Live and Learn in Kenya Int'l Sponsorship Program

The list of unsponsored children had dwindled down to 3 children needing a sponsor. It was time to admit another group of children into the project in the hopes of having all of the 30 children sponsored by next January when the new school year begins in Kenya. The difficult process of accepting the most needy children is one that only our two social workers, Mary and Nicholas, can do with as little emotion and necessary detachment as possible. There are so many needy children in the slums of Nakuru, Kenya. Deciding on which 30 of them should have a chance to a brighter future is difficult and one must always keep in mind that no matter how many children you take on to the project, thousands more will be left out. It is a struggle that can only be tackled by professionals.

After the 15 little girls and 15 little boys had been enrolled in the program, the process of having photos taken of each of them and descriptions written so that the possible future sponsors would have an idea of what kind of lives these nursery school-aged children have been living - their ages, religions, tribes and interests. It is also important to many sponsors to know about the child's health situation and the possibility of him or her being HIV+. They are also interested to know about siblings and if the child is living with both parents and if the parents work at all. It is a shock to most people to find out that entire families - usually large families - are forced to live on less than US$ 2 a day. The fact that parents are not able to send their child to school wearing the mandatory uniform and shoes and having all mandatory school supplies becomes understandable. Just sending one child to school and providing the school lunch price of 30 cents the day would eat up more than half of their yearly income. So parents are very eager to register thier children on our waiting list and truly rejoice when they receive notice that their child has been accepted into the Live and Learn in Kenya International education program. It doesn't stop there - that is only the beginning. Parents are expected to become a part of the Live and Learn in Kenya International community by taking part in the different workshops, activities and taking turns in groups cooking and cleaning, building and repairing and farming. This is one factor that makes Live and Learn in Kenya International stand out the most. Parents are enpowered to become a part of the community so that they needn't have the feeling that they are just accepting charity. Instead they are part of the whole picture - and proud of it. Many parents are given the possibility of building up a small business of their own through an LLK micro-credit. This has been especially developed with the HIV/AIDS+ parents and guardians in mind. By breaking the tabu of "being punished by God with AIDS" and coming out to tell our social workers of their dilemma in order to receive a micro-credit they also receive medical care - which is free in Kenya for HIV+ patients. Many parents are now able to live longer lives and are able to take care of their children much longer than before.

So sponsorship isn't just changing the life of a child - it is changing and bettering the lives of the child's entire family. It isn't just  "a drop in the bucket" - it is filling that bucket!

We now have 470 children on the Live and Learn in Kenya Int'l Sponsorship program and only 27 children are not yet sponsored.

Stay tuned for our next report when two of the former Live and Learn in Kenya Int'l tell their stories of success and of becoming proud and self-sufficient adults and their release from the vicious circle of poverty.

Links:

• The Live and Learn in Kenya Website in English and in German