Namarei

Term 1, 2022

We give praise to the Lord for helping us come to the end of another school term. Thank you for your support and continued partnership as we work together to transform lives through the hope of Christ. Below are some of the successes and highlights we want to share with you.

Blessings,
Benard Muthi Misembo,
Headteacher, Namarei

Total Enrolled: 195 students
Total Unsponsored: 194 students

*Jack is a jovial 13-year-old who happens to be a kindergarten student at the Namarei center.  Given his age, Jack should ideally be in grade seven and he is much older than his classmates and really stands out from them because he is bigger in stature.

This, however, does not dampen his resolve to attain an education because it is even a miracle that he is in school in the first place. His father had designated him as the family’s herder and his life was meant to be out in the pastureland, not in a classroom. His mother was, however, of a different mind and it was through her assistance that we were able to recruit Jack in 2021.

Jack comes from a polygamous home and his mother is the second wife so it took some days before his father realized that Jack was not herding. He immediately came to the school threatening to forcefully eject the boy from there. He vowed to denounce Jack and his siblings – who had also joined the school – if they did not get out of the school. Jack had no choice but to give in to his father’s demands. To ensure the boy did not return, his father had Jack live with the first wife so she could keep an eye on him. In the meantime, Jack returned to the pastureland.

This arrangement, however, did not last for long because Jack still greatly desired to be in school. He managed to escape, made his way back to his mother’s house, and promptly resumed his studies. It did not take long before his father came storming into the social worker’s office; furious that his son was back to school and blaming us for allegedly colluding with Jack’s mother to take the boy out of his care. The man was so angry that he was sobbing in bitterness. The social worker managed to get this man’s emotions under control and after a lengthy talk, Jack’s father agreed to have a joint family meeting to discuss the boy’s fate.

The meeting day came and was attended by the headteacher, the social worker, Jack’s parents, the area government official and one of the village elders who is a cook at the school. We had a lengthy discussion and the father’s stance remained that he wanted the boy out of school or he would disown him while the mother wanted her son to have an education. The man would not budge even when the government official tried to talk to him, he remained unmoved and would not relent. The meeting ended without a solution. 

We, however, did not give up and the social worker, together with the government official continued to talk to Jack’s father to change his mind. On his part, Jack kept sneaking into school without his father’s knowledge. Finally, the social worker’s persistence and the fact that Jack would not stop going to school no matter what threats were issued wore down this man’s resolve. He agreed to have the child go to school and even pledged to support where necessary.

Jack is now happily in school and no longer has to hide. He is actively involved in all school activities and he is always clean and dressed in the proper uniform. He has indeed transformed from a herder to a schoolboy and his dream is to become an advocate who fights for children’s rights.

*Name changed

• This term we were able to rescue a young girl who had been marked for marriage by her parents. The family home is 43 miles away from the center and this girl trekked to her grandmother’s home which is 6 miles away from us. The social worker was informed about her and we were able to obtain consent from the village elders – in the absence of her parents – to take her on as a student. It has taken a lot of guidance and counseling to have the girl emerge from the trauma she endured into a lively young girl. We are glad to see these changes and see her happily interacting with others and keeping up with her academics. Her father has also come around to accepting that his daughter should remain in school. This was a major win for us this term!
• A group of 76 boys and girls graduated from kindergarten and they will be joining grade one at the start of the next academic year which will be starting on April 25th, 2022.
• We were able to plant 200 seedlings of the Neem tree variety. This is the best tree to plant given our harsh climatic conditions because it needs very little water to grow. We look forward to planting even more trees once we have our own source of water.

• We were pleased to have Crossroads Christian Church visit us this term. They collected video footage from our school and also interacted with students and teachers. They also held a prayer session praying for the sponsorship of our 194 students.

• Pray for our students as they break for the long holiday, that they will stay safe and be in good health.
• Pray for the additional construction of classrooms as well as staff and student bathrooms.
• We have 194 unsponsored students, please pray for their sponsorship.
• We need our own source of water at the school. Pray for the funds to dig a borehole.
• Our county has had some insecurity challenges. Pray for security and that the community members will live at peace with each other.