Faith: The power of encouragement can be seen in better futures for the world’s youth

Ten years ago, my world was turned upside down. I returned to Kenya after living in the U.S. for 24 uninterrupted years, only to find the devastating impacts of poverty, AIDS/HIV and corruption. Children from low-income (or no-income) families couldn’t afford high school tuition.

God used a minor incident to get my attention. I visited the home of a man I knew before leaving Kenya. He had passed away. It was on a Thursday, but his youngest son had been suspended from school because of unpaid tuition balance. When I asked the mother what she was to do for him to go back to school, she said, “I am waiting for Monday so that I can go and talk with the principal.” Please note, she wasn’t going to pay, just talk.

Then I asked how much money was needed. The figure I was given will remain in my mind until I am retrieved from this physical form by my maker or I lose my memory. It was exactly the same I was paying per night at my hotel. Without thinking twice, I gave her the money — and witnessed a mother frantically stopping everything she was doing to take her son to school.

I called a colleague from my days in Wyoming and stayed with his family for the remaining days of my visit to Kenya. There were other heartbreaking incidences, including a headline in one of the main newspapers about a mother of six who committed suicide because she wasn’t able to send her daughter to high school.

Until early 2010, I never knew anything about depression. It is a horrible experience to have an emptiness in life. You wake up without a purpose and wonder why you are still here. But it was in that dark hour when God interrupted my life in mysterious ways. I founded Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope to provide vulnerable orphans and other children from poverty-stricken families with high school and university tuition.

Today, more than 1,000 lives of vulnerable children in Kenya have been transformed and given hope for a better future. Many are already living in that better future. Many are teachers. Some are working as medical lab scientists, fighting COVID-19 with other experts worldwide. We have a boarding high school for girls.

All that could never have happened if it were not for two angels in Boise. It was during the darkest hour of my life when a friend called and asked that I go to their office. Together with another friend, they said they were concerned that I was trying to run my Kituku and Associates business while at the same time setting up an organization to help needy children in Kenya.

They felt that if I could focus on setting up the organization, hundreds of thousands would be helped.

What they did after that still brings tears to my eyes. They gave me $7,500 and asked two friends to give me the same amount. There was a condition — that I use the funds to take care of my family and not worry about my business.

I called my representatives in Kenya and told them that we would save and transform lives. Here are some highlights of what has been accomplished in 10 years:

• 270 (179 girls and 91 boys) students are currently sponsored in high school;
• 137 students are currently sponsored in university and vocational training;
• 75 sponsored students have graduated from universities since 2010;
• 10 houses have been built for needy families;
• Blind students at Kangundo Primary School have been supported with mattresses, blankets, bed sheets, walking canes, braille repairs and safe walking paths;
• Constructed Boarding facilities have been constructed for grade 7-8 girls in three primary schools as a measure to protect young girls from early pregnancies and/or forced early marriage;
• More than 1000 girls have been provided with Days for Girls kits, and we have provided books, pens, pencils, rulers and other supplies to more than 10,000 primary school students.

That’s the power of encouragement. It is one of the best gifts you can give to somebody!