Kargi

Term 4, 2022

Hello team, I salute you in Jesus’ name. We thank God for another term in that we have seen His grace and mercies.  Thank you for all your continued support. We thank God for you. We would like to share with you some of the highlights of this term as we seek to transform lives through the love of Jesus.

Kennedy Cheptek Simatwa

Head Teacher Kargi

Total Enrolled: 550 students
Total Unsponsored: 135 students

*Rita is now 14 years old and comes from a polygamous family. Rita’s mother is her father’s first wife. They live in Dakhane about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from our Kargi Center. Rita’s father took another wife as it is customary in order to have more children. In her family, there are 6 children.

Rita’s elder sister was lucky to have gotten a chance to go to school. Her school fee was, however, paid by her maternal uncle because her father did not want to take his children to school.

Our social workers met Rita in 2020 when she was at home helping her mother with the house chores. Rita talked to the social workers and expressed that she would have liked to go to school, but she had no opportunity to.

Rita was married to a moran (a warrior) man at the age of 10 years old in exchange for some camels. Rita’s father did not take their elder sister’s rebellion of going to school lightly. As a result, Rita was married off quickly so she doesn’t follow in her sister’s footsteps.

Whenever Rita’s husband was away other morans (young eligible warrior men) would bully and harass Rita. Unfortunately, this is common in the community and women are encouraged to be tolerant of this kind of abuse. Being a highly patriarchal society, all marital issues are handled by a council of elderly men who would favor Rita’s husband, and father.

Rita’s marital arrangement and her husband allowing her to be treated that way made Rita very unhappy.  All attempts by our social worker to talk to Rita’s father bore no fruit because he did not want to have to give back the dowry he was given for her. With nothing else to do Rita ran away from her husband’s house to her sister and threatened to kill herself should he force her to go back.

This was when the social workers managed to recruit her into our Kargi Center. Rita is glad to be in school, in a safe environment where her future is her choice. We thank God for MOHI and the opportunity it is giving to young girls in this community.

*Name has been changed.

• We had a successful medical camp. MOHI’s medical staff screened for nutrition and underlying diseases.
• We had a very successful graduation day. Our kindergarten students are now ready to join grade one. We had a colorful graduation congratulating them on their achievement.
• Our staff members went through team building exercises that brought the team together using fun and games.

• Cure International and doctors from Eastside Christian Church had a Medial camp where 30 cases of persons with physical disabilities were attended to including 4 of our students.

• We thank God for our grade 8 and grade 6 classes who sat for their national exams successfully. We pray for God’s blessings over them as they transition to high school and junior high. 
• Thank God with us for our community, the students that we serve, and for our staff members who serve diligently. 
• Pray for the families that God can see them through during this time when they are experiencing drought and famine that has affected the Marsabit region. We pray for rain.