By Lemic Ngalla | Project Director
Greetings from Upendo family,
It is yet another time to share updates about our project “Educate and Feed 22 Orphans in Kilifi, Kenya” to our generous and dear supporters. Once again, thank you for enabling 22 children continue accessing quality education and food. Upendo similarly continues to holistically support orphans and vulnerable children to become independent and responsible adults in life. Besides education and feeding, Upendo continues to support the children in healthcare, vocational skills training and psychosocial support.
Our project “Educate and Feed 22 Orphans in Kilifi, Kenya” has two key components: Education and Feeding.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. —Nelson Mandela (first President of South Africa).
Education is a human right, a civil right, and an economic imperative. Education is an equalizer. It allows for inclusion. It allows for everyone to have a voice and to become a contributor to society. By investing in a child’s education, you are investing in a country and supporting them to uplift themselves – and many others – in the process.
Our sponsorship program ensures that every child, especially OVCs, can enjoy the same equal rights as other children. It gives them an advantage in life, where they may have been disadvantaged before.
Our students are in county, extra-county and national schools across the country. Some of these will sit for their final national examinations in November and December this year and we are hopeful that they will all join universities and colleges to pursue their dream courses.
Feeding in school is also critical to student health and well-being, especially for students from poor households whose families cannot afford 3 meals a day. Our feeding program enhances students' psychosocial well-being. It is critical to students’ readiness to learn and improves students’ attendance in school. It enhances concentration and attention in class which results into better academic performance of the students and reduces behavior and discipline problems.
By meeting their educational costs in school and feeding them, we are dealing with two major problems in society: illiteracy and hunger.
Meet some of our students in secondary school supported by this project: Saida, Gabriel and Venessa.
1. Saida
Saida is an orphan and a form one student at a national school in Kilifi County. She is the second born in a family of 5 children. Saida and her siblings live with their mother in a small rented room in Kilifi Township. The mother does not have a reliable income. She works as a waiter in a food kiosk in Kilifi where she earns about US$ 2 a day. Saida was supported through primary school by Upendo and despite the challenges she faced at home, she excelled in her national examination and got admission into a national school. Saida loves singing and dancing. She also holds a grade III certificate in tailoring and makes clothes including uniforms for other students during school holidays. Her dream career is to be a teacher.
2. Gabriel
Gabriel is a total orphan and currently in his last year in secondary school. Gabriel was supported by Upendo through primary school and scored 378/500 marks and got admission into a national school in Rift Valley. Gabriel, the last born in a family of three children, lives with her old grandmother in Kilifi Township. Besides academics, Gabriel loves playing football and is part of the school team. He is a promising scholar. He wants to study pharmacy in the university.
3. Venessa
Venessa is a total orphan and lives with an uncle in the outskirts of Kilifi Town. She was also supported by Upendo through primary school and got admission into a national school in Kwale County. Venessa’s dream is to be a nurse. Besides academics, she does hairdressing and bead-work during school holidays.
Upendo’s main goal is to holistically support such children to become independent and responsible adults in life – who will be able to support their own families and the community they live in.
Asanteni sana,
Lemic Ngalla.
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