I thought it would be good to provide you with an update on how those I have engaged with are moving on with their lives. If you are not aware of these that I speak of, please reference previous blog posts.
The Triplets (Zachayo, Jackson and Peter) Zachayo, the oldest orphaned brother of 23 years, is a very hard worker. He has recently gotten casual work to assist with a mason job. The work entails 10-12 hours each day and the pay is $5.00. He has to fetch supplies up the eight-story structure being built. He carries, concrete blocks, cement, sand, 5-gallon bucket of water, whatever is needed in the hot sun. He will be traveling up country in search of his birth certificate so he can obtain a National ID card, then be able to register as a catering student of mine. Jackson, is working at the gate for our school which entails taking each person’s temperature as they enter into the compound and logging it along with all their contact information. He also runs errands and cleans the compound. Beginning next week, he will be continuing his metal work studies and working the gate on Saturdays and Sundays. His communication skills have improved immensely and also works very hard.
Peter is seventeen years old and at the stage of life that he does not wish to work hard, he left their house and moved in with a neighboring family and plays with their six children and runs errands for them. We hope for him to return so he can continue being supported for his education.
They were orphaned at a young age and could only obtain an eighth-grade education. I am now assisting them in saving their money because once we return back to the US, they will be paying their own rent. They have learned to be responsible and hardworking and I trust they will succeed!
Shukrani, aka Shuku or Chamanade I am so happy to report that we have gotten him a passport and will be departing to Dubai in February for employment. He will be earning $500 per month, at least five times what he could make here. His plan is to remain there for about six years, send money to support his mother, younger brother and sister for school fees. He will be able to save enough so that when he returns, he will have the capital of start his own small business. He continues to hustle hard here to earn money to pay his rent without any support now for nine months.
Peter, Agnes, Brighton and William They have settled well since we shifted them from the south coast to my neighborhood. Peter is joining St. Martins Catholic Church to become a Catholic. He still suffers from the amputation of his left arm, but is able to care for the kids while his wife Agnes is running the small business we created for her. Brighton will begin PP1 school next week and William is now receiving nutritional supplements to boost his growth. Life will be challenging for them until they can adapt to the change that Peter can no longer be the bread winner and Agnes who has never worked understands her new role as being the bread winner.
Domonic After months of traveling to an eye clinic on the south coast, he had surgery on one eye in mid-November. It has not yet responded as we had hoped, but we pray by his next visit the last week of January that he will be ready for the next eyes’ surgery. Domonic was born with HIV and after he completed Class 8 he quit school because he could no longer see well enough to read. Our hope is to return his eye sight and get him back into school. He is now eighteen years old and if we can get him back into school, he will begin his first year of secondary school.
Rama Being out of school due to the pandemic has not went well for him. His father keeps a tight rein on his three children and wandering far from home is not allowed. He has become idle with lack of any motivation. His father is not one to encourage him, but is quick to find his faults. Rama suffers from depression and has low self-esteem. He has regressed without structure and a routine. He is a very religious and smart young man, but is lacking encouragement.
Abdalla He is really doing well. He has begun living fully on his own as of December 31. He has learned to save and look ahead, most Kenyans only look for today, they do not know any other way of life. I got him registered into a one year Electrical Course which begins on January 4. He asked if I would give him a loan to purchase a motorbike and has hired a boy to drive it six days per week. This brings Abdalla $4 per day which is enough to support himself while he attends school. Abdalla is not lazy by no means and will also find work on his weekends for extra money. I gave him the book “Coming Clean” to read, but would only read it when he was at my place or alone. All his neighbors would look at him as to wondering why would he be reading. With encouragement he began to read in public and now loves to read. He reads everyday now. He just got his grades from MTI where he went for Catering school. He entered with a low D- and graduated with a “distinction” an A. He is a role model for others and does his best to encourage his friends. His mother continues her drunkenness and her badgering to Abdalla for financial support for her. He is now trying to have his younger brother and sister removed from her through the government children’s office. They will most likely put her in prison and take the kids to an orphanage. It is hard to watch him struggle with weighing what is the right thing to do, he loves his mother, but is realizing that the kids need protection. He turns 21 on January 14th and in his short period of life, he has endured more that most do in an entire lifetime. But he is so faithful to God and knows that is what is getting him through.
So, for me, I say thank you! Thank you for walking with me as I walk with these youth in teaching them to become self-sufficient, honorable, faithful men. It has been a great pleasure for me to bring you along with me to Kenya through the generosity of this blog. God is Good... all the time!