Kariobangi

Term 3, 2021

We thank God for helping us complete this school term. We are grateful for your support and partnership as we continue working together within the Kariobangi community to transform lives through the hope of Christ! God bless you. Here are some of the successes and highlights we want to share with you.

Blessings,
Winfred Mwikali,
Headteacher, Kariobangi

Total Enrolled: 387 students
Total Unsponsored: 69 students

*Belinda joined the Kariobangi center as a kindergarten pupil at the beginning of the year 2020. 

Her father had just passed away and the relatives had taken everything of value that the family had before the father died. Left with three children to take care of, her mother sought refuge at her brother’s place but without a source of income, the family’s living standards were really bad.

We came to know about the family through a referral from a community health worker who lives near them. A visit to the home revealed a family in a hopeless state. The house was dirty and disorganized, the children had wounds and bruises they allegedly got while fighting with their peers, they were malnourished, wore tattered clothes and despite being of school-going age – they were not enrolled in any school since the mother could not afford it. The mother confessed to feeling hopeless, depressed, and unable to take care of her children’s needs. She was also having suicidal thoughts from time to time.

Our school social worker began counseling and encouraging the mother on how to cope with depression. The school social worker linked her to some community women who connected her to manual jobs of cleaning and doing laundry where she started to earn some little income. The social worker continued conducting regular home visits to train the mother on the hygiene and nutrition of the children and the general cleanliness of their home.

In May 2021, Belinda’s mother got a job at a nearby community and this changed the family fortunes. She moved from her brother’s house and is now able to pay her own house rent and meet the children’s basic needs. Two of her children are in the MOHI program and she is able to pay the commitment fee as well as ensure the children come to school looking clean and well kept. With support from the social worker, she was able to identify a local church and she participates in church activities where she receives spiritual guidance and nourishment.

Belinda is settling well into school and there is a great improvement in her health. The two nutritious meals she gets at school help to supplement what her mother is now able to provide. She actively interacts with her peers and is a jovial student who aspires to be a nurse in the future.

*Name changed

• Our Scouts Club continues to grow and we are happy to see them now ready to have a camp-out.
• Children from the communities we serve often deal with illnesses that hamper their overall growth. We were grateful to have them receive screening and treatment this term. We see this as being a long-term solution that will break the disease cycle in our community.
• We are grateful to have a functional mentorship program that is having a positive impact on our students. The peer-to-peer guidance and counseling as well as the training sessions are making a difference in these students’ lives.

• A team of doctors from the US, in conjunction with pastors from Christ’s Church of the Valley – Arizona toured our center. They screened and treated 250 students focusing on common conditions seen in the community such as malnutrition, anemia, respiratory infections and dental cases.
• Our staff members also benefited from this team’s medical expertise during a week-long staff-only medical camp held at MOHI’s Pangani center. 

• Pray for the families we serve that God may heal those who are bedridden due to illnesses and that He will also provide jobs for those who are jobless.
• Pray for the Kariobangi community as a whole that as we continue to share the love of Christ, more lives shall be transformed.
• It is our desire that our students will enjoy good health and have a bright future. Join us as we pray for them and also for our staff as they work with these children every day.