Joska

Term 2, 2022

Greetings in Jesus’ Name! We have come to the end of another school term and we give God all the glory. We are so grateful for your partnership! God bless you for everything you do. Here are some of the successes and highlights we want to share with you.

Blessings,

Goretty Som – Chief Principal, Joska
and
Lilian Karemesi – Headteacher, Joska

Total Enrolled: 1,291 students
Total Unsponsored: 474 students

*Emily joined the Joska center as a grade one student in 2021 and she is now in grade two.

When Emily was recruited and joined the school, we immediately noticed that something was off about this seven-year-old. She was very withdrawn and she reacted violently to any form of stimulation even when invited to play a game with her fellow students. She was having a hard time fitting in and she would cry a lot in the social worker’s office. Her case saddened all of us and we wanted to find out what was wrong in Emily’s life.

We found out that all was not well in Emily’s home and that she was in fact a victim of abuse. This prompted us to have Emily join the boarding program, despite her young age, because we felt that it would keep her safe.

Emily was raised by her maternal grandparents and her grandfather told us that Emily’s father and mother had gone their separate ways when Emily was only months old. The child was then left under the care of her mother (his daughter) who one day just disappeared from home and has never been back.

Emily’s grandparents took her in and she experienced a lot of affection, care, and love from the elderly couple. Her grandfather told us that Emily and her grandmother were very close and they had a good relationship. She was a happy, well-adjusted four-year-old until 2019 when her grandmother died.

With his wife’s death, Emily’s grandfather was left as her sole guardian. For a while, he tried to take care of the toddler, take care of the household chores and also do his job as a hawker (peddler), but he soon became overwhelmed. He decided to remarry so he could have someone to help him care for his granddaughter. That turned out to be the beginning of Emily’s unfortunate situation.

Emily’s step-grandmother came into the marriage with a daughter of her own. From the beginning, she discriminated against Emily and openly favored her own child. Emily was mistreated, beaten, insulted, overworked and refused to play with other children. All these things would happen when her grandfather was away, but it was not long before he noticed that his once cheerful grandchild had changed. She had become a pale shadow of her former self.

It was around this time that we recruited Emily to our school and as we started walking closely with her, she opened up and told us what was going on at home. We realized that the child was already suffering from the effects of physical and emotional abuse. Her mental state saddened everyone who was working with her and we felt that a child does not deserve this kind of treatment and emotional abuse.

With her grandfather’s blessings, Emily is now in the boarding program and already we are seeing a difference! First and foremost is the huge smile she now has on her face. It was so rare to see this gesture when she first joined us and we rejoice each time we see her smile. She has also made friends and is especially close to two girls who she really treasures. You will now see her with her friends either playing, storytelling, or laughing.

Her academic performance has also greatly improved. Emily used to be an extremely below-average student, but she is now proving to us that she is in fact an above-average student. Her good class performance has elevated her self-esteem and she now eagerly participates in class activities; you will even find her helping her classmates to revise.

During the morning devotions, Emily is an active participant and she is indeed a blessing. Her grandfather now appreciates that Emily has found peace in the Joska center and he is more alert each time she is home for the holidays. This has made life that much better for the young girl.

Emily’s smile, her great academic performance, her spiritual growth, and her emerging leadership qualities are aspects we certainly thank God for. Rehabilitating her and witnessing the positive results motivates us to continue working at transforming other young souls.

*Name changed

• We were able to successfully register 76 grade six, grade eight, and grade 12 students who are set to sit for their national exams in November this year.
• We held our annual general meeting for both primary school (held on 13th May) and high school (held on 18th June). A total of 632 parents/guardians (380 primary and 272 high school) attended the meeting. It was a very fruitful, interactive meeting and we look forward to starting implementing the resolutions that were reached.
• This term we carried out recruitment for our kindergarten class and we recruited a total of 29 pupils. We also took in 86 students to fill in available openings in the other grades.
• We were excited to have 121 students join our high school from all MOHI centers. The most exciting team for us was the 14 girls who came from MOHI’s rural  Kargi center and the seven who came from the rural muslim area of Bura.
• We are thankful that 174 students (59 boys and 115 girls) have gotten to spend time at the Angaza Discovery Camp. They came back and reported that it was a life-changing experience for them and they now have a greater commitment to reading the Word of God and to prayer.
• Every third Saturday of the month, the Ignite Spiritual program happened for our grades 6-8 and it was very well received by all our students.

• During this busy visitor season we have been so blessed to be visited by so many MOHI partners wanting to see our boarding school. They toured our campus and interacted with our students, including playing football with them, teaching them their songs and dances, joining us for church services and even providing special treats of burgers and sodas! We are so thankful for our time with our friends from Calvary Church of Pacific Palisades, Rainier View Christian Church, Westside Christian Church, Pathway Christian Church, Snyder Memorial Baptist Church and Eastside Christian Church.
• From 10th to 12th June, we had 35 local missionaries from CITAM Clay spend a weekend with our girls. They showed Christian movies and there was also a live performance of a Christian play. They preached and offered mentorship to our girls both in primary and high school.

• Pray that our 474 unsponsored students will get sponsors.
• Pray for the continued success, good health and general well-being of all our students, their families and our staff members.
• Pray for the provision of resources to enable us to complete our unfinished projects such as the high school classrooms and the dormitories.