Boarding School - Kenyan Style

A Kenyan in Arroyo Grande?  How exciting is that? A few weeks ago, a mutual acquaintance set up a meeting of myself and a Kenyan gal who is living right in our town!  A mutual friend, Gayle Cuddy of the Telegram Tribune, knew we both had projects in Kenya and wanted very much for us to meet.  So, I could hardly believe it, there I was going into Andreini’s Coffee Shop and meeting one of the very women that I had come to love and respect so much. Of course, being the only Black woman, not to mention Kenyan, there, I walked right up to her, put out my hand in true Kenyan style to shake hands and then give her the accustomed kiss on the cheek, but instead Millie grabbed me with both hands and pulled me close, giving me a huge American hug.  I fell in love with her right away! As we chattered on and on excitedly flipping from one subject to the next, barely able to contain ourselves and with Gayle’s equally excited interjections of her travels in Africa and heart for women, it was such a great time together.  Soon, we discovered that because our travel plans had changed, and we were no longer going into DR Congo, but instead traveling through Kisumu, Kenya on our way to Kakamega, this is exactly where Millie’s project was located.  She begged me, please, go out and visit the boarding school for girls, St. Francis Nyangajo, and also a nearby school and home for disabled students.  Seriously, how could I refuse???? Millie herself had attended this school some 20 years ago as a young girl.  When she was there and even up til last year, the girls had to go down to the river and collect water for drinking, cooking, and bathing.  They had limited facilities, barely meeting their basic needs.  Now that she is living in America, her heart has turned back to the girls at this school, remembering the hardships that she herself went through. Last year alone, Millie was able to drill a well, put in a pump, build an entire new dorm, and put in toilets for the girls. And, just who are these girls???  The school under the current principal, who is as inspiring and passionate, as any woman I have met in Kenya, has gone from 50 girls to almost 500!!! These girls live in nearby villages, with parents paying fees for them to attend.  Some are also orphans, many of whom have lost both parents to HIV AIDS.  They have been sent to live with relatives who have barely enough to exist and certainly not enough to take on yet one more child.  Vivian, the principal, goes out, reaches into the lives of these girls, and pulls them into her school, hoping to find donors who will support these girls. In Kenya, oftentimes, girls will not receive an education at all.  Even in public schools, parents must pay a fee for a very limited education.  Boys are more important in their culture, so if there are three boys and one girl in the family, any monies for schooling will always go for the male children first.  Many, many girls, if they are able to go to school, will not be able to attend anything further than elementary grade levels.  Their future? Many of them will become pregnant and have many children even before they reach 20. This school is lifting these girls out of their oppression and even being victimized by an entire culture.  The administration and teachers are speaking worth, importance, hope and life into their lives in a way that no one else can.  I talked with many of the girls.  EVERY single one of them knew exactly what they wanted for their futures!!  When I asked them, one said she wanted to be a civil engineer; another said she wanted to be a neuro-surgeon, not just a doctor!  And, on and on it went: one an author, one a pharmacist, one a translator for the UN – she already speaks three languages and loves language, so I have no doubt she will reach her goal. In surroundings that would challenge even the best of us, here these girls are allowed to dream big, big dreams.  One thing is for sure, their lives will never be the same again.  I believe with all my heart women are the ones who will change the plight of Kenya.  This principal, women like Millie Klumpp, and the school you are supporting through Appleseed Ministry Group, are not only speaking to the emotional and spiritual lives of these young girls of Africa, but also their physical needs. I believe the change will happen, one by one, as they are lifted out of unbelievably hopeless and sad circumstances into the lives that God wants for them.  One day, we can only hope that even in America, we will treasure the opportunities that God brings our way and rise up, grab ahold of these opportunities and dream the biggest dream we can imagine!  In the meantime, let us all be inspired by these young women!