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Spring Highlights

April 2012 
In This Issue
We are Strong!
Remember Their Names
Educator Sets the Pace
Kenya Safari & Kendu Bay
A Sponsor's Gift
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top Greetings!   

  

Great news this spring!   

  • Thirteen sponsored students graduated with honors to qualify for government university scholarships in 2013
  • Life is bliss for ten students receiving new scholarships this year.   
  • We welcome a dynamic new project manager.   
  • Announcing a "Kenya w/ Kendu Bay" safari in September. 

Thank you for making the difference in the lives of these children!  We are proud to share our news. 

 

Kathleen Dodge

Executive Director
FutureWe are Strong! 

Four years ago, high school education was an impossible dream for sixteen of Kendu Bay's brightest students.  Their lives were destined for early marriage and subsistence living until a sponsor offered a steady foundation.  These youngsters did not waste a moment.  With heaps of hard work and their eyes on the goal, all sixteen graduated this year.  THIRTEEN captured a tuition-free university education.  Now young adults, they feel rightfully proud of how well they honored their sponsors' faith in them.  From this relationship, our students have grown strong. Thank you to all our sponsors!

2012 grads
Proud graduates: Sharon, Solomon and Mercyline
 
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rememberRemember Their Names . . . 
because these youngsters are 'going places' 
  
2012 NEW students
Charity, Belinda, Loyce, Lavinia and Grace.  
Collince, Allenken, Emmanuel, Collince and Frank (not present).
Flanked by project manager, Date Mingusa and former sponsored student, Wycliffe Opiyo, now in university, these ten youngsters are recipients of your 2012 Sponsored Student high school scholarships.

Eight of these youth were called to prestigious national schools - a recognition of their strong academic ability.  Seven are orphaned or from single-parent families.  All of them rely 100% on a KSHP sponsor for their education that will change their world, inside and out. 

Join our Sponsor a Student initiative today.
 
educatorEducator Sets the Pace


DateOutgoing and enthusiastic Alidade (Date) Mingusa bid adieu to her students at Maseno Boys High School, where she taught English literature, to join our Kendu Bay team in the leadership role of Project Manager.  

Date brings the project a classroom teacher's 'firm-and fair' managerial gifts and a young woman's energy.  Her love of teaching benefits every facet of program operations, from girls clubs to counseling and the tutoring of sponsored students.

Raised in Kisumu, Date early-on was considered a high achiever, organizing her siblings and uniting her friends.  Why would a young woman, who admits she loves bags, shoes and reading, want to leave the city and come to Kendu Bay to work in dusty rural communities - with no electricity, no A/C, no running water or flush toilet in the office - and a fiancé hours away? 

"Growing up, I came to the village quite often and saw the poor conditions the children of my village had to deal with, especially at school; the poor toilets, the dirty water, numerous school drop outs - mostly due to pregnancy. 

"So, when the opportunity came to raise the standards in my community by serving and enlightening them on these issues, I grabbed the opportunity running.  I also have a deep passion for children and community work.  That's why I took up Education as a first choice in University.  I wanted to have an impact in somebody's life."

 While working as full time Project Manager in our Kendu Bay office, Date is also pursuing a Masters degree in Communication and Media Technology at Maseno University.

We warmly welcome Date Mingusa to our team!  We see her presence already "having an impact" on legions of young people's lives.

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safariKenya Safari with Kendu Bay
Project Visit

elephant

Many of you have expressed desire to visit Kendu Bay, meet your sponsored student and family, and visit the children and schools benefiting through our project activities. 
 
Join us in Kenya this September for a special three-day project visit in Kendu Bay, preceded by a nine-day wildlife safari that includes Samburu National Reserve, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Masai Mara National Reserve.

To learn more, contact Kathleen Dodge at   khdodge@comcast.net or call 802-863-5948  Space is limited.                                    

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 batiA Sponsor's Gift: One Student's Story

 

Allenken Allenken Bati Olango felt his life was over when he dropped out of school in 2009.  He had attended primary school in Nairobi's Kibera slums, where the family was living.  At the top of his class in primary, he continued into high school.  But in his second year, the family's world was turned upside down during Kenya's post-election violence.

 

Bati's mother died and their home was burned to the ground during the civil strife. Shortly thereafter, his father had a stroke, which left him disabled and unable to work.   


Without shelter or income, the family returned "home" to Kendu Bay, where a local church built them a primitive two-room house to shelter an extended family of thirteen.  Bati, the eldest of ten children, took whatever menial jobs he could find, including garden work at the home of a local teacher.  The teacher noticed Bati's work ethic and strong command of English.  Hearing his story, she encouraged him to return to school and re-sit his exams in hopes he could qualify for a KSHP scholarship this year.

 

Allenken home
Bati's home in Kendu Bay 

So, at age 16, Bati enrolled again in primary school to repeat grade eight. The headmaster also saw Bati's potential and mentored his progress.   

 

Bati excelled on his year-end exams and was invited to attend Maranda Boys High, the top high school in Nyanza Province; a 'Princeton' among Kenya's high schools.  Thanks to a sponsor's support, Bati entered Maranda Boys in February; a proud freshman at age 17.  

 

Every student applying for a KSHP scholarship grows up in unsettled life situations.  As children, they cope with family tragedy and daunting challenges. Yet, their young hearts burn with a desire to learn.  Like Bati, they believe that through hard work and personal commitment, life will be better.     

                     

More than 60 students applied for scholarships this year.  Only TEN were chosen - to match with available sponsors.  For these ten, life holds promise.  For those turned away, some will marry, some will work in the stone quarry for $2/day - and some, like Bati, may return to school and repeat grade 8, hoping to improve his/her chances next year.  PLEASE BE THERE FOR THEM.  Children like Bati really need you.   

 

We have an opportunity to make a difference in this world.  Join us today with your contribution to help students like Bati who are waiting for their chance to get an education.  

    

To help students through this program Click Here 

 

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