2020 brought significant change for everyone around the world, but the hardship was felt keenly in the areas of significant poverty. The slum of Kawangware was no exception as many people lost what little income they had making it challenging, and in many cases impossible to cover rent and food. In this community many guardians are grandparents, aunts, uncles, family friends, or single parents that have many children in their care adding to the stress of the situation.
This brings forth the importance of not only providing a school for the children to improve the chances of having a better life, but also the importance of a boarding school so that the guardians who have given so much to take care of these children are able to support themselves and no longer need to choose between feeding a child or feeding themselves.
Fortunately, through the Kenya Kawangware School Sponsorship Initiative, we were able to help many families who would have otherwise lost their homes. One such family is Ebynet’s. Ebynet Malesi is a seven-year-old girl who is in grade one. She depends on her mother who does not have a stable income and depends on casual jobs in order to feed the family. Most of the jobs her mother does involve washing clothes for people and fetching water for people.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, life has been very hard for her. The casual jobs her mother does are no longer available since no one wants strangers in their homes. This is due to the fear of being infected by the Corona Virus. The family has been forced to go hungry on many occasions. Furthermore, they lack money to pay rent so they are forced to spend the nights out in the cold after their house is locked by their impatient landlord. Shortly after we were made aware of their situation they had their rent covered and food in their bellies.
Unfortunately, it is not sustainable to be helping these families on a case-to-case basis but it is our hope that a boarding school will provide better opportunities for the children, and reduce stress on the families. If you’re interested in helping construct a school, donations are greatly appreciated. If you’d be interested in potentially helping with the physical build please let us know so that we may discuss further with you.
