Sammy Moves In

We found out more about Sammy’s story this week. He was born at the District Hospital and his mother left and never brought him home. She told his father, Julius, that the baby died and he hasn’t seen her since then. So Sammy spent his first four months of life alone in the hospital until a neighbor saw Sammy there and realized is was Julius’ son. So he took Sammy home and struggled to care for him, which is how he ended up in the hospital again with meningitis and TB. 

Sammy is now cleared from all of his illnesses that he had when we first met him. His father loves him, but doesn’t have the knowledge or resources to give him the care that he needs especially all by himself. We decided that the safest place for Sammy would be in the home. At such a young age it is crucial that he receives proper care and therapy for him to reach his full potential when he grows older. 

We took him to the doctor to get a full check up. We noticed he has seizures and the doctor prescribed medication to help get those under control. Other than that he is still taking medicine to make sure the TB doesn’t come back, but he is no longer contagious. 

Sammy is doing great. He is already making great improvements. It’s amazing how a warm bed, being clean and food such basic needs enable a child to improve so quickly. He is finally getting the basic comforts that he's been missing out on his whole life. 

He is a great little addition to the group. The other kids love having a baby around and love helping to take care of him. 

Allan holding little Sammy's hand

He loves being held and just wants to know there is someone near him. It's crazy to see such a tiny kid who has been through so much in his life already. We are blessed to have Sammy in the house and to be a part of his story and show him love and care for the first time in his life. 

New Classroom, New Students, New Friends

We are blessed to have many  new faces around the house this week. We added three new students this term and they are all a joy to have around. We have grown so much in these last few months that we decided to add another teacher. Now we divide the students into baby class and middle class. The special education students stay with the middle class. Now there is a smaller student to teacher ratio and they all that enough space where they can learn.

Middle Class

Baby class 

Angel started with us this week. She is a quiet little girl, but a very quick learner and we are excited to have her around. 

Little Nathaniel couldn’t keep his eyes open on the first day of school. He is getting used to coming and is already making lots of new friends.

We met Prudence last year, but did not take her to come stay at the house because her parents are great and take very good care of her. Her parents heard that we started in school and her sponsor decided to have her come during the day and learn with us. She has a great smile and loves greeting anyone who walks into the room. We are glad that she is now in school and getting the physical therapy that she needs to continue improving. 

Marvelous and Maureen came to the house a couple months ago when they were sick.  After having them around they quickly became part of the group so we decided to keep them around.Marvelous had been going to Purpose Driven Academy in the preschool that they have there. It's great to see her real personality coming out in an environment where she feels at home. At school she was always so quiet and at the house she is the center of attention. She is the fastest talker and most animated storyteller I have ever heard. 

Maureen’s mother works at the house, but she had been staying with her grandparents. She is such a sweet little girl with a very helpful heart. She loves playing with all of the kids especially little Manu. Every night after dinner time she gets the broom and starts sweeping with out even being asked. We are excited to have her around for good. 

One of our other house moms sister recently passed away leaving sweet little Ziporah all alone. She had no where to go so we brought her to stay at the house as well. She was very shy for the first week, but now she is warming up to being in a new place and doing well. She has a sassy little attitude and a sweet smile.

Sammy's Journey to Recovery

I met Sammy at the District Hospital in July. He was so malnourished and on top of that had tuberculosis, meningitis and cerebral palsy. The meningitis was so bad that his entire body was arched all of the way back and you could barely hold him. He is only a year and a half, but because of the cerebral palsy his milestones are delayed and he doesn’t have full control of his head and cannot sit without being supported.

Sammy on the first day I met him

I talked to his father, Julius, and he told me that his wife had taken Sammy to the hospital the month before. She left him there and went home and told Julius that Sammy had died then packed her things and left. Julius went to the hospital so that he could bury his son and found him still alive in the ward. He stayed there with him for two whole months and cared for him. It’s encouraging to see a father who cares so much about his son.

Sammy a few weeks later.

My heart broke when I saw Sammy’s situation so I visited him weekly and brought him l clothes, blankets, soap, food and other little things that he needed. He is such a strong little guy and he looked healthier and stronger each time I went to see him.

Sammy in his new clean clothes.

Sammy has improved so much and was discharged from the hospital this week. We would like to move him into the home, but for now we need to make sure that the tuberculosis is fully out of his system before we put him with the other children. The treatment lasts for 90 days and if you miss one day you have to start all over again. He has one month of injections left, then if his blood test shows that he is healthy we will move him into the house. 

Until then we moved them into a home near Sammy’s grandmother so that she can keep an eye on his progress and help her son care for him.  They are near a hospital so he can be taken daily for his injection. 

It is great to see how much progress he is made in such a short amount of time and we are excited to see him continue to improve. 

Progress on the Property

I would like to start by saying  huge thank you for all of your support. It is encouraging to see people that are so willing to give and help us along this journey. So far we are making progress on the land and are exciting that things are coming together. So far we have leveled out the property, put up a fence and put in a water tap.

All fenced in.

Leveling out the land.

The water tap.

We also constructed pit latrines for use before we put in the septic tank. 

Digging the hole for the latrines.

Mixing the cement.

All finished!

We also had an architect in town draw up plans for property. In the future we are hoping to purchase the plot next to ours so we can duplicate this plan on the other side. That way we will have eight classrooms plus a boys and a girls dorm.

The first part of the building plans.

We have been working on getting permits and approval for the buildings and after all of that comes through we will be able to start construction. After getting better estimate of the prices for a temporary structure we realized that it would be a better use of our funds to start construction on the main house first, even if the progress is slow. We are hoping to be able to lay the foundation soon and go from there.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support. We thank God for putting such faithful people to come alongside the work we are doing at Precious Kids Center and walk down this path with us. 

Blessed and Expanded

God has blessed us here at Precious Kids Center with rapid growth. I underestimated God’s ability to expand our reach in such a short time. In my head our capacity is limited, our ability to grow is limited and our skills are limited. It’s easy to let thoughts about our insignificance push out the thoughts that we have an infinite God on our side. After a year’s time He’s placed twelve beautiful children in our care and after only six short months blessed us with twenty-nine eager students.  

His blessings are still coming and we are thankful that God is showing himself as the Provider as he continues to give us more than we imagined when we began this journey. Another one of the many blessings that God has provided us with is faithful and generous sponsors that allow us to continue our work and expand. This week we purchased half an acre of land that will be the future home of Precious Kids Center. It is located in a part of town called Wamuini, that is just outside of town and the property is not far from the main road. We purchased half an acre with the option to purchase the surrounding land when the times comes to keep expanding. 

The future home of Precious Kids Center!

We are excited about finally having a place to call our own. The building process may be slow, but we are thankful that we finally found the perfect place to continue expanding our reach. Our vision is to build a house for the children currently living at Precious Kids Center. Many of the children that we have now, plus others that we will take in the future, will need lifelong care. We plan to use the half acre that we just purchased to give them a place of their own. We also hope to be able to purchase an additional acre where we hope to build a full primary school.  This way we will have a space for students of all types to learn and also a place to continue our current work. 

Our current compound is getting small. The classroom and the house is crowded, but we are doing the best to thrive with what we have. Until we can get the funds together to build a permanent structure, we would like to put up temporary buildings that will give everyone the space to continue to grow and thrive. The cost to build the temporary structures will be about $3,5000USD. If you are interested in partnering with us there are a few ways that you can help. First of all we always need and appreciate prayers for the work that we are doing here. Without God on our side life would be a constant struggle. If you would like to support the buildings financially you can visit our webpage  www.preciouskidscenter.org and give your tax deductible donation through the PayPal button located on the site. You can also contact me through email shammork@preciouskidscenter.org if you have any questions or would like more information. Thank you again for all of your support and standing alongside us on this journey! 

Sammy's Operation Updates

A few weeks ago I posted about one of our students, Sammy, who had an inguinal hernia. We had taken him to the doctor's and they gave him some medication, but he ended up needing to have an operation. 

Sammy had the surgery at the District Hospital on Tuesday to remove an inguinal hernia and it went great. There were no complications and he was discharged the next day. He is staying with us this week while he recovers so that we can keep him on a balanced diet and keep a close eye on him. 

Bedtime!

He’s doing great. You can’t even tell that he had an operation. God is good and not only did the surgery go well, but he isn't in paint and is as happy as ever.The most difficult part about his recovery is making him sit down and rest. 

Thank you for all of your prayers and please continue to pray that the rest of his healing process goes smoothly and that he makes a full recovery. 

Visitors!

Once again we've had a few busy weeks around here. My sister and friends from home came out to visit and we've been visiting lots of places around town and spending time at home with the kids. It's been great introducing them to all the great people and kids here that I always talk about. It's been great having them around and the kids love having visitors. Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. Enjoy!

Stevie! So glad she could come over.

Alex bought our chicken dinner in town.

The students love having visitors!

Mary with Sam and Caleb.

The public school teachers have been on strike this week so Augustus has
been home helping the teacher with the preschoolers.

Allan and Lillian with Teacher Cristabel

Rael and Sammy

Alex and Allan

Stevie and Julie.

Alex giving everyone fresh haircuts. 

Bramwel hanging out on the swing and catching up on the news. 

Helping a friend plant beans on their farm. 

Dr. Boaz teaching Allan how to use his new walker. 

Alex spending some time with the school kids. 

Visiting Henry in Shimo.

Checking up on Little Chris and his family. His grandmother
has been sick so we brought them some food and some medicine. 

Dan is doing great. These days he always has a big smile on his face. 

Walking around town with Ambrose, who has no parents and
no one to stay with so he lives on the streets of Kitale. 

Teacher Cristbel teaching the baby class. 

Stevie and Franco.

Stevie hanging out with Franco, Allan, Yusu and Newton in class.

We met Jacob last year when Mary was here. He was so small and sick.
Now he is growing big, healthy and is even walking on his own.

Selina and her mom are doing great. We stopped by
to say hello and bring them some food and medicine.

Strolling around Shimo with Henry.

Willy had been in and out of the hospital last month, but
now he is healthy and happy and doing great.

The whole crew.

Bramwel, Mary and Lillian. 

Lavender and Stevie.

Augustus, Alex and Lillian. Plus me teaching Allan how to photobomb.

Me and Allan.