CaTheRiNe AbEi aChuKa

15 years old
Form 1 (sec. 2) student at Loreto Convent Matunda
Resident of Lokori, Turkana District
Started in January 2007, expected to graduate December 2010
Total funding for 2007: US$750

Administrator:
Anne-Marie Di Lullo +254-727-238-997 tabasamu.trust@gmail.com
Joseph Ng’itira Akure +254-733-414-044 mugetom@yahoo.co.uk


FULLY FUNDED FOR 2007: Ms. Angela W. Kangori, Kenya

Abei is a bright young Turkana girl who, in 2006, graduated with the highest grades among all the girls who sat their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in her entire division of Lokori. Abei has only one parent, her father Achuka Eregae, who is quite old. Her mother died when she was 5 years old, and she was raised mainly by her grandmother, who is now in her nineties. When her father realized she had the grades to enter into her first year of High School, he quickly sold the few goats he had in order to afford Abei’s school requirements. These goats had been tough enough to survive the 2005-2006 drought that had ravaged Turkana district, and were now going to serve the purpose of offering a young girl and her family a better future! She was given some help by World Vision to jump start her studies, but not enough to cover the entirety of her school fees. Helping Abei get through High School is a priceless endeavour, and hopefully you will also see the importance of giving Abei a chance. She is definitely ready for the challenge!

Matteus' Visit to Gafofo

AM with George, Mercy and Edwin's family Mathieu and the watotos (kids). Mathieu drawing a hippo for Mercy.

Mathieu learnt Kiswahili relatively fast, and after only 1 week, was able to answer Serila when she asked, "Unaitwa nani?" "My name is Mathieu." There was a blank look on Serila's face and she looked at me for further explanation. The only way to make her understand his name was to refer back to the Bible, and what she is taught in church...in latin! So Matteus it was! We spent a relaxing afternoon chatting with Serila and her 9 children and playing with their 6 children. Mathieu quickly noticed that drawing was the best means of communication and so he drew kibokos (hippos), and gari ya moshi (trains), and ndovus (elephants), and samaki (fish). Expert artist, I'd say. Since Mathieu was so quick to offer assistance to Dickson for his studies this year, and since Dickson lives about a 2 days' drive north of here, I thought it would be nice for Mathieu to meet some of the other kids we are helping, and to hang out for an afternoon in Gafofo. Mama Serila was happy to have guests and we all had fun following the youngest of the watotos, who crawled around everywhere turning everything upside down! Thanks to Mathieu for really opening up to the kids and to Serila for having us over on such short notice! Asanteni sana!

ShOpPinG dAY!

I wish you could have all seen how much fun we had last month! How better to spend a Saturday afternoon than to go shopping...and not just any old shopping, school shopping! So in we all piled, Mercy, Edwin, Baraza, Akure and myself, on a mission to get school books, uniforms, shoes and well, have ourselves some fun! Anne-Marie and Akure's intro to parenthood!! oh my Lord... Baraza was quick to grab the front seat and order me to play Sean Paul...so of course, I played it loud. Mercy tucked herself quietly in the corner of the back seat of the car, and tried to open the window, which doesnt' open. Edwin proudly sat in the middle of the back seat. We picked up Akure in town, who had just come from a 2 day bus ride from Turkana. The front seat was not relinquished...one day you'll all meet Baraza and just love it. He is a riot! So running shoes and school shoes and sweaters and shorts and socks and math books and rulers and pens and pencils...all in one day! The day ended with a surprise visit to Swahili Dishes, a restaurant in town that serves nice fish, coast-style. Yummy! The kids were returned to their home stomach and hands filled with shopping bags, ready to start school on Monday with new textbooks! Thanks to all of you for making this such a great year for these kids. More updates to come!

SaMmy L. LoChuKa

26 years old
Resident of Morulem, Turkana South
Year 1 University/College student
When he graduates, he dreams of becoming a teacher!
Starting in September 2007.
Total funding for 2007: TBA

Administrators:
Joseph Ng’itira Akure +254-722-439-546 mugetom@yahoo.co.uk
Anne-Marie Di Lullo +254-727-238-997 tabasamu.trust@gmail.com


Sammy Lokwawi is 26 years old, born and raised in Morulem village in the recently created Turkana South district. For Sammy, the completion of his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is a dream come true. His parents are agro-pastoralists, and mainly rely on livestock as a source of livelihood. He is the 3rd born in a family of 7 children, of which 3 are girls and 4 are boys. To date Sammy is the only one in his family with a high school education. In the year 1987, he joined Morulem Primary School where he sat his KCPE examinations in 1995 and attained 501 marks out of a possible 700. With these impressive results, he got admission into Lodwar High School the following year; the only provincial boys’ school in the district.

Raising school fees proved a challenge, but he managed to complete 2 years of high school, and in his third year (1998), his parents could no longer raise the required amount of money. He was therefore forced to leave school not knowing what was in store for him. He decided to try employment, but with no KCSE certificate, this was hard. He was forced to go to urban centers like Kitale where he did some menial jobs to earn a living. He also tried raising fees to go back to school but with minimal wages, this became a distant dream. His desire to return to school had, however, not lessened.

In June 2004, he met some friends and shared his wishes of going back to school with them. Although these friends were still in college, they promised to help him and encouraged him to try other avenues for funding. In 2005, with the friends’ and World Vision Kenya’s help, Sammy was back in school! He returned to his 3rd year of high school in December 2006, was able to attain a C+ in his final exams, the minimum entry grade for Kenyan Universities eight years after pulling out of school!!

Sammy’s wish is to become a teacher. In order to realize this dream, he has to join university or a teacher’s training college. The obstacle now between Sammy and his dream, is school fees. His father remains even poorer than he was when Sammy was younger. His request is for someone to help him fund his college education so that he can finally become a teacher.

NeLsoN kiSuNdi

19 years old
Resident of Gachie, outside Nairobi
First Year University student
When he grows up, he dreams of becoming a Nurse!
Expected to begin in September 2007
Total funding for Year 1: US$6,000

Administrator:
Anne-Marie Di Lullo +254-727-238-997 tabasamu.trust@gmail.com

PARTIALLY FUNDED FOR '07-'08: Ms. Christine L'Heureux, QC, Canada

Nelson lives just outside Nairobi, with his 2 brothers and 1 sister, and an orphaned cousin. He is the eldest boy in his family, and his mother works every day as a cook in order to provide for her family. We met Nelson through Edwin, in fact, because he has entrepreneurially started offering tutoring classes for Elementary School students to help them score well on their finals, so that they have a better chance of accessing good high schools. Nelson graduated from Jamhuri Boys’ Secondary School, with high grades and is currently hoping to be invited to join Nursing School at Kenyatta University in Nairobi. He has done a lot to help Edwin so far, providing him with both daily tuition after class, and brotherly companionship on the side. Nelson is focused, determined and hard working. He came to Nairobi at age 5, brought here by his parents looking for a better life than that they could get in Western Kenya. He is a graduate of Gachii Primary, where Edwin is now studying, and it really makes him feel great to come back and help a fellow student. Nelson asked me specifically to mention that his personal drive to succeed and help his mother improve hers and the lives of her children comes from an important event in his life: his father leaving. He says that after years of mistreating his mother, his father just turned his back and walked away from his wife and 4 children, leaving the jobless mother to cope on her own. In the meanwhile, her niece joined them in Nairobi, adding to the financial burden. Nelson says that he is determined never to do that to his children, and he respects his mother for working so hard. His goal is to make sure his younger siblings get as many opportunities as he can offer them, and going to university is his first step towards that dream!

SeLinA K. Ng'AkiPpi

22 years old
Resident of Lodwar Town, Turkana District
Form 4 (sec. 5) graduate of Kangitit Girls’ Secondary School (B-)
When she grows up, she dreams of becoming a High School teacher
Hoping for September 2007 start in University
Total funding for 2007: US$2,000

Administrators:
Joseph Akure +254-722-439-546 mugetom@yahoo.co.uk
Anne-Marie Di Lullo +254-727-238-997 tabasamu.trust@gmail.com

Selina was born in the village of Kanamkemer, third in a family of 6 children. She managed to get through Primary and Secondary school with the help of family members, local NGOs and her church, and even managed to score quite high in her final KCSE examinations, allowing her access to public university here in Kenya. Her dreams of attending, however, disappeared when her father, the only family breadwinner, passed away. The fact that she grew up in an area where cattle raiding is common, and where cattle is the only wealth, her family was constantly under fear of losing all they had. The practice of inter-tribal cattle thieving is one of the biggest insecurity factors in Northern Kenya, and when a family is ridded of most of their herd, they no longer have means to survive. Their herd is the only tangible asset they have at any given point. Selina has been forced to look for odd jobs here and there, as have her siblings, but work in these parts is rare. She still dreams of becoming a High School teacher, something that is in high demand in her district. Since graduating High School in 2004, Selina has married and now has a young baby. She is lucky to have married a man who is very supportive of her dreams of continuing her studies. Given the opportunity to complete her university studies, she would be able to help sustain her immediate and extended family, and really feel like she is giving back to her community in a big way, by educating other young girls like herself and uplifting the spirit of the Turkana girl-child.

MaRia W. ikEre

15 years old
Form 1 (sec. 2) student at Mirithu Secondary School
Resident of Gachie, outside Nairobi
When she grows up, she dreams of becoming an Accountant!
Started in January 2007, expected to graduate December 2010
Total funding for 2007: US$750

Administrator:
Anne-Marie Di Lullo +254-727-238-997 tabasamu.trust@gmail.com

PARTIALLY FUNDED FOR 2007: Mr. Michele Discepola and Mrs. Céline Riendeau - Canada


Maria lives in Gachie, a small town on the outskirts of Nairobi, incidentally, so close it seems her Member of Parliament does not deem it important enough to push for extension of paved roads into this area! So visiting her is an adventure in itself. Last time I was there, I hit a pothole so deep my wheel alignment was thrown right off! She is lucky to have grown up in a relatively small family of 4 children, of which she is the only girl, the third born, and currently the first one of her family members to ever attend high school. She is a sharp girl who has the organizational skills of, well, an accountant, and that’s exactly what she dreams of becoming someday. To this end, we’ve started her on a small cash budget for which she is entirely responsible, every school term. She can do what she pleases with it, but when it runs out, she has to know where it went. She has started classes at Mirithu Secondary School, a very highly regarded provincial girls’ boarding school. Living on her own for the first time will also have her learn other important skills such as tidiness, responsibility, time planning and making friends. She says she loves to read, so hopefully her evenings in a fully electrified institution will allow her to read after dinner. I’m sure she would appreciate receiving novels now and then! She says she is most excited to start her science and math classes, because up until now, her chances of starting high school had seemed pretty slim, and so she had convinced herself she would be staying home like her brothers. Now she is glowing with energy and hope that the future will allow her to prove her full potential!