Meet George

(Left to right: Joseph, George and Alfred)

“Little George,” (as he is known to me) is a charmer. This has made his life as a street boy very comfortable. I first started seeing him around on the streets about a month into my first visit to Kenya. He was kicked out of school because his shoes had holes. In the street he always insisted that he wanted to go back to school but always had a huge smile on his face and was obviously having too much fun. He spent a few minutes on the street asking for money and once he had enough for the day he was off to play pool, or playstation, or watch a movie. George is so charismatic that people ENJOY it when he asks them for money. It reminds me of the Tom Brady Saturday Night live Sexual harassment video…which if you haven’t seen check it
here.

After a couple weeks George was able to get some shoes and go back to school. Two weeks later he was out again saying that his uniform was too ratty and he had been kicked out. Despite the fact that George probably made more money begging in a day than the average manual laborer he never went back to school. He was always just playing pool. We had many serious talks about the importance of school and he seemed like he understood. During tutoring sessions he always showed up, and paid lots of attention. I knew however that he needed to be sent to school out of town, otherwise the pull from the streets would be too much for him and he would likely run away.

Ill Polei Primary (the same school that Alfred and Joseph go to) agreed to let me bring kids from town to their rural school and in exchange we agreed that I would create scholarships for three of their poorest student at the school to become boarding students. Rural students are one of the most important demographics to target when it comes to education. Uneducated rural children in the best of circumstances stay at home and do what their families have done for generations. In the worst of cases (such as the drought that we are experiencing now) they are forced to venture into cities in search of employment or food. Their lack of education and street smarts make them easy targets for the people in the city and they often become the most vulnerable of street kids. Educated rural students often return to their villages and use their knowledge to improve the circumstances for their whole community. This is why rural education is so important to me, and why this situation was more than just a compromise for me, it was a win-win.

A British woman from town named Marisa heard that I was sending George to school and offered to help find some of the things he needed. She recruited her friends and in a week we had donations for almost everything he needed to go to school!

(Thank you to Marisa and Friends, pictured here with George)

George has also found his own sponsors! Some students from an American University met George and decided to sponsor him. George wasn’t quite ready to go to school at that time, and the students left soon after, but we have stayed in touch and they are looking forward to sponsoring him!

(George at Il Polei school showing off his skills as an acrobat)

Richard

(Part of the former Main Street Gang, from left to right, Joseph, George, David and Richard)

Richard is one of the first street boys I met in Nanyuki. I have always been impressed with his bright demeanor despite the fact that he has been in the streets for many years. He has always avoided doing glue because he says "if you do glue, the other kids see you and (they) will go do it". In order to make money he begs or carries water from the river to local businesses. At age 16 he is truly a positive role model to the other street kids. His primary caretaker is his grandmother who is unemployed and responsible for the well being of eight grandchildren. She is a sweet woman and when I met her she invited me in and showed me the death certificate for Richards mother who had been killed in a car accident.

I had hoped that Richard would be the first of the boys to join Alfred in School. At the tutoring sessions however, he showed a lack of concentration. Eventually he started forgetting his books and saying he would come "next time". After years being out of school it was obvious that Richard had lost either the interest or the concentration required for academics.

When I returned to Kenya from my trip to the US I was sad to find out that Richard was no longer in Nanyuki. Often the street kids will disappear, most of the time just relocating to a new place where they might find better luck. Sometimes however the kids disappear because they are arrested, have an accident, or are sometimes kidnapped. I was hopeful for the best, but you never know.

Two months later Richard returned. He had been in Malindi on the coast because his grandmother was ill. I decided that while he was here I wouldn't let the opportunity to help him pass me by. Richard (with help from some of his educated friends) has turned in a business proposal to me. If he has a bicycle he will be able to bring water to many more businesses per day. He estimates that with a bike he should be able to make over 100 shillings per day. This is easily enough money for him to live on, while paying back the loan for the bicycle. He will be getting his bicycle in the next couple weeks and starting his new life as a working man.

This past month I have been collaborating with the Danish NGO ActionAid (formerly MS) which has a platform located on Daraja's campus. I worked with some of their volunteers to create a series of videos on the street kids and their lives. This video is about Likii Village the area that accounts for about 70% of the street children in Nanyuki. It is also the proposed location of the kitchen project I am trying to implement. Richard (who is from Likii) is featured predominately in the video and watching it is a good way to see what he is all about. The video is intended to be an amateur introduction to the issues, it was made in one day and has some sound problems so don't be too hard on it!

Special thanks to: Marie Lunau, Ida Peterson, Simone Bakke, Ida Marie Odgaard for making a great film!

Alfred's brother Joseph

It has been such a long time since I have written that I don’t even know where to start. The past month has been a busy and productive one, but also a difficult one for me concerning technology. I have had to deal with two of my most vital possessions (my phone and computer) breaking, and my most entertaining possession (my Ipod) being stolen. I have concluded that this is just part of life, and a part that ultimately reminds me that material possessions aren't that important.

Upon reaching Kenya, this most recent time, I received two pieces of good news from Alfred. The first is that he was no longer just first in his class. His latest test results had propelled him to being first in his entire district for his grade level. This is obviously a huge achievement and if he continues to do this well he can hope to get a scholarship to a top Kenyan high school.

The second piece of good news was that his brother Joseph had been released from a juvenile detention facility. Two years before he had been picked up off the street by police and sent to this facility. He was eleven years old and had committed no crime except for not being able to afford food and therefore leaving school. He attended school at the facility but most of the time the teachers did not. After being released from the facility he was again left up to his own devices and forced to find food on the street.

Joseph and his Father

I was very familiar with his family and his situation and after some study sessions with him I was thoroughly convinced that he was interested in going back to school. I was able to sponsor him without too much trouble and as of last week he had joined his brother at Il Polei Primary School.

Joseph (left) is joined by his brother Alfred on his first day of school

You Are a Philanthropist

 

(Local orphan boys sitting in front of the Daraja sign)

Recently I have been reading about the push to get billionaires to donate half their fortune to charity led by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Most recently 17 billionaires have signed up, pledging to give at least half of their fortune to charity either during their lifetime or after their death.  I am extremely encouraged by this.  This is a necessary step in the right direction.

The fact that these people are Billionaires is great because it means a HUGE amount of money will be going to charity to help make this world a better place.  More important than the money however is the mindset.  Every person should be making sacrifices and giving back.  Not just billionaires.  The fact is, speaking practically, for those billionaires having  500 million dollars is not a lot different than having billion dollars.  Either way you have more money than you know what to do with.  Not much of a sacrifice…but its a step in the right direction.  Reminds me of both a Chris Rock quote and a passage from the bible (both of which you will find at the end of this rant).

A more important step I think is getting the average person thinking like this.  I don’t mean giving away half of what you have.  For most of us this isn’t practical at all, its hard enough making ends meet.  The goal is to changing our way of thinking.  We should all be doing our part to make this world a better place.  This could be choosing NOT to spend $300 on a handbag and instead donating the money to charity, taking the money you would be spending on a pair of jeans and sending a child to school, or just spending one day a month volunteering at a local soup kitchen.

I am willing to bet that if you are the type of person who is willing to read through this whole boring blog about philanthropy you are also the type who will feel your life enriched by empowering yourself to help others. 

Check out the Giving Pledge.

Donate to Daraja Academy

Or Help me with my project with the Nanyuki Street boys.

 

“If Bill Gates woke up one day with Oprah money he would jump out a ****ing window”

-Chris Rock

The Widow’s Offering

⁴¹ Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. ⁴² But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.

⁴³ Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. ⁴⁴ They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”

Mark 12:41-44 (New International Version, ©2010)

Joseph Geoffrey

I met Joseph at the beginning of my first trip to Kenya.  He was one of the street boys on the main street of Nanyuki. 

He is notable, because at 18 he is a little bit older than most of the other boys.   He has also abstained from glue use which is no small feat for a street boy of his age.

Joseph has been out of school for a really long time and the idea of him going back was quickly ruled out as an option  because of his age and lack of academic interest.

Joseph does have some marketable skills however.  His father was a shoe repairman and before he died he taught Joseph how to repair shoes.   The death of his father left him with nothing but a large family to support. He immediately took to the street begging for money and food everyday. 

Upon becoming close with his group of friends I was made aware that he had the skills to polish and repair shoes, he only lacked the equipment.

After consulting with social workers and verifying his claim I gave him a small loan (he never actually touched the money but I got him the equipment) to start up his shoe repair business.  A loan which he is slowly repaying.

Four months later (after I returned to Kenya) I had a chance to go by his stand and found him busy repairing shoes.  He is not going to make a lot of money doing this, but he earns enough to support himself and contribute to the well being of his family.  He has gone from standing on the street everyday asking for handouts, to supporting himself.

(Joseph at his post)

The difference in his appearance was noticeable.  He has gained confidence and as he explained “I am working hard everyday”.

He has ambitious plans to build an awning over his bench so he can continue working even when it rains.  I am proud to know him.

Welcome Back!

My flight landed in Nairobi at 2am but my internal clock told me it was 3pm.  About 26 hours before I had boarded a United plane and began a multi-continent journey which led me from San Francisco, through Germany, Turkey and finally to Nairobi.  

I would have liked to start my journey to Daraja, but instead I checked into a hotel, mostly because Nairobi isnt the safest city for a foreigner to travel after dark, and matatus don’t leave until its light anyway.  As my cab driver said “they see you, a Mzungu, and they will come to beat you…they will even come to beat me.”  Awesome.

After a solid four hours of sleep and what promised to be my last warm shower for some time I appeared on the streets of Nairobi, ready to meet my destiny.

On my way to the bank I came to a large road and looked both ways before crossing.  While crossing I saw a man waving wildly at me, pointing.  He didn’t really look familiar to me so I just smiled politely.  People in Kenya are so friendly, I thought to myself.  It started to dawn on me that he is probably gesturing to someone behind me.  I spin around trying to avoid obvious embarrassment only to come face to face with a van going 50 MPH, mere feet away from me.  Naturally, it responds as vehicles in Kenya do when faced with pedestrians- SPEEDS UP.

I jump out of the way and feel the woosh of air around me as it misses me by literally inches.  I look back at the man to thank him for the warning, but he has long since gone on his way, and is probably unaware of my fate.

I look around hoping to find someone who witnessed the moment and could share it with me in a glance.  The throngs of people were unimpressed.  Motorists try to kill pedestrians in Kenya everyday.  I didn’t even get hit.  They think my close scrape with death is pathetic.

Mental note: People drive on the other side of the road here.  Welcome back.

(Nairobi intersection)

Il Polei Primary School

(Il Polei Primary School’s main building)

The next day a group of us hailed a sand truck to take us up the dirt road to visit Alfred at Il Polei primary school.  It is about an hour drive, and drives through animal conservancies on the way.  Seeing gazelles and giraffes is automatic, but sometimes you can see elephants, buffalo,  hyenas and Rhinos.  Lions and leopards exist there but stay well hidden and away from the roads for the most part so I have yet to see them on the way.

(Giraffe, on the way to Il Polei)

These sand trucks are a cheap, adventurous way of traveling but sometimes the speed at which they travel over the terrible dirt roads makes me question the safety factor.  Sometimes they lurch one way or the other so far that I can feel the truck tipping over and start preparing to fall out of it/die.

Il Polei is almost completely made up of Massai and once we arrive there the little Swahili that we have picked up is even more useless than it was before (and it was pretty useless before).

The sand truck let us off in the middle of town. The walk to Il Polei primary is about ten minutes from the center of town and after getting past the concrete and stone buildings that make up the town you pass a few authentic massai shambas (a family group of huts usually surrounded by acacia thorns to keep domesticated animals in, and predatory animals out) and an intense sandy ravine that I have only seen dry. 

Il Polei is a little bit off the beaten path and foreigners are relatively uncommon.  This makes a group of wazungu travelling through quite a spectacle.   All eyes were on us.  One group of ten kids was entranced by us and wouldn’t let us pass until I had touched all of their hands.  Another child was so scared of me that whenever I looked his way he screamed and ducked for cover behind his dad.

The school itself is rather magical.  I don’t know if its just magical to me because it was a place that came out of nowhere and offered salvation for this boy, or if other people have the same feeling about it.  It is on the tall side of a hill which overlooks a beautiful valley and becomes an uninhabitable mountain just beyond the school.

As we walked up the crest of the hill some students spotted us, some of them ran away to tell their friends, and others shouted greetings to us.   We continued towards the main building and bounding towards us in full uniform with a gigantic smile was Alfred!  After seeing that smile, all of my worries went away. 

(Alfred’s best friend in Il Polei is the brother of a Daraja student!)

Alfred had been there for only two weeks so I was just hoping that he was getting along with people, getting adjusted and so forth.  I was not at all prepared for the next thing that was coming.  “I am first in my class,” he said.  It really didn't register, or I didn’t believe it.  His only complaint about the school was the food.  “We just eat Maize plain,” he said.   PLAIN?  Poor kid.

Soon he came back from school for vacation and there in his hand were his test results:  NUMBER ONE IN HIS CLASS.  1/52 STUDENTS.  This was beyond my wildest dreams.  I knew he was a smart kid but this was incredible!  Just a little bit of work turned a street boy with no prospects into the number one student in his class, out of 52!  This had a profound effect on me, and while I do not expect the same result from other kids, I cannot stand by and do nothing while they sit in the streets. 

UPDATE:

Alfred has completed his second term at school and is STILL RANKED #1.  I am told that if he continues to perform at this level until he graduates he may be able to get a full scholarship to a good private high school!