Empowering 37 Orphans Through Education in Kenya

We would like to take this opportunity thank you for your support and generous contributions toward our project “Empowering 37 orphans through education in Kenya.”  Your generosity has enabled the youth in our program to acquire the much needed training that will open many new opportunities for them.  In addition, once the students become self-reliant, they are also able to assist their families.  Yours is a GIFT that keeps on giving and in the end many lives will be touched.

Education continues to be our top priority in Kenya, and especially in Nyumbani Village.  The results for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education were released on 3rd March, 2014.  Our secondary school, Lawson High School (LHS) came 2nd in Lower Yatta district with only a 0.025 mean grade difference behind the school ranked 1st.  Four of the top five students in the district came from our school, and 21 received a University entrance grade.

Alex almost lost hope before he was admitted to Nyumbani Village.  Alex was the second to last born in his family.  He explains “before I was admitted in Nyumbani Village, I went through so many challenges; lack of food, fees and torture from some of my neighbors." His mother passed away when he was in class eight.  Following her death, life took a turn for the worse.  He elaborates “my mother had spent all the money she had and even sold off assets to pay for her treatment.  When she finally passed away we were left destitute.  Having no one to look up to, my siblings and I had to fend for ourselves.”  During his last school term in class eight he had to work as a house boy to earn money for food. Luckily, Alex managed to sit for his end of year examination but he could not join a secondary school due to lack of school fees.  Alex says that “I was admitted in Nyumbani Village after one and a quarter year of struggle. My admission changed my life.  I could not have been happier because for the first time in a long time I had plenty of food, decent shelter, parental care, medical care and education.  I felt as if I was in paradise.”

Alex completed High School and while awaiting the results of his Form Four examination, he was engaged in activities at the Village.  “I wanted to give back to the community, so before joining college I volunteered in the livestock unit”, Alex says. He was always ready to learn and when an opportunity was offered for him to learn to use a computer he was very happy.   When the exams results were released, Alex chose to go into the field of electrical engineering.  He explains, “I identified a problem of power outages in my country and decided to pursue electrical engineering as a way of helping my country achieve one of its vision 2030 goals of providing electricity to all Kenyans.”  Alex has completed the five month attachment which is a requirement for his course and he was recently trained on the maintenance of a solar power station in order to help maintain the solar system installed at Nyumbani Village. 

Alex concludes “I thank all the donors who supported me through the Global Giving umbrella because without your help I could not have been able to acquire the knowledge and skills that I have.  This has opened up many opportunities for me now and in the future." 

We couldn't agree more!  With a security net from our donors, students like Alex are a shining example of what hard work, determination, and resilience can achieve.  Thank you!!