TWO Opportunities!

*****Nthiga Has A Sponsor! His Story Is About To Change! Thank You Carrie! *******

***Thank You To All Who Have Donated So Far To The Library! ***

  I lean heavily towards being organized and having my ducks lined up in a nice little row. So I am definitely veering off track here to bring you the next installment of my adventures in Kenya. I should be posting about our day in Dandora, one of Nairobi's largest slums, as this was our next stop following the day we spent with the Maassi. But instead I need to jump ahead a few days. You will understand why if you stick with me till the end of today's entry.

   On Friday, March 23rd, our six van loads of Compassion sponsors and advocates pulled into ACK Karangare Child Development Center and Child Survival Program. It was a short ride from the hotel, but we entered quickly into a desolate, barren area littered with leaning shanties and bustling, crowded streets.
We were welcomed by a crowd of beaming, branch waving mothers who led us in a parade towards the center's gates while singing in Kiswahili, "You've traveled by airplane to get here, now we'll carry you on our backs the rest of the way." (Thanks Chris)

   KE214 is an oasis compared with the squalor surrounding it, and these beautiful children brightened the landscape even more.

   Eager staff proudly led us on a tour of the project and I was incredibly impressed with what they have accomplished through ingenuity, hard work and the training and starter funds offered by Compassion.

   I forget which income generating  business they started first, but each one led to a profit, which in turn provided funds to start another. They had a fish pond which the fathers tended, raising and selling talipia.

   And then around the corner was a rabbit farm, multiple chicken houses and a cow, all fed and cared for by the parents and children registered at this project.

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   The project had earned and saved enough money to add a computer room for the teens registered there and my favorite new addition of all was the library! The room was a simple concrete structure with lots of sturdy metal shelving, but not a whole lot of books.
   Standing there in that humble little library, God spoke to my heart very clearly and said, "This is it. This is where I want you to invest some of the money you were given for this trip. Go buy some books."
   It was so clear on what He wanted me to do, there was no second guessing and wondering if I'd heard Him right. On the last day of my stay in Kenya, I took a taxi with Martin, one of the Kenya Compassion Staff, and went straight to the Textbook Store in Nairobi. With Martin as my guide, we purchased a "trolley" full of textbooks, charts and resource books for KE214.
The photo shows only a fraction of the books we were able to purchase.

   Very few children living in poverty have any access to books like these. A library, which we expect to find in every little town here in America, is unheard of in the poor areas of Kenya.

   Kenyans know the value of an education and will take every opportunity to study and learn. The Compassion children who will use these books have no electricity in their little homes made of sticks and mud, but the project now has a place for them to stay after school and grow in knowledge to their heart's content. I think that is worthy of a standing ovation for the Compassion Staff of KE214 who have worked so hard to enrich the lives of the children in their care.

  This brings me to TWO opportunities for you to get involved. Some people have expressed an interest in donating money towards the purchase of more books for this growing and well used library. And I say, YES! Welcome aboard! Can you imagine the impact of even more books being delivered to this small but thriving Compassion project?

   I have created a chip-in button on the right for those of you who would like to put their hand in on this worthy cause. I am leaving this up until May 31st. Thank you!

I also want to tell you about Nthiga (pronounced THEE-ga), who is a fifteen year old boy there at KE214 in desperate need of a loving sponsor. For 38 dollars a month, you can Change His Story.

Nthiga has been registered at KE214 since 2001, when he was five years old, but has been dropped unexpectedly by three different sponsors. In those eleven years he has received only four letters. His last letter was in 2007. This is very sad and moves me to plead for someone to step into this boy's life and begin a relationship with him. He has several years left in the program and I am asking for someone here to be his hero. Yes, Compassion has taken care of his physical, spiritual and educational needs over the years, but he is missing a crucial part of the care.
YOU.
 Someone to tell him that he matters and that you consider him worthy of the time and effort a letter takes. And of course your sponsorship will equip Compassion to continue to provide for his needs in so many ways.
You can leave a comment here on my blog if you are interested in sponsoring Nthiga. Or you can email me at boothbayharborgirl@yahoo.com
I only have until the 16th of April to advocate for this boy. And this is why KE214 had to be pushed to the front of my orderly line up of days in Kenya.

I have a lot more to tell you about this day's visit. So stay tuned for the rest of the story! Meanwhile, I will be excited to see who jumps in to stock the shelves of our little library, AND to hear from Nthiga's new sponsor.