Education  Kenya Project #20229

Sponsor and Support Students in Rural Kenya

by Kenya Keys
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya
Sponsor and Support  Students in Rural Kenya

Project Report | May 21, 2019
The Difficult Decision - Selecting 40 New Students

By Deborah Shimkus | Director of Planning and Development

New students selected for Kenya Keys sponsorships
New students selected for Kenya Keys sponsorships

We are excited to welcome 40 new students into our Kenya Keys family!

Each year Kenya Keys receives hundreds of applications for sponsorships from students wanting to continue their education. Children love to learn and know that their futures depend on getting an education, yet so few families in rural Kenya can afford to pay the required school fees for secondary school.  A Kenya Keys sponsorship is their only hope to continue in school.

Can you imagine having to decide who gets one of the coveted Kenya Keys’ sponsorships?  Fortunately, we have a dedicated Sponsorship Team of local Kenyans on our Kenya Keys Board of Directors who carefully review each application, the school referrals, academic standing and the family situation. They look for a commitment to education and the community, family need and leadership potential.  

It is a long and challenging process, and in the end, only 40 new students are taken each year: students like Joyce whose parents both died of AIDs when she was young.  Her little brother also died.  Fearful that she might also have the disease, her uncles rejected her, leaving only her elderly grandmother to take her in.  When she learned that she had scored well on the national exams and been accepted to Taru Secondary School, Joyce and her grandmother walked 18 miles to the school.  But her grandmother had no money to pay the school fees or provide the needed supplies.  They turned to Kenya Keys.  Joyce now has an entire book club in Oregon sponsoring her, with 10 American “mamas” supporting and encouraging her!

We welcome Joyce and all of our new students, and celebrate with them the joy of the possibilities ahead. As students in our program they will all receive extensive support from our staff, mentoring from Kenya Keys alumni, and multiple leadership training opportunities.  But most importantly, they have a connection to someone on the other side of the world that believes in them, cares about them and wants them to succeed – that is the essence of our Sponsorship Program.

Our students are each carefully matched with a unique sponsor. If you are interested in sponsoring a student, please contact missy@kenyakeys.org.

Joyce is jubilant to begin her secondary education
Joyce is jubilant to begin her secondary education
Kenya Keys staff help students through challenges
Kenya Keys staff help students through challenges
Kenya Keys alumni return to mentor new students
Kenya Keys alumni return to mentor new students
Students listen intently during conference
Students listen intently during conference
Students get the 'wiggles' out during conference
Students get the 'wiggles' out during conference
Community members, teachers & alumni give support
Community members, teachers & alumni give support
Hundreds of students benefit from sponsorships
Hundreds of students benefit from sponsorships
Joyce now has many American "mamas" supporting her
Joyce now has many American "mamas" supporting her
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Organization Information

Kenya Keys

Location: Lake Oswego, OR - USA
Website:
Facebook: Facebook Page
Project Leader:
Christy Russell
Lake Oswego , OR United States

Funded Project!

Combined with other sources of funding, this project raised enough money to fund the outlined activities and is no longer accepting donations.
   

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