Face painting, Silly Safari, inflatable games… There was something for everyone at the 8th annual Kenya Carnival. We thank each of the 175 volunteers — representing 15 congregations, schools, and community groups — who worked together to make the day such a success. Through their efforts, and your ongoing financial support, we met our goal…
Last November, 26 Umoja Project students sat for the national exam required at the conclusion of secondary school. The comprehensive exam takes several days to complete, and students spend months preparing. How well one performs on the exam dictates eligibility for university studies, and what courses of study a student may pursue. In the Umoja…
If there is one thing I miss most about Kenya, it’s the dust…
the orange brown particles still embedded in my chacos that once coated my feet, turned my boogers orange, and made it appear like I’d spent all day in a tanning bed.
Immersion into the culture and people of southwest Kenya – through home and school visits; conversations with children, guardians, pastors, and community leaders; teaching staff and students; and the day-to-day encounters – gave me a new appreciation for the beauty and goodness of humanity as well as the importance the Global Interfaith Partnership.
Without question, providing a school lunch to a Kenyan student is one of the most cost-effective ways to keep the young boys and girls served by the Global Interfaith Partnership doing well in school. For only $25 per school year, we are able to provide a nutritious noon meal for a student who otherwise might not eat much all day. Children’s health improves; their school attendance improves; their academic performance improves. Teachers tell us that students who used to struggle to come to school each day are now attending regularly and performing at the top of their class.
It has occurred to me that the Umoja Project is about friendship. If you had a friend in need, you would not march into his or her home with a list of objectives and start moving things, installing things, “improving” things. You would sit with your friend and say, “Tell me what’s going on.” and “I’m here for you.” Then you might ask, “How can I help?”
Many of the students supported by the Global Interfaith Partnership are unable to complete their primary and secondary education in the traditional 12 years. Their schooling is disrupted by family illnesses and deaths, the many challenges of extreme poverty, and, for many girls, cultural pressures to drop out of school after 8th grade, usually to marry young and have children.
It is rare for a student to return to school after dropping out. However, hear Everlyn’s remarkable story.
by Madeline Watts and Lori Galambos – Project interns Caroline’s parents died when she was young. She and her younger siblings moved in with their grandmother, but the grandmother’s own frail health meant Caroline had a lot of responsibility taking care of the family. In spite of these challenges, Caroline was the top performing student…
The phrase kidogo kidogo hujaza kibaba has become my motto while staying in Kenya. The phrase is a proverb that translates, “little by little you fill the pot,” and has become a metaphor for the way I have and will continue to approach the variety of things I learn while living here.
Ojolla Girls Secondary School students By Ellen Daniels-Howell – Project Leader Often we are asked why we give the girl students the option of attending boarding school since it is more costly than a traditional day school. We asked one of our former students, Judith, for her thoughts about why boarding school is important for…
