Live and Learn in Kenya Int'l Sponsorship Program

Martha was a scared young girl living in the deepest slums of Nakuru, Kenya with her single mother and two brothers when I met her on an October day in 2007. She had been accepted onto the Live and Learn in Kenya Int'l program a half a year before. She was shy, but hard-working and very focused. During my annual visits I watched Martha bloom into a lovely young woman, brilliantly passing her exams and joining high school and then going on to college. It was a proud day for Martha when she received her college diploma as a full-fledged elementary school teacher. But not only Martha had reason to be proud. Her teachers, the Live and Learn in Kenya Int'l staff and - last but not least - her sponsors - were thrilled that Martha was one of the first Live and Learn in Kenya Kids to graduate from college and have a professional life laid out before her. 

She has been teaching at the Live and Learn in Kenya Elementary School for nearly two years now. She could, most likely, find a job placement at a school where she would be earning more money - but Martha knows why she is staying right where she is. She was given the chance to be all that she could be - and now she has come back to her roots to teach and guide the children who are now in the same position that she was all those years ago. The children look up to her as a mentor - as 'one of them' who worked hard to reach her goal. They want to be like Martha - a success story!

Your donation to the Live and Learn in Kenya Int'l Sponsorship Program is not "just a drop in the bucket" It's the entire ocean to hundreds of children.

Martha has been given the chance to tell a bit of her story in the attached short video.

Asante sana - thank you so much for your interest!

Brief remark: GlobalGiving's Mikey can be seen in the video during his visit to the Live and Learn in Kenya Education Center in April 2007.

Links:

• Martha Tells Her Story - Be All That You Can Be

SMILES - that is the one word that can be used to define what the sponsors' visit was all about this year! A group of 23 sponsors from Germany, USA and Holland set out for a 10-day trip to Nakuru, Kenya to vist their sponsored children and to see and experience the "real" African way of life. But mostly they just wanted to get to know the child or children that they have been supporting with education - some for as long as 12 - 15 years!

The welcoming songs that the children were singing as we arrived at the Live and Learn in Kenya Education Center were as touching as their hundreds of beautiful smiles and laughter as they all came running to greet us. It was a moment that everyone will remember for a long, long time.

The next days were filled with singing, dancing, handcrafting, building, playing games and sports, drawing, coloring, visiting and just plain fun! One of the sponsors is a dental hygienist and brought literally hundreds of toothbrushes and toothpaste with her and taught the children the correct way to brush their teeth. There were workshops for all sorts of fun activities - from learning to play the recorder, making masks, making beaded necklaces and bracelets, decorating cloth shopping bags for their mamas - plastic bags are absolutly forbidden in Kenya since October 1, 2017! - and putting puzzles together. But every day began with happy, funny songs with two of the sponsors on guitar and accordian, singing was even more fun. The children loved singing and moving to the lovely little song that a Dutch friend composed - with such meaningful lyrics:

Now I'm a river - a stream running wild.

Now I'm the thoughts and the dreams of a child.

Aware of my strength and the kindness I give.

I'm king and I'm queen of the way that I live.

And when Erik - a professional actor and clown - pulled out his magic tricks, eyes gleamed in disbelief and laughter!

A group of visitors and fathers were hard at work for days building a beautiful and colorful playground. Everthing that children love most - climbing, swinging, balancing, playing football, volleyball and soccer are now all possible  at the LLK Education Center thanks to the sponsors and their fathers. The children and staff are thrilled. Now sport lessons and leisure hours will be even more fun.

We take the youngest children to Lake Nakuru National Park every year so that all of the children on the Live and Learn in Kenya Int'l program have the possibility to experience the beauties of their own hom as the park lies directly on the border of the Rhonda slums. But when you don't have the money to buy food for your familiy, you don't even consider going to a park with them that costs at least two day's wages... The sponsors had a wonderful day and met with the children for a picnic.

The highlight of the visit was the annual celebration. This year we had a lot to celebrate. The 6th classroom and the solidly-built kitchen were completed and ceremoniously opened to the public to see - as was the new playground. The kindergarten graduation ceremony into first grade is taken very seriously by the children, parents and teachers - as is the calling out and prize-giving of each class's best pupil.

The wonderful day ended with a big meal for everyone - over 1000 people - cooked in our very own beautiful new kitchen.

The celebration was very much a celebration of life - but also a farewell celebration. Tears were flowing through all of the smiles and laughter - and promises of visits in years to come.

Sponsorship at Live and Learn in Kenya Int'l isn't just a name or a number - it's real live people providing real life children with the gift of education and a bright hope for a better future - and SMILES!

Links:

• Sponsor Visit 2017
• Kenya Television Report on the LLK Classroom and Kitchen Opening
• Parents, Sponsors and Staff and Children Celebrating