Adventures in Lodwar

It’s been a busy week. I headed up to the town of Lodwar to help a team who went to distribute food. I met a man named Jacob who is a pastor and has polio. He was telling me that he lives with his two nieces and his son that also have polio. Also his neighbor’s children have polio as well. I went to his village to meet his family. He is a community health workers that receives government support to help feed the children with disabilities living in his community. There are many struggles that he faces. Even if the fees for school are provided, the nearest school is far and the kids can't walk there because of their disabilities. There is nowhere in Lodwar where the children can receive therapy and the doctors have limited knowledge of how to treat them. There is so much need and the support he gets is very limited. Here are some of the children that I met on my quick visit to his house. 

Jacob's son, John

Jacob's niece, Nancy

Nancy's little sister Evelyn, who can almost stand straight

But she struggles to walk

Nicholas, one of the nieghbors who also has polio

Ebei, another one of the neighbors, who has down syndrome.
Lodwar is a desert town so it is very hot and they said he doesn't like wearing clothes.

He told me that there are more children in his community that he supports that have cerebral palsy and other disabilities. I am hoping to make another trip up to Lodwar soon to visit these kids and meet the other ones that Jacob supports to see their needs and how I can help. It’s encouraging to see someone else who is involved in reaching out to help children with disabilities. God has put the same passion on both of our hearts and I hope to be able to  work with him, his family and the kids in his community to give them the supports they need.

Construction has begun!

We finally broke ground on our building projects! This week  construction on the main house for the kiddos began. They started the ditching for the foundation and laying out the pillars. I are excited that we are now one step closer to having a bigger home with enough space for everyone to play inside. The house is going to be large, with enough space for everyone’s special chairs and enough room for everyone to have space to play and move around. This is just one step towards completion, but we are excited to finally have gotten started. Thanks again for all of your prayers and support that have helped us get this far!

Day 1

Stones to help support the pillars and the foundation.

More rocks for mixing in with the cement.

The crew mixing the cement.

Laying the wires to support the foundation.

New School for Allan and Augustus

I don’t write much about the challenges that I face in dealing with kids with disabilities here in Kenya. There is so much stigma. As a parent of these kids it can be incredibly frustrating especially when you don’t know where to turn for help.

 Allan was promoted to class 1. Since we only have preschool at the house I went out looking for a school for him. I talked to the principal and the secretary before school started and they said that he could learn at their school. On the first day of school, I took Allan to get him enrolled. After meeting him again they changed their mind. They told me that it would be better if I kept him home to learn with other children like him. I’ll admit my first reaction was anger. Allan had been so happy the whole morning, grinning from ear to ear at the thought of getting to go to school outside the house and crawling everywhere with his backpack on. Then at school they told me they wouldn’t take him just because of his disability. 

Allan has cerebral palsy, which keeps him from walking and causes him to struggle with writing, but he is so bright. He understands everything and uses English words that none of the other kids know and catches on to new things quickly. He has a few speech impairments, but once you spend some time with him it’s easy to understand what he is saying. And he’s determined, he will sit for 30 minutes putting his shoes on by himself because he knows he can. The second Allan heard the teacher say he couldn’t go to school there, his smile faded for the first time that morning and he just looked at me ready to cry. It broke my heart. There is a church at the school that I’ve attended with the kids before and they were talking about reaching out to the poor and the needy. There were signs posted all over the office that said “Education for all” yet they were turning us away. 

I was determined to find another school where Allan could learn, play and grow alongside his peers. A place where he will be accepted as he is and be given the chance to be educated. We went to a school just around the corner called Greenfields. It is well known for high test scores and is the place where most of the children from wealthy families in town go. I was reluctant to go, thinking we would be turned away again and didn’t want to see that heartbroken look on Allan’s face again. We talked to the staff and they met Allan. He was not his usual talkative self and was very quiet. Without hesitation they started talking to us about how to make it work for Allan to fit into their school. They said that they would arrange for someone to take him to the bathroom and to feed him at meal time. They were even willing to carry him around all day, the fact that we have a wheelchair for him was just an added bonus. 

The instant Allan heard he would be going to school there, his perfect little smile was back on his face. We immediately went to buy the uniform and he refused to take it off until bedtime. I am thankful that we found a school that is willing to accommodate Allan and give him the teaching and extra care that he needs. 

Augustus will also be going to school with Allan. Augustus has a learning disability that makes reading extremely difficult for him. We’ve tried working with him at home and getting him extra help at school and he still has difficulty writing his first name. So we talked to the teachers at Greenfields and they said that they would be happy to have him at their school and work with him to build his reading skills.

Augustus has a huge heart and will help out wherever he sees a need. Allan said that Augustus made sure he was taken to the bathroom, checked his bag before they got on the bus to go home and even stopped playing at lunch to feed him. It’s so encouraging to see how they really are a family. Augustus could tell I was nervous to leave Allan at school and he said, “Don’t worry I’ll take care of my brother.” I am continually blessed by them and their great big hearts. 

Leaps of Faith

Today I truly stand in awe of how great our God is. This week Precious Kids Center was featured on www.Buck4Good.com. Our goal was to raise $4,000 towards our building projects and operations at the center. God showed up in a huge way and provided us with over $17,000 dollars towards our project in just one week’s time. 

Our God is truly revealing himself to me as the Great Provider. Throughout this whole journey of starting and running Precious Kids Center God keeps reminding me that he is in control and he will provide for us. Matthew 6:26 says “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in the barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” This is the truth. God knows each one of us and what our needs and the deepest desires of our hearts are. 

This week our funds for general operations have been at an all time low. With the new year coming and school starting the expenses are high. The kids need new uniforms, the ones learning outside of the center need school fees, the rent is due, bills need to be paid, food needs to be purchased, and the staff needs to be paid. The van broke down this week, and it’s been sitting at the house because I didn’t even have the money to do repairs. I looked at the $200 dollars that I had in my bank account and prayed short little prayer. It went something like “Lord, you’ve got us this far and I know you will see us through.” 

When I went to bed last night, I checked Buck4Good and it said that we had $6,000. I was amazed. God’s perfect timing brought us the funds to keep going. This morning when I woke up it said $17,000. I was in disbelief. I hit refresh at least seven times before I could believe it was true. 

I say it again our God is great. There are no words to accurately describe his faithfulness. I’m not sharing this for any other reason than to encourage people to know that our God is real and whatever your situation is He WILL provide. Stepping out in faith is no easy journey. Living day by day relying on God to meet your every need is no easy task. His Word is true and He will never let you fall when you take those leaps of faith in his name. 

“I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy” Psalm 140:12

I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart for the support that you’ve given to each and every one of my precious little ones this week. To see how far each and every one of them have come with your prayers and support is breathtaking. I am encouraged and blessed beyond measure. Thanks again for all that you do to support Precious Kids Center!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from all of us at Precious Kids Center.

A few of the kids went home to spend Christmas with their families so we had space to have a few extras over to celebrate Christmas with us. We spent the day at home playing with all of their new toys and ate a nice dinner. Thank you all for your continued support that allows us to keep putting such big smiles in the joyful hearts of these precious little ones. 

Cyril was so excited to have her new toys.

So was Bramwel

Rodricks came to spend Christmas with us.

Manu playing ring toss

Franco and August playing mini golf.

Willy loves his new ball.

Manu loves his new ball too!

Sam got a hole in one!

Manu loved the ring toss

Lucy judging the ring toss

Bramwel working on his swing.

Rodricks shooting hoops

Lillian

Manu and Lucy playing volleyball

Our make shift Christmas tree
I let the kids decorate themselves. 

Dan watching TV with his new bear.

Augustus helping Julius play with his new car

Mary and Japheth.

Lucy, Mary and Lillian

Mary, Augustus and Lucy hanging out with Japheth and Julius

Manu and Rodricks.

Pray For Isaac

Thank you all for your prayers for Isaac. He’s been sick for about two months and hasn’t responded to any treatment that he’s been given so far. This week we went to a hospital in Eldoret that has more tests and specialist available because Isaac was getting worse instead of better. His blood oxygen level was half of what it should be and his pulse was double. He was struggling to breathe and was refusing to eat. The doctors at the public hospitals in Kenya have been on strike for two weeks, so we were there for five hours and never saw a doctor. They told us that Isaac should be admitted, but told us to go home instead because there were no doctors available to treat him. 

So they next day I ran around to all of the different doctors at their private offices in Kitale to see if I could find someone who could give me a diagnoses. After looking at his chest X-rays I found a doctor who told me that he has Chronic Bronchitis or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. After finding out what his exact problem was we took him to Sister Freda’s Hospital, which is a private hospital, so the doctors don’t go on strike. He was admitted and they began giving him another round of antibiotics and IV fluids. After being there two days he is already improving. He has been eating well for the past two days and they said that he can come home tomorrow. 

We still have a long way to go with Isaac because his medical issues are chronic and will not fully go away, but we are glad to see small improvements and hear his sweet laugh again. 

We are blessed and thankful for all of your continued prayers for Isaac.

Japheth's Progress

Japheth is doing a lot better and was discharged from the hospital a few weeks ago. We had a hard time deciding what our next step with him would be. His family is able, but no one is willing. He is only four years old and he’s been tossed from one place to another. He’s only known neglect and abuse and never been in a place where he is loved and accepted for who he is.

It breaks my heart that so many sweet, innocent children like Japheth are living in situations like this all over the world just because people are unable to view them through God’s eyes and see that they are perfect in his eyes. 

He is still underweight and malnourished so we have put him on a special diet to make sure that he keeps gaining weight and strength. He is adjusting to the house well and we are learning more about his sweet little personality. The first week, he cried the whole night, but he has already started sleeping through the night.  He can sit on his own and we are hopeful that with regular physical therapy he will start walking soon. 

He was crying all day unless he was being held then we figured out that the noise of the tv and all the other kids and sounds in the house is overwhelming to him. If he is where it’s quiet he will sit and play and laugh by himself or with one or two other kids. We are hoping to get him some headphones to help dull the noise so that he can play with all the other kids in the sitting room without being overwhelmed. 

We are excited and blessed to have Japheth in the house. He is a sweet little boy who just wants to be held and loved and he is already  making great improvements.