Kisima Child Care Academy - School and Orphanage

Sponsor a Child

Kisima’s director reports that once the children know they have a sponsor they hold their heads higher, have a spring in their step, and show a renewed dedication to their schoolwork. Sponsor a child for $300 per year. Younger students require two sponsors for full support while older students need at least three. The cost of books and exams during their last two years is quite high. Sponsor a teacher for $400 per year. Each teacher needs four sponsors for full support. When you choose or are assigned a child it would be great to write a letter to introduce yourself and include a photo. The kids LOVE to receive photos. Please do not send packages because they may not arrive. The address to send letters and photos is Kisima Academy, P.O. Box 74, Postal Code 50211, Naitiri, Kenya.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Finished!

Here it is--finished! The girls are so excited to move in on Saturday. It is named for Nancy Bryant. Many, many thanks to the Jerry Taylor-Nancy Bryant Foundation for the funding.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

The girls are very excited!

The girls at Kisima are so excited! They will be moving into their new dormitory next Saturday, April 2. The building was made possible through the generosity of a grant from the Jerry Taylor and Nancy Bryant Foundation. The money for one dorm was given outright and a challenge matching grant was given for the other. We have several months to gather donations for the boys' dorm at which time the foundation will match what was donated. The boys are very envious of the girls' new quarters and looking forward to when their dorm will be built.

Finishing touches are being put on in the top photo. The second photo shows the dorm in relation to the two classroom blocks. The left side of the building is where the bathing rooms are. In the third photo you can see how the roof is designed to catch rain water. Martin will also run a pipe downhill from the well. Notice how dry it looks there. Everyone there thanks God that the drought is over--the rains came last week.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

More progress

There were lots of nice donations at Christmas which enabled Martin to put the finishing touches on the preschool classroom, build four new latrines bringing the number up to the required one per 25 children, and buy many required items like textbooks, chairs, tables, and cooking pots. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the lives of the children better.

Yet another addition

Here is just-born Roger, born to Barb. The herd now numbers six--Barb with calf Roger, Alexis, Clarabelle, and Shiloh with calf Mission.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

A new kid on the block

There's a new kid at Kisima and she's very cute.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Morning tea

First graders are enjoying their morning tea and milk.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

It has been very dry at Kisima. The cows eat nappier grass and there is none to be had. Martin has had to buy feed in Kitale. The dry weather has also made it impossible to plow the fields. Everyone is praying for rain.

The second photo is of the new children at Kisima . The school year started with 20 new children making a total now of 161.

Introduction

Kisima Academy was started by Martin Simiyu, an extraordinary man who has really responded to God’s call to serve. In 2006 he, his wife, and their three children moved to a rural area in western Kenya to start a school for orphans. In March 2008 Kisima consisted of three mud classrooms and the children sat on the dirt floor for their lessons. They walked a mile for water.

Seven years later with the help of friends, Christ our Savior Lutheran Church in Loudon, Tennessee, and John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Annandale, Virginia, there are ten brick classrooms, two hand-dug wells, cows, chickens, tilapia fish ponds, and most important, food for the children. Boys' and girls' dorms were built in 2011 thanks to the generosity of the Nancy Bryant-Jerry Taylor Foundation. Martin farms four acres of maize and beans and each class has a garden to grow vegetables.

Much progress has been made but there are still many needs to be met, among them more land and simple housing for the teachers who live onsite.

Donations go to For the Kids International, Inc., 7201 Countrywood Ct., Springfield, VA 22151. Please be sure to specify that it is to go to Kisima Academy. When you send a donation to Kisima, 100% goes to the school. No money is used for administration.

Bonnie Lefbom
Gerda Fink
Denise Patton
Nancy Bryant
John Ndiritu