Mitangoni

Term 2, 2022

Praise Jesus! We thank God for His protection from the start of the term till the end. Here are some of the successes and highlights we want to share with you. We are so grateful for your support and partnership as we continue working together to transform lives through the hope of Christ. God bless you.

Blessings,
Rachel Tili, 
Headteacher, Mitangoni

Total Enrolled: 232 students
Total Unsponsored: 224 students

*Zuwena is a grade five student at Missions of Hope Mitangoni center. She has six siblings, two of whom are also students at the center in grade four and kindergarten. Together they live with their parents in the neighboring community and the father is a casual laborer while the mother is a housewife.

Zuwena joined us last year, as a grade four student. We deduced there was a problem at home because the child was not able to concentrate while in class. She looked disturbed and was always crying. Also, she and her siblings looked very unkempt and Zuwena would miss school at least three times a week. The social worker stepped in to find out what was going on by reaching out to the girl.

We learned that Zuwena’s family was going through a hard time because her parents had separated. After the mother left, Zuwena was the one left to care for her younger siblings. She had an older sister – who was in grade eight at the time – but she was of no help because she was always away from home. Her sister ended up becoming pregnant and she tried to terminate the pregnancy while at home which traumatized Zuwena who witnessed it.

When we reached out to the family, we learned that it was Zuwena’s grandmother and uncle who conspired to chase the mother away. The uncle had even threatened to burn her home if she did not leave. Zuwena’s father said he did not have a problem with his wife and that she was free to come back home. We were able to trace the children’s mother and she was willing to come back and continue taking care of her children. To secure her safety upon returning home, she engaged the police and a restraining order was issued. While the family lives in the traditional communal living format – where family members live in very close proximity to each other – the uncle was forbidden from going near Zuwena’s home.

Zuwena’s family is now doing better and as the social worker continues to walk with them, we have seen great improvement. Zuwena is no longer absent from school and both she and her siblings are now well-groomed. Her concentration in class has also improved as have her grades. The social worker has continued counseling sessions with Zuwena and we can see she is getting better each day.

We give God the glory for the transformation witnessed in this family!
*Name changed

• All our academic calendar activities went on as envisioned and we are grateful that there were no interruptions.
• We are especially proud of our grade five students who did a “Farming God’s Way” project and it was very successful.
• Extra curricular activities are now opening up following the easing of COVID protocols. As a result, we were able to hold an athletic competition between grade four and five students. The grade four pupils emerged as the winners.
• We are also very proud of our girls and boys who confidently presented English poems. This is an achievement for them because they could not speak English and used to converse in just their local dialect and in Swahili.

• We were honored to have Christ’s Church of the Valley Senior Pastor and his wife tour our center. They officially launched construction of our school building.
• We also hosted Charles Irion from Project Cure. He surveyed the center for the purpose of starting a clinic. The clinic will really help the entire community because we do not have such a facility nearby.
• We were blessed to have a team from Pathway Church conduct a medical camp at our center. Some 52 patients including staff, students and community members were attended to during the one-day dental camp. They were very happy to receive quality dental care at no cost.

• Pray that our 224  unsponsored students will get sponsors.
• Pray that our community will turn to God and shun some of the cultural, religious beliefs they hold on to.
• Pray for the provision of funds so that we can have the administration and classroom buildings built.