I Have Arrived!

It was a long, long, long flight, but finally on Monday evening I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya. ( Can you find where I am on the map?) Kenya is 8 hours ahead of Minnesota, so I am now getting used to the time change. (Can you figure out what time it is in Kenya right now?)

It has rained every day I have been here, which is okay because it is so hot and the flowers are all so beautiful. Kenya is so close to the equator that there are only two seasons—rainy and dry. We are now at the end of the rainy season. Right now I am thinking that 80 degrees and rain beats 30 degrees and snow!

This week I have been at Daystar University in Athi River. Athi River is about 30 minutes outside of the capitol city of Nairobi. The University is located out in the countryside and has about 4,000 students. My church pays the tuition for four students who have been orphaned and could not go to college otherwise.

Yesterday, I was able to spend time with one of the students we support. Her name is Dartiva. In the picture she is the one in the blue dress right next to me. Dartiva’s mother and father both died when she was young, so she lived alone with her brothers. Her life was hard and the family often struggled to get enough food and pay for their school fees. Remember that every student has to pay for their education. School is not free like it is in the United States. So, Dartiva struggled to have enough money to go to school. When she was still in primary school, World Vision began helping her. Her sponsors paid for her to go to school and she was a very good student. Being educated meant everything to her. It meant that she would be able to get a job and provide for herself and her family. She did so well in high school that she was accepted to Daystar University. It was one of the happiest days of her life. My church then decided to pay her tuition so Darvita’s dream could come true.

Darvita is studying Community Development which teaches you how to help communities in need. She will graduate next year and then she wants to go back to Uganda and work for World Vision helping other communities develop solutions to their problems. She wants to help other kids that are orphaned and poor just like she was. Isn’t that great?!

It is exciting that Dartiva has been helped by people that care about kids in need around the world, but there are still other students who do not have anyone to help them. The girl on the far right in the yellow shirt is named Debora. She is smart and gets very good grades, but now has to drop out of college because she cannot pay her tuition. She is working two jobs and trying everything she can but it is not enough. Her mother is very sick and her father has been out of work for some time. Debora told me her story and it made me very sad. It is sad that there are so many smart hardworking kids who will not be able to go to college. I plan on asking the adults I know to help come up with the money to help her. What do you think should be done for students like Debora?

(If you know of anyone who might want to help Debora Omuyaku (student # 05-0247), you can call the US Daystar office at 952-928-2550)

It has been very hard for me to get an internet connection, so it may be some time before I can post another blog entry.

I miss you! Ms. Miller