Samuel Santam is 6 years old. He lives with his mother, three sisters, and four brothers. He has no father, who died when his mother was four months pregnant. They all live with their grandmother. She is in old age, sick and very weak. A year ago, she broke her leg and became even more dependent on others.
Samuel’s mother usually goes to the nearest town to sell tea and chapatis (fried cakes) on the market. With the proceeds, she buys food and other necessities for her children. Samuel started coming to my school because his mother has no money to send him to a public school. When the boy received his first shoes donated by you, he was so happy. He also received a school uniform as a gift. There was no end to his joy because he had never received anything like it. Some children, unlike Samuel, are from wealthier families. Their parents are able to pay for their lunch, school fees, and benefits.
After the opening of the school, only a part of the children came to class. A week later, I saw all my students. We are allowed to work from 5 AM to 6 PM since we are not indoors. According to the terms of the quarantine, we are prohibited from going outside at night. I am glad that the children are happy to be in school again. Thank you so much for the support of our children. May God bless and reward you!
Because of the coronavirus, we had to close the school. As you know, I taught in the church building all these years. I have two classes and I separate the small children from adult children. It has been a difficult time for me. Inside the building, there is the church inventory and a generator that poses a risk due to the fuel in it. It’s hard for me to teach some children inside while watching the others who are outside at the same time.
There was a case when one little boy remembered his mother and went home. Without a word, he suddenly disappeared. When his sister went on a break, she realized that her brother was gone. I called everyone who was nearby to help, after some time, we found him lost in the bushes. Since that time, I regularly go outside and see if all the children are still there. Having a separate building with two or three classes is my dream. When I teach in one class, other children will be able to learn to write or solve math problems in the other class.
Students from poor families come to class. Getting lunch at school is not easy for them. Some have livestock, while others have nothing. Most of these children are raised by one parent. Their mothers depend on beadwork. Due to the virus, they are forced to stay at home and cannot sell their beads in the Masai market. They have no livelihood. This is a very difficult time for my students. Do not forget us in your prayers!
Esther is six years old. She lives in southern Kenya in the Masaai tribe. After a severe, prolonged illness, the family lost their father. Now the mother is forced to raise their daughter alone. Esther has two brothers and two sisters. Both sisters are married. Now she lives with her mother and two brothers in a small hut.
Esther’s life is like many of her peers associated with livestock and beadwork. This is the main source of income. There is no work in these remote villages, and so the products, souvenirs, and necklaces that they make, they have to sell on the side of the road. With the proceeds, her mother buys everything necessary for everyday life.
Esther has her responsibilities in the house. She collects firewood, washes dishes, and regularly carries drinking water in a 5-liter (1.3 gallons) container. Esther loves school, loves to sing. She is a smart talkative girl, good at reading and writing. Due to their poverty, the mother cannot give her food for lunch in school. I have more than 20 children in the classroom and in order to provide lunch for them during the month I need an extra $200. Thank you for participating in the life of my students.
We thank God for all the good that He has done for us. The school is doing well. After the holidays, we opened on Monday, January 6, 2020. We thanked God because He sent us rain and all the grass was green. We don’t need to worry about how to feed our livestock at the moment
School attendance is pretty good. My children are all grateful for their school uniforms and shoes. Last year, we bought part of the uniform. Now we bought the remaining sweaters, shirts and ties. We really appreciate your support. May the Lord bless you all. As you can see in the pictures, my children are very happy.
Now in the community, many parents want their children to go to school, but I do not have a second separate room for the other class. This is one of the main problems that I am facing today.
I also have an assistant, a teacher – this is a young man who received secondary education last year. He will be able to teach in primary school. Everything depends on the second room. Pray for this so that the Maasai school can grow!
It was a holiday! But not only for children. Mercy invited all parents to school so that they could thank together for these new uniforms! Thank you very much to everyone who sacrificed and prayed for a school in Kenya.
Children at school never had uniforms before. Many of them received new clothes for the first time in their life! In the Maasai tribe, school is traditionally not a priority. The government needs to convince parents, to send their children to school. In our school, which we opened several years ago, we have more than 20 students.
Mercy, as the wife of a pastor, is not just a teacher, but also a mentor. She can pray with the children and invite non-believing parents to the ministry!
Thank you all for your open hearts to the Maasai tribe!
Here in Maasai, people depend on livestock such as goats, cows, sheep and donkeys. This is their favorite work. When a baby is born, the first thing it learns is to simply graze cattle. Many Maasai do not know that children should go to school! I was lucky, because in my family, I was the only girl who went to school. My father had five wives and my mother was his first wife. She gave birth to nine children. I was not even seven years old when my father approved that I can go to school.
I finished eighth grade in 1995 and wanted to continue my education. But my father decided for me to get married. He called a friend and said: “if you have a boy who is ready to marry, then I have a wife for him.” In our tribe you cannot disobey what your father says and in 1996, at the age of 14, I married Morris Ntikoysa. He was not a pastor at the time but was a born-again Christian. I gave birth to our first son named Francis, after one year into the marriage. Then a girl Esther, a boy Boniface, a girl Sylvia and the last girl Everin. In 2004, my husband was ordained for a pastoral ministry. We had a very difficult life, barely enough food to survive, but God helped us in everything. Thanks to your support, all my children are doing well at school. One boy is even a scout commander. Girls are studying very well.
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for opening a new school in our tribe, where I can teach children the alphabet and their native language!
