Renewal time, plans for 2014 and new orphan stories

This is the time of year many sponsors decide on renewing their support for the Academy.  Last year, by December, we had every single orphan and teacher sponsored!!!  Sponsorship relieves the stress of subsistence for the school directors and we are so thankful for everyone's participation in this great cause!  

Little ones getting every last drop out of an orange slice treat

The Kenyan school year changes on the calendar year and their "summer break" is in December. Starting in January, we will continue our plans to add a class per year and will start teaching the final grade - Class 8, similar to 8th grade in the states.  We have other big plans for 2014.  We are starting survey work to drill a borehole that will provide water for both the school and the local community ($41,000).  Water is currently provided by a hand-dug well and a roof water catchment that helps a lot in the rainy season.  The combination is not sufficient to provide for the year-round needs of the school.  We are also planning to build one final classroom in the next few months to allow the preschoolers to be separate from the bigger kids so they can nap without being disturbed by the noisy older kids ($15,000).  Lastly, we need to improve sanitation to meet Kenyan school guidelines by building a new set of latrines for the boys ($6750).  Please consider additional donations to the general fund to meet these goals.

Waiting in line to wash hands in a bucket

Spread the word about Kisima to let others know about us because we do have more orphans than sponsors and we would love to have 100% sponsorship again by December!!   The local community has become comfortable with the school and many local impoverished students attend as well.  This has led to local leaders spreading the word that orphans can be well cared for and obtain a great education at Kisima Academy.  Over the past year, we have enrolled 17 new orphans - six in preschool, four in Kindergarten, one each in 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th and three in grade 7.

Kids checking out the visitors at a recent visit

Many of the new orphans requiring sponsors have similar stories....Shadrack is a preschooler whose mother died, his father remarried, and the stepmother refused to care for him.  Deborah is a 1st grader who was born out of wedlock, the father refused to care for her and she was abandoned by her mother.  Sharon is a 5th grader whose parents were killed in post-election violence in 2008.  She went to live with her grandmother who then passed away in 2012.  Phelisher is a 7th grade girl being raised by her single mother who passed away of AIDS earlier this year.  Bonnie