My name is Maryam G. I am the project director of the child development center attended by your sponsored child at (KE-370) located in the outskirts of Nairobi City, Kenya. Thank you for sponsoring Mary.
Sponsorship has positively impacted our children and their families. Various activities help in nourishing their spiritual lives. The activities include vacation Bible school and camps, morning devotions, spiritual lessons, and reading the age graded Bible received from the center. The children are encouraged to be active in their respective churches.
Children have received medical support, nutritional support, health lessons, seminars and counseling. Some children, who are the most vulnerable, receive nutritional support monthly for them and their family. Most of the children, when they join the center, have very low self esteem. As they continue to learn Biblical truths about who they are in God and interact with other children, their self esteem improves. They can freely interact with others at the center, school, and the community.
At the center, there is a 12 year old boy who, two years ago, dropped out of school and ran away from home to collect scrap metal to sell. His mother reported this matter to us. We went searching for him. After counseling him, he agreed to go back to school. He is now reformed.
Through sponsorship, some children have been able to learn an income-generating skill at the center. One such is a youth that has been receiving gifts from his sponsor over time and his mother used this money to start rearing chickens in a small cage. From the returns, she educates her three children. His is one of many success stories we have.
The center also received Complementary Intervention funds last year. The funds were used to pay college tuition for sponsored youths who are in colleges and the rest was used to start an income generating activity for a few center parents. The criteria used to select the parents were based on space in their homestead and the beneficiaries were required to build a pig pen. Nine parents were provided two pigs each and the rearing commenced. Some of the pigs have since delivered piglets and the beneficiaries earned profit from the same. It was agreed that the beneficiaries should give back the first two piglets to the center in order to benefit another parent.
Some children have been impressed by the way their sponsors keep writing them letters tirelessly to encourage them to work hard in school. One girl receives letters regularly that harbor messages of encouragement. This girl admits that the letters have been of great impact to her.
The ministry of working for and with children is a call from God and calls for passion, commitment, and sufficient grace. Since Jesus used to associate himself with the simple in society, I get inspired to serve children and the community where such people are, in order to give them hope.
We request you to pray for our children to grow responsibly and that God grant them the spirit of discernment of what is right. Pray that they will live holy lives and that they will excel in academics and in life. Pray for the leadership of the church, those that are charged with the responsibility of managing the child ministry, and all child development workers, for God to grand us grace, zeal, and the ability to serve. Thanks again for sponsoring Mary. May God bless you abundantly.
If you are interested in sponsoring a young lady from Kenya, please consider Joymolline! She is 18 years old and lives with her parents, who are farmers. Read more about Joymolline here.
It's so cool to hear about a sponsor gift providing chickens and CIV funds providing piglets!! What great investments!!
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