Dave Miner, Executive Director of Interfaith Hunger Initiative 

The striking contrast remains vivid in my mind. Two attractive young Kenyan women – Caren and Evelyn. Twelve year old Caren sat in the front room of the two room house she shares with her grandmother. Shy but bright, and lit by the sun coming through the front door.

Rev Kent Millard and I were there in the Chulaimbo region of Kenya to visit with some of the Umoja students in their homes. We had walked to Caren and Evelyn’s home from Agulu Primary school where Caren is in grade 6. As we walked we visited with lead teachers from Agulu and an area pastor who accompanied us.

Agulu is among the best of the Umoja schools. Their scores on the national exam are up substantially over the several years that Umoja has been operating there. Of the 240 students nearly half are AIDS orphans or vulnerable children like Caren.

We arrive to find Caren’s grandmother lying in the front yard of their home. A broken leg, not properly treated, means she can get around only with a cane and even then with great difficulty. The girls are largely on their own. Caren’s parents died about the same time as her grandfather. Evelyn’s parents are also gone. The AIDS pandemic is the most likely culprit.

Their home is a traditional two room affair – about 15’ x 12’, dirt floor, wood framing, mud walls, a window and a corrugated metal roof (most Kenyan homes have metal instead of thatched roofs).

As our eyes adjust to the low light we see simple furniture, some probably borrowed from neighbors for their special visitors. On the walls are unframed family pictures and an out of date calendar or two.

Caren speaks very softly as do most Kenyan children. She says her favorite class is English, and least favorite is Science which gets a laugh from chemist Dave. She and her best friend Selfa like to read together. Her family attends Holy Trinity Church of Africa which is nearby. Her grandmother expresses thanks to us for the maize and beans, paraffin and school uniform which allow Caren to attend school.

Just inside the door to the second room, in the shadows where little of the bright equatorial sun reaches, stands Caren’s cousin Evelyn. Unfortunately Umoja came along too late for Evelyn. Evelyn did OK on the national exam in 8th grade but could not afford the fees to attend secondary school. With her young son, grandmother and cousin to care for it is not likely she will ever return to school, and her options in the village are limited.

We leave with gratefulness for the vital assistance Umoja is providing to Caren, and 3000 others like her, and pray that we will be able to assist even more as time goes on.