Four hundred and ninety-one children have hope where there was none before! What does sponsorship at Live and Learn in Kenya International mean in the lives of these hundreds of children? It means that they are now able to go to school wearing their mandatory uniforms and shoes, having textbooks and school supplies for all of their classes and courses, having at least one warm and nutritious meal a day - six days a week, being able to go to the Live and Learn in Kenya Education Center library that opens up a world of books and information, taking part in sports, educational and musical competitions - and having a chance to win because they have been trained and tutored, enjoying games and playing in a beautiful and safe playground and environment, having trained professionals - social workers and teachers - to go to with problems and successes, college students even having their own laptops - and nobody worrying about paying school fees and being turned away from schools, colleges or universities because of lack of funding. Being a Live and Learn in Kenya Kid means enjoying childhood and youth just like children all over the world should be able to - carefree and dreaming of a bright future as long as you work hard for it. Some people say that this is all just a drop in a bucket - but we at Live and Learn in Kenya International say "If he or she were your kid, they wouldn't be a drop in a bucket - they'd be your love and your life". That's what these children and youths are to us - love and life and drops that will join into a sea of a future for themselves and their families - and their country. People coming from the bottom rows of poverty and rising up are the people who will lead with integrity and understanding in the future - whether it is within their own future families, businesses, schools as teachers - or who knows - maybe a future president leading Kenya to a better place for everyone!
Be a sponsor and make a difference in the world of a child who has all of the possibilities to be all that he/she can be. You'll enjoy the photos and letters from the children - and the knowledge that you are the person changing a life for the better!
From the four hundred and ninety-one children on the Live and Learn in Kenya International program, only six of them still need a sponsor.
Asante sana - thank you so much!
The coronavirus is taking its toll all over the world. A friend of mine commented that we aren't stuck in our houses - we are safe in our homes. And that is so very true. We can complain about toilet paper and bananas and having to sit around at home not knowing what to do with ourselves all day long after binge-watching some silly TV series or playing the same video games for hours on end and searching the internet for something else to buy to pass the hours. But at the end of the day, we are virtually safe with our disinfecting medical soaps and gels, rubber gloves and masks to protect us when we sneak out into the big outdoors to go grocery shopping or walk the dog. We are protected everywhere we go because there are rules and even laws that make us keep our 6 feet away from each other "better 6 feet away than 6 feet down". Of course, the sickness and the deaths that we read and hear about - and the pain of the loss of friends and loved ones is excruciating. It's a difficult time all over the world.
But sitting in our homes knowing that if we were to become ill we would have medical care is a safety net that is not there for millions of people all over the world. The poverty-stricken living in crowded slums do not have this safety net. Most likely their governments are more interested in saving the rich and sometimes even literally beating the poor into their shacks and huts to keep them off the streets and spreading the virus.
This is where organizations like Live and Learn in Kenya International come in to help in all ways possible. The children on the Live and Learn in Kenya International project - based in Nakuru, Kenya - are no longer able to attend school. The schools have been shut down for weeks already. No school means no school breakfasts or lunches. Parents and guardians have lost their jobs - albeit low-paying jobs - at least they were able to earn 2 or 3 dollars a day. Now they have no income at all!
We cannot distribute food because the parents cannot come to the Live and Learn in Kenya Education Center for it - and we are not able to buy food in bulk as we usually do. Mind-boggling problems and sleepless nights - just imagining how the children and their families are stuck in their shacks and huts - hungry and thirsty and unprotected from the surge of the virus.
It took us a couple of weeks - but we have found a way to assist the parents and guardians of our 480 children. Sponsors and generous individuals have answered our first pleas for donations so that we are able to send money to the Live and Learn in Kenya Int'l office in Nakuru - and it will be distributed via MPESA to all of the LLK families. What a relief.
But we've only just begun. We need to transfer funds to all of the families on a monthly basis as long as the pandemic continues to ruin the existence of the families and our Live and Learn in Kenya children.
Please go on helping us to help.
Asante sana - thank you so much.
Nineteen years ago - when those little nursery school-aged children were brought to the LIve and Learn in Kenya office by parents or guardians nobody would have imagined that the skinny, hungry and raggedly dressed children would be wearing caps and gowns and being handed over their well-earned diplomas at renowned Kenyan universities!
These four university students from our project graduated! The lovely and very intelligent Luciana graduated with a Bachelor of Education degree in Christian Religious Education and Kiswahili. James graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. Titus graduated with a Bachelor of Education degree in Mathematics and Chemistry and Erick graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. We are so proud of all of them. At the moment there are 12 LLK students at various Kenyan universities. One of them will be graduating in April 2020.
Of course not all of Live and Learn in Kenya International's children are able to go on to university. We are able to give all of the children the possibility to be all that they can be - no matter what that may be! Hundreds of our project's children have gone on to colleges and vocational training and are learning to be their dream - or have already dreamt their dream and made it a reality... Sometimes a young woman just wants to be married and have children of her own - and that's all right too. But they will have a better understanding of what education means because they can read and write and give their own children the same possibilities.
This is what sponsorship means - receiving everything to be all that you can be - and then passing it forward to others and to future generations.
Who is making it all possible? YOU!
We at Live and Learn in Kenya wish all of you a bright, loving, healthy and peaceful 2020!
Asante sana - thank you so much!
Sometimes things happen and children must leave the program - this is usually a sad occasion, but it happens and that's life. Every educational organization (and many parents all over the world) just have to accept that. Four students are leaving the Live and Learn in Kenya International program in November - and we aren't sad at all !!! Erick will be graduating from university with a B+ grade average and a Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication degree. Luciana will be graduating university with a teaching degree and will be a High School teacher. She is graduating with a B- grade average. Lydia is graduating from college with a C grade average with a degree in ECD (Early Childhood Development).. Tyson will graduate from vocational training where he learned wiring - and will now be able to find a good job.
These young adults were registered onto the Live and Learn in Kenya program when they were kindergarten kids! They came from extremely poor and desolate homes and would have, most likely ended up without any education at all and possibly on the streets. Now they are self-sufficient, well-educated people who can not only stand on their own feet - they will be passing their knowledge forward to their own children - and the generations after!
THAT is what Live and Learn in Kenya is all about - PASSING IT FORWARD. Our and we are doing everything in our power to give these children everything that they need to
It’s a lovely early June day. The sun is shining bright and hot and the children at the Live and Learn in Kenya Education Center in Nakuru are swinging on swings, playing pirates in the cubby-house and sliding down the sliding board, playing ball games or just relaxing with a storybook during their lunch break in the playground after enjoying a hearty meal in the new dining hall.
Megan happily comes to the Center after being called in by our secretary, Rebecca. She has a letter waiting for her. Megan successfully graduated from high school after attending 12 years of school through Live and Learn in Kenya’s sponsorship program. Megan’s sponsors, Carmen and Thomas, have bee supporting her education for 12 years now and are just as excited as Megan is to receive news about her future. Megan is elated. She has been accepted into the Maseno University. She is destined to be still another “LLK child” to attend university. She is proud of herself and everyone is proud of her. But along with the letter of admission came the fee structure for the first and second semesters. She can only attend university if her sponsors are able to pay the fees. We immediately wrote to Carmen and Thomas, who were also thrilled about the news, but sorry to say, they are financially unable to pay more than the annual sponsorship fee of about US$ 360 including Christmas present fund. University fees are a minimum of US$ 1460 annually and that doesn’t even cover books, school materials and the mandatory laptop that every student must have. Megan is heartbroken with the news. What could we do besides ask for donations? Live and Learn in Kenya Int’l cannot afford these costs.
Megan would be so happy if a way could be found to raise her up and make the next 4 years of university what it should be – carefree and ready to concentrate on getting the best possible grades in order to graduate and go on to live a life that could only be dreamt of by most of the children living in the Nakuru slums…
Megan was filmed today, talking about her need for support. Have a look at the 33 second film: https://youtu.be/33drIwGl0Ro
Together we can make a life-changing difference in the future of a child!
Harambee! is the Swahili word for "Joining hand and working together for a common goal!"
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