Today marks my 2 months back in Kenya, and it also is my departure date. More than ever before, I am sad to go, not knowing what the future will bring for me, and not feeling completely finished here. I had a few specific tasks to complete here at Mogra, and I think I completed them decently. But there were other issues that snuck up on me that were too large to tackle in a short time. It is much to my dismay that I wasn’t able to complete them, and now my time is up and I don’t know when I will be back. But God willing, this is not the end of my time with my Mogra family, it is just a hiatus for now.
This week was one of my best weeks here, living and working side by side with Kenyans. I focused a lot on our sponsorship of the students. Most organizations would hire a specific person to control such cases, since we have 1000 students to sponsor, but we don’t have the funds for that, therefore the sponsorship is a bit unorganized. But I was happy to sort out many of the issues this week. It was startling to see the school rooster and realize only 25% of the students are sponsored, and that is the only way the school is funded. AH HA- all these issues I have encountered in the past weeks could be solved if we had more money, and more children sponsored. But HOW? And will it actually help? The questions are always running through my mind! And I am leaving the unanswered.
On Sunday I was hanging out with some of my college students, who have become dear friends. We went to a local futbal field and watched a few matches. As I sat on a rock on the sidelines, watching young boys tirelessly play a good game in the scorching heat, I sat next to 2 small children that I did not know who kept their eyes on the players the entire time, not missing a play. It made me think a lot. I was talking to my friend Peter, who is finishing University this year and hoping to go to Med School in the future, and I couldn’t help but ask him, “am I doing any good by coming here, or am I just doing this because I enjoy it so much?” He replied without hesitation, “Look at that field. 22 players out there, and maybe 3 of them are in school. They can’t afford anything, but they can play the game and that keeps them out of trouble. In Mathare you either play futbal, go to school, or are a thug. It is important you are here because you are allowing kids to go to school.” I can hear him say that and it sounds nice, but I am looking at the slum towering over us: an endless pit of poverty, violence and destruction and I can’t help but question it still. This place needs more than a few more sponsored children and some futballs, what can I really do to make a difference? But Peter told me something that gave me immediate hope. He said 4 years ago he was finished with high school and had no real plans or idea for his life. One day he was planning on meeting a friend, and helping him with some “business” AKA thug work/steeling. On the way he ran into the founder of Change Lives Now (the org I am here with) and they talked. By the end of their conversation they were walking to school to look into sponsoring his University tuition. That single handedly changed his life. He now had a vision and way to accomplish his future dreams and he didn’t need to be thug. 1 down, 200,000 more to go!
That is how the slum will change. By giving hope to those that don’t have it. So no, I won’t be able to take away the poverty that is in Mathare as much as I want to. And NO, I don’t have tons of money to give every student a scholarship, but it has been my absolute pleasure and joy to work towards proving the students with a vision for their future.
The 140 children at the rescue center have been nothing but good to me and they give me a lot of encouragement too. They are the most loving and hardworking children, even though they have nothing. Every conversation I have with them is about how hard they will work in school to have a future, and how thankful they are to God for protecting them until now (when in many cases they were not protected or loved, but they have been able to move on from that). Sometimes I get frustrated with the conditions of the rescue center, but these children are miles ahead of the kids still in the slum and they are thankful. They have a bed to rest their head, electricity to study with, and food 3 times a day. They truly will be the ones that will change the slum, not me! What a relief for me.
It is possible to get out of poverty. I have seen it happen, and met many successful people that grew up in Mathare. But it takes education and a vision. I could go on for hours about the importance of education and how it will change these kids lives ten fold. So I am leaving here today, but I am not leaving this mission or project.
I never intended on using this blog to ask for money, and I don’t even know if anyone other than my lovely mother reads this but… if you are interested in donating more to this project or sponsoring a child I will personally guarantee that the money is used properly and to benefit as many children as possible. Please email me directly or go to ChangeLivesNow.org for more information.
Thank you for all your support and prayers while I was on this journey, I was not alone as you all followed me. I will continue to pray for you all, and please pray for me as I look into what is next in my plans, and most especially for all of the people I encountered in Kenya. They are beautiful and pray for all of you.
I will be posting more pictures soon, so stayed tune! It’s not over for me yet!
Love to you all!
