Penda Sponsors Needed for 2016

Each year, the eighth grade students at New Hope Academy (NHA) anxiously await the results of the “Kenya Certificate of Primary Education” (KCPE) tests. In Kenya, the government provides an education only through eighth grade. If a student wishes to continue to Secondary School (what we would call High School), s/he must finance his/her own education. Virtually all the students from NHA can’t afford the school fees and other expenses associated with Secondary School. That is where Kibera Penda Project (KPP) comes in. KPP works to find sponsors in the U.S. to pay the school fees for qualifying NHA students. To be accepted into the KPP program, students must meet certain criteria. For girls, a KCPE score of 250 to 275 qualifies her to attend day school. A score above 275 qualifies her for Boarding School. For boys, a KCPE score between 275 and 300 qualifies him for day school and a score above 300 qualifies him for boarding school. Because boarding school offers the opportunity for a student to escape from the poverty of the Kibera slum, the students (and their parents/guardians) hope for a boarding school opportunity.

The day school to which KPP sends qualifying students is Olympic School on the outskirts of the Kibera slum. Students walk to and from school each day. The boarding schools are located in the town of Masinga (about three hours from Nairobi) – Masinga Boys and Masinga Girls Schools.

KPP currently has 133 students in the program.  Thirty-six students are in “Form 1” (what we would call 9th grade), thirty-three students are in “Form 2” (10th grade), forty students in “Form 3” (11th grade) and twenty-four in Form 4 (12th grade). Forty-eight students attend day school; forty-seven are at Masinga Girls School and thirty-eight in Masinga Boys School.

Forty-one students still need sponsors. For only $360 per year (or $30 per month), a person can sponsor a student in day school. Only $600 per year (or $50 per month) sponsors a student in boarding school. We strive to facilitate communications between a student and his/her sponsor. When we visit our students, we ask them to write their sponsors a letter and we often carry letters and pictures from our sponsors to their students. Sponsors especially enjoy meeting their students in person if the sponsor joins NHI on one of its many mission trips to the Kibera slum.

So far, KPP has seen sixteen of its sponsored students go on to college. We are very proud of our students for working so hard to break the cycle of poverty. If you find called to do so, we would love to add you to our KPP family.

Meet Zack Kirago

In July, Zack Kirago was hired as Project Director in Kenya for Kibera Penda Project. Zack brings ten years working in children's and youth ministries, as well as experience working with a non-profit and in social work. Zack is married and has two young boys. Previously, Zack was serving Kibera Penda Project on a part-time basis as the youth minister. He began the Saturday Youth Services and reenergized the time with games, discussions, and lots of cheering! It was encouraging to get to know him and see him interact with the students over the course of the past year. Zack's passion to influence the lives of young people is evident.

Since beginning in this position, Zack has been working to gain more background on the lives of our sponsored students and build relationships with the school's that we send students. He also took twenty of our students to a youth camp during the school break in August. This was a reward for some of the students and it was encouraging to see the growth of each of their relationships with Christ. Recently, Zack has been doing college advising with a few of our students who are applying to Kibera Penda Project College Scholarships.

Kibera Penda Project is thankful for Zack's heart, hard work and natural organization!

Putting on the Ritz

Used clothing is a huge business in Africa, you find sellers of previously owned items on almost every street. Recently when walking into Kibera I was surprised to see a golf shirt that bore the logo for the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel, CA. This chain of hotels is known worldwide for its luxury and this particular property is a bastion of wealth and privilege on the opulent Southern California coast.

While looking at this shirt against the backdrop of the Kibera slum I was drawn to consider the contrast between the first owner and the next owner of this garment. The first owner likely lived a life of wealth, privilege, and power. They enjoyed the luxuries of life and seldom experienced want or need. The new owner of this shirt will live in one of the worlds largest slums, will be impoverished, ignored, and powerless even in his own community. The new owner of this shirt will feel want as a daily companion. Luxury will never enter his mind, only the constant struggle to survive. What a dramatic contrast between the 2 owners of this shirt.

I walked away that day with two pervasive thoughts. The first involved responsibility. You may or may not be a regular guest at the Ritz-Carlton's of this world, however, as a resident of a western culture you are in a position of extreme privilege in contrast to the rest of the world. This privileged position should demand a generous heart on our part. In the words of Jesus, "to whom much is given much is required." My second thought was about perspective. I can imagine how much the original owner of that shirt enjoyed his foray into the world of luxury. Perhaps how much he wanted to buy that logo shirt and enjoyed wearing it to impress other. However, today that shirt no longer carries an aura of luxury or privilege. It reminds me that every possession we have will one day rust, tarnish, or decay. We must be diligent to remind ourselves that the only eternal investments are those made, in people, for the sake of God.

I think the phase "putting on the Ritz" will forever have a new connotation for me.

You Have To Earn It!

We had an interesting and somewhat troubling experience this summer in Kibera. We had two NHI teams at our Kibera Academy campus who were participating in a variety of special projects and our students were also involved in important mid term testing, so it was a very busy day in the midst of a busy week. About midday on Wednesday I noticed a few unfamiliar faces who were obviously visitors on campus. So I asked them who they were and why they were on our compound. Their response surprised me a good deal.  They were on a mission trip to Uganda and their flight had been delayed so they wanted to see a poor neighborhood in Nairobi. With that limited response the visitor grabbed a child's hand and marched into one of our classrooms. At first glance this may seem pretty innocent to you, however it is a situation that is wrong on so many levels. This is the type of behavior that gives short term missions trips a bad reputation and even causes people to question the validity of such an experience. Let's examine the different levels on which this encounter was so wrong. 1. The visitors did not speak with the administration before entering the school. Can you imagine taking a group of people into an American school and wandering the hallways and entering the classrooms without permission? Do African schools deserve any less security and respect than American schools.

2. Poverty is not a tourist attraction to be visited like a monument or national park. The residents of Kibera are a wonderful community of individuals who will lovingly welcome you to their neighborhood IF you have come as a friend. However, it is an affront to their dignity to treat this community like just another stop on your mission to "save Africa."

3. It shows a great amount of arrogance and a significant lack of respect. To interrupt a busy school schedule, to the point of entering classrooms uninvited, because some how you think your mere presence there should warrant every one else altering their routine for you.

4. YOU MUST EARN THE RIGHT TO BE INVOLVED. Even the best intentioned short term mission trip is severely lacking if it is only another stop on your or your church's tour of the world. It is subtly demeaning and overtly discouraging to residents of communities like Kibera when visitors come and have activities, evangelistic events, or even charitable activity but have no commitment to any long term involvement in a neighborhood. Poorly done mission trips have conditioned the local residents to welcome people into their hearts and lives and yet often they know they will never see them again and that is a bittersweet hurt. It is so important that mission trips are done right. We earn the right everyday for our involvement in Kibera and the other places NHI works. We earn it through prayer. We earn it through investment. We earn it through love. We earn it through longevity. It is personally offensive for me to have people with no commitment whatsoever to run in for an hour and take pictures with our kids and leave with a false sense of accomplishment. Good short term missions involves training, preparation, sensitivity, humility, and commitment. At New Hope Initiative we may not always do it perfectly, but we constantly strive to bring our teams into a mutually rewarding partnership with local ministries where each party learns, grows, and is affirmed through the experience. May God please spare us any more "mission trip tourists."

Meet Madam Francisco

This lady has become a very bright spot in my life and work here in Kenya. Everyday that I walk into the New Hope Kibera compound, she lights up with a big smile and greets me. She always compliments me and makes me feel like a celebrity just walked up, and I am the celebrity. I have come to adore her, trust her and laugh with her often. Madame Francisco Mutunga is the Deputy Head Teacher at New Hope Academy in Kibera. I like to tell everyone, she runs the place. And, while many people come together to accomplish our work, Madame Mutunga is the solid cornerstone that holds it all together. She is loyal, hard working, bright, and has a deep integrity. She loves her family and has made the New Hope family part of her own.

I sat down with her to talk about her work and views on leadership. I love her concise yet thoughtful responses to my questions.

Q: How long have you worked at New Hope Academy and what position did you start in?

I have worked here at the school since 2006. I started as a teacher, teaching math, Kiswahili, science and CRE to Class 4, 5, & 6.

Q: What was the school like then?

Terrible. Unexplainable.

Q: Why did you become a teacher?

First of all, I wanted to work with children and mentor them. Secondly, in the teaching profession, as you do the work you can learn more. That was appealing to me - to continue learning while working.

Q: Now, that you are in administration at the school, do you miss teaching?

Yes, I miss it, so now I try to find time to be in the classroom as much as possible. I teach science, to Class 4 and math to Class 5.

Q: Who has been the most influential leader in your life and why?

When I was young, my father died, so my uncle took care of me. My aunt (his wife) became very influential in my life. She taught me the realities of life and many things that have helped me in my life.

Also, Head Teacher, Festus, has influenced me and taught me many things in leadership and real life situations.

Q: How do you define leadership?

Leadership is the ability to direct and involve yourself and others in planning and doing certain things.

Q: What are your hopes and dreams for the students of NHA?

Many of our students come from poor families who stay within the slum all their lives. My hope is that God would help them learn and get a good future and help their families leave the slum and get a better life than they have

By Lauren Allgood - NHI Kenya Leadership Director