boarder at the school stay

The first kid that jumped into my mind when Margaret told me this was Augustus. He is a total orphan who is living with his aunt in Shimo. He went to Oasis daily, so we knew that he would be able to make it and fit in perfectly in second grade. So we went down and talked to Gladys and she agreed that he could go to school and he will come back and live at home during the breaks. Augustus was so excited and is doing great. He is making friends already and has been hanging out with Junior, Allan and Hillary.

So happy to be heading to school!

The next child, who is the most in need, that came to mind was Franco.  Not only will he get the chance to go to school, but he will also get 3 good meals a day. He can finally get to a healthy weight and it relieves a little pressure on his family. This is a little off topic, but his family is doing great. They moved to a new house and Patrick has been working so the family now has some source of steady income. I think that the situation with the children’s officer scared them enough to get their acts together. That was not exactly what we had intended, but its a good thing for the family and the kids. Franco will get to go home when school closes and spend time with his family. 

Franco getting his new school shoes.