Friday's Featured Student - A Life of Faith

Faith is needing to live up to her name -- she has had a very rough life.  Faith is 13 years old and in standard 7A.  Her birthday is June 6.  Her father died when she was very young and her mother, due to extreme poverty, abandoned Faith.  The school director at Galilee Primary School offered her food and shelter at Holly House orphanage.  Faith is an average student who wants to be a teacher someday.  Her best subject is science.  She enjoys skipping rope and dancing.  Faith would really benefit from the kindness of a sponsor.  Please consider sponsoring her -- a full sponsorship is $30/mo or a co-sponsor is $15/mo.

Please email us at info@nairobikids.org if you can find a place in your heart for Faith.
UPDATE OCT. 30:  FAITH HAS BEEN SPONSORED!  THANK YOU TO HER CARING NEW SPONSOR!

Exam Lab Equipment Drive

 

The Form 4 students are scribbling away on those KCSE exams this week. Tomorrow they take the Physics portion of the exam. One of the challenges school administrator's face is last minute requirements in order for the students to perform tasks on the exams. This year it was determined that the Physics test would require Semi Circular Glass Blocks. So all school administrators scrambled to find enough of these glass blocks for their students to participate. Soon there were none to be had, so what did the merchants do? Raise the prices! :(

In the end the school had to take out a loan to purchase the glass blocks to the tune of 115,000 ksh for the 40 needed ($1160). So now the school needs to raise the funds to pay off the loan. It is a shame that schools are not informed of these required items sooner so there is not the issue of last minute supply and demand. The only bright side is that the blocks will now be part of the school's lab equipment for future years.

If you can contribute to our Exam Lab Equipment Drive, please make a donation on the Donate Now button on this page. It will be greatly appreciated and you can sleep well, knowing you made a significant difference at Waddington High School!

Please send good thoughts to our Form 4 students on the Physics exams tomorrow!  We're so proud of them!

Letter Writing Ideas

The letter above was written by one of our newly sponsored WHS students - his joy at being sponsored rings throughout his letter! 

Tucked in the pockets of many of our sponsored children are letters -- letters written by their sponsors that they now keep and cherish.  There is no way to describe the joy and encouragement the children receive from their sponsors letters!   Knowing that it doesn't take much to make your child's day with a few words, here are some letter writing ideas from sponsors:

~ Let your child know about your family.  Who lives in your family?  Do you have children?  How old are they and what are their names?
~ Are you a student?  Tell them about your studies and what motivates you to be a good student.
~ Share what kind of work you do.  It's not necessary to get technical, but help them imagine how you spend your day.
~ Send photos of you and your family..  Just as you like to see your child, they like to see you.
~ Print off photos you receive of your child and send them back to your child.  We try to take a photo of the child with items you order them through our online shop.  If you receive one, it is a wonderful gift to your child to send a copy to them.  You might consider sending a little mini photo album to put photos in.
~ Tell about attractions in your area -- statues, parks, tourists spots, nature spots.  Supplement with a postcard if possible.
~ Share a funny or interesting story.  It could be about one of your pets or something that happened in your community.
~ Tell about your hobbies.  Ask them questions about what they like to do, what book they have read recently, and what they do after school.
~ For fun, add something in the envelope.  You can buy a book of mazes, crossword puzzles, dot-to-dots, word search, or coloring books and tear out one page each time you write to your child to enclose with your letter.  Kids love stickers, too.
~ Older students may enjoy a sports magazine article or an interesting clipping from the newspaper.
~ Ask your child about school, their favorite subject and what is their hardest subject.  Encourage them to study hard.  As they get older, ask what they hope to do someday.
~ Send special occasion cards for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter.  Some of our children do not know their birthdays so sponsors may wish to celebrate the anniversary of their sponsorship instead.  Plan ahead and mail the card about 3 weeks before the event.
~ Compliment them on their letters and drawings and any school successes they share. They hunger for praise!

Most of all, let your sponsored children know how much they mean to you!  Do you have ideas to share?  We'd love to hear from you!

Christmas is Coming to Holly House

Every year around this time I sit and reflect on our children at Holly House.  This is their home.  They have no other place to go and their dorm-mates are their "family."  As I anticipate the shopping we'll do for our friends and family, the meals we'll prepare, trees we'll decorate and laughter that will ring through our houses, I think about what a difference just one special meal would make to the Holly House children.  Christmas dinner:  warm beef stew, rice, a special treat of ice cream and soda pop.  So simple to us, so special to them.

So today my heart is bursting with joy because our sponsors have come forward to make a special meal possible for these kids!  We had set a goal of raising $510 to provide Christmas dinner to approximately 100 children -- and we reached it!  Thank you, thank you, for your generosity.  I know we will all enjoy our Christmas dinners a little more, knowing these dear children are also smiling through a Christmas meal.

Scenes from last year's HH Christmas Dinner:

~ Brenda

Friday's Featured Student - Victor Has Been Waiting

Meet Victor - SOS49
Victor is 11 years old with a birthday on June 27, 1999.  He is in Class 6.  His best subject is science and he wants to be an accountant someday.  Victor lives with his unemployed parents and has grown up in the Kayole-Soweto slums.  He enjoys playing football.  This dear child has been waiting for quite awhile for a sponsor.

Victor can be sponsored on the Basic Sponsorship Program (only $25 per year) or on the Breakfast-Included Program which includes a nutritious fruit breakfast, basic school uniform annually, and basic school supplies for $12.50/month.  Can you help Victor by being his sponsor and friend?

Auction Items Needed

It's not too late to participate in our eBay auction which will be held in November so clean out those closets, garages and kitchen cupboards, and ask your local businesses for donations!  We can definitely use more gently used or new items to make our auction a success. This is our largest fundraiser and all monies raised will go toward KCSE fees for our upcoming Form 4 students.

Imagine struggling to complete four years of high school and not getting your diploma because you don't have the money to take the final exam. That's the harsh reality for the majority of our kids. Many of the families we assist live on less than a dollar a day. The final exam (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education aka KCSE) costs approx $85 dollars per student. Failure to take the KCSE means that the chance to receive further education or qualify for other than menial jobs will be forever denied.

But we need your help to make this years auction a huge success.  We are in need for in kind donations to be sold in our auction.  If you have something you are willing to donate or know of a company we should contact please email us at info@nairobikids.org

If everyone gives what they can, we can assure that every child who is eligible gets the opportunity to take the very important KCSE and their 12 years of struggling to complete high school will not be in vain.

Friday's Featured Student - Dedicated Daniel

Please meet Daniel.
Daniel is 17 years old and in form 1.  His parents are divorced and in a very poor siituation.  He could not afford high school, but is an excellent student, scoring 366/500 on the KCPE exam.  The school director offered him a place to live at Holly House so he could continue work toward a high school education.  Daniel enjoys football and his best subjects are Kiswahili and History.  He wants to be a teacher someday.  Can you please reach out to sponsor Daniel?  His sponsorship fees are $15.00/month for a half sponsorship program.  Please email info@nairobikids.org .

Holly House Orphanage

Please meet some of the children of Holly House orphanage.  These children are there because there is no where else for them to go.  Some of them are orphans, while some have only one parent who is unable to provide basic necessities for them.  Some of them are displaced refugees, victims of war, drought, or post-election violence.  Many of the children were discovered living on the streets and brought to Holly House by Fanuel, the school director, so they could receive an education and have shelter and food.  Holly House orphanages (or children's homes) are located on the campus with Galilee Primary School and Waddington High School. Coming here to live provides these children with hope in otherwise tragic lives. Holly House sponsorship fees are $30/month for full sponsorship or $15/month for co-sponsorship which covers three meals a day, shelter and schooling.  Please consider sponsoring one of these dear children.  For more information email info@nairobikids.org


Meet Faith N. - HHB314

Faith is 13 years old and in standard 7A.  Her birthday is June 6.  Faith has had a very rough life.  Her father died when she was very young and her mother, due to extreme poverty, abandoned Faith.  The school director at Galilee Primary School offered her food and shelter at Holly House orphanage.  Faith is an average student who wants to be a teacher someday.  Her best subject is science.  She enjoys skipping rope and dancing.  Faith would really benefit from the kindness of a sponsor.  Please consider sponsoring her -- a full sponsorship is $30/mo or a co-sponsor is $15/mo.

Meet Florence - HHB315

Florence is 8 years old and in standard 2B.  Her birthday is unknown.  Florence is an orphan, both of her parents died.   Therefore, the director of Galilee Primary School offered her shelter and food at Holly House orphanage.  Florence enjoys jumping rope and her best subject is math.   HH   sponsorship is $30/mo for full sponsorship or $15 for co-sponsorship.  Can you be Florence's sponsor and friend?

Meet Wilberforce - HHB316 -Thanks to my new sponsor!

Wilberforce is 13 years old and in standard 7.   His birthday is unknown.  Wilberforce's mother's situation is not known.  She disappeared and no one heard from her again.  His father was upset and unable to continue caring for the boys so left the boys to life on the street.  The Galilee Primary School director, Fanuel, was so moved by their situation that he rescued them and offered Wilberforce and his brother shelter at Holly House.   He enjoys football and social studies.  Someday he would like to be an engineer.  HH sponsorship is $30/mo for full sponsorship or $15 for co-sponsorship.  Can you be Wilberforce's sponsor and friend?

Meet Emmanuel - HHB317 -  Thanks to my new sponsor!

Emmanuel is 15 years old and in standard 6.   His birthday is unknown.  Emmanuel's mother's situation is not known.  She disappeared and no one heard from her again.  His father was upset and unable to continue caring for the boys so left the boys to life on the street.  The Galilee Primary School director, Fanuel, was so moved by their situation that he rescued them and offered Emmanuel and his brother shelter at Holly House.   He enjoys football and social studies.  Someday he would like to be an engineer.  HH sponsorship is $30/mo for full sponsorship or $15 for co-sponsorship.  Can you help Emmanuel?

Meet Ann K - HHB318

Ann is 11 years old and in standard 6A.  Her birthday is August 11.  Ann's father tries to find work as a casual laborer and her mother is unemployed.  Due to the extreme poverty of this family, they could not properly care for Ann and therefore she came to live at Holly House where she could have food, shelter and an education.  Ann enjoys reading story books.  Her best subjects are math and science and she dreams of being a doctor someday. HH sponsorship is $30/mo for full sponsorship or $15 for co-sponsorship.  Can you be Ann's sponsor and friend?

October 5 Update - Wilberforce and Emmanuel have been sponsored!  Please help us find sponsors for these other deserving HH children.