Congratulations Robbert

Through a non-profit organization called Koins for Kenya, I had the opportunity to sponsor a young man named Robbert as he completed his high school years. We are blessed in America to have public schools that are paid for by the government (and our taxes of course). In Kenya going to high school is about as ambitious, difficult and expensive as going to college in America. They have to pass a rigorous exam to even be admitted. Once they are admitted, they are expected to pay fees which are very often impossible for them to pay. Not for a lack of an incredible work ethic, many of these families simply do not have any money to spare for their children to complete school. If they do not complete high school they will most likely be forced to leave their village in order to be street vendors in a bigger city. You can imagine the severity of poverty caused by this cycle.

I am proud to say that Robbert has finally completed his high school years. He has received very good marks which is an enormous accomplishment for anyone at this school. He has applied for 3 jobs and I was just told by the director of Koins for Kenya that he will most likely be hired on to be a teacher in the elementary school. I am so grateful I was able to know this incredible young man, he will do great things for his family and his people.

I am so excited to be able to sponsor my next Secondary student. Her name is Umazi Khadija Sombo. While I have not had the opportunity to meet her, I have heard many wonderful things about her from Brent Hayes who is currently in Kenya touring her school. About her, he said:

"We have one girl there, completing Form 1, she was the top performing girl (scored a 327 on her KCPE) from Bahakwenu last year. Her name is Umazi Khadija Sombo. She was A first term (3 of 86) and B second term (12 of 132!) and she knows she can be an A student. As you’d expect the Headmistress is inspiring (been there for 7 years). The campus is beautifully situated in the hills outside of Voi with the classrooms and dormitories on different terraces amongst the green trees and tall growing shrubs and bright purple flowers. They don’t take any girls less that score less than 300 on their KCPE, and it shows, though old, it really is a model school, clean and well organized. I toured the dormitories. They put 10-12 girls in a large 13x15 cubicle with no complaint. Rooms, showers, toilets, floors and walls are spotless."

If you would be interested in sponsoring a student in Kenya, follow this link: http://koinsforkenya.org/Area/Sponsorship.aspx?Area=Samburu
Rinda and Brent Hayes travel to Kenya twice a year. They hand-select every single student through the help of their teachers. The students keep in contact with their sponsors through letters. It costs $350 a year (less than a dollar a day!).