Resource The Pot That Feeds These Children's Bloom

There are many beautiful things in this life. Something that easily blesses the top of that list is witnessing the flower of a child's mind, curiosity and personality unfurl its petals into bloom. For raising Teddy, Andrew, Tina, Lusayo, Francis and Irene we are six times blessed. Some of them their education journey begin in an overpopulated public school and for others it begins with not having been in school at all, for a while.

Unlike and similar to many places in the world, public education here offers slim opportunities for said bloom and what is a parent but one that dares reach for the best they can provide?! Brookhouse International School allowed us to dare. Since all the children, except Teddy who is in highschool, joined this school, sweet heavens, have we had the best seats in the house to their unfurling!

Tina's 'I-dare-you-to-dare-me' quality is shining through in class and on the field. She is keen to know as much as she can and will outplay most boys on the football field. Andrew and Francis might as well get picked for the national football team already! They are two of the best at the school and the teachers ensure a good balance between their studies and play. Last year, Lusayo, Irene and Tina received awards for either being top of their class or being the most improved overall. On Parents' Day our corner of the tent was literally the loudest as we cheered on one child after the next, shame be gone! We know where they have come from and how big an impact this quality of education will have on them and their community. We are thoroughly proud of them!

Now, here's the flip side of that story. As is with parenting, this gift of stewarding such precious and malleable lives, resources ebb and flow. It takes 1,115,000 Tshs ($480, 60,000 KSH) to educate each child individually and 5,575,000 Tshs ($2,400, 300,000 Ksh) for them all in total annually. We are but a small team of a family with love as fierce as a storm determined to make this happen AND, we are becoming more and more aware just how necessary it is to grow a strong village of support around these children's lives.

This here is, therefore, an invitation, a call to our villagemates to help resource the pot that feeds these children's bloom. Haba na haba hujaza kibaba. I'll let you Google that ;)

This is also an expression of gratitude for the opportunity to impress the beauty of life upon these children with you. Tunashukuru.

K. Njeri