A day at Kitoben Orphanage

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Today was such a blessing to reunite with our friends at the Kitoben Orphanage.  We have grown to recognize the children and put names to their faces.  They have grown this year and are all healthy.  The primary school children (grades k-5) are educated at the orphanage.  They now have four teachers devoted to teach the kids.  The secondary school children are in boarding school.  There are now two children that have been accepted to government universities (funded through government loans).  To the kenyans, education is the key to success and moving out of the traditional farming work.  Only the children with the highest grades will be accepted for government loans.  There is much pressure on the children to perform well.  I have seen many secondary school children with psychogenic illnesses.  We have a 15-year-old girl presently in the wards with psychogenic paralysis of her legs.  In one weeks time I have also seen at least four to five girls with loss of voice - all related to stress.

The "parents" of the orphans are Godly praying people.  They rely on God's provision in such a beautiful way.  Their vision now is to build a brick classroom area to expand the teaching areas.  It would also serve as a new dining hall.   Presently their dining hall is too small to house all the children for a meal and this becomes an issue during the rainy season.  It is so encouraging to see how God has fulfilled so many of their needs and visions.  One beautiful answer to prayer is Samwel Jr. who has completed university training in electrical engineering and has moved to Eldoret (four hours north) to open a small repair shop.  His shop is thriving and he is looking to expand.  He envisions opening a satellite office in Bomet and training one of the older orphans to join him.  This could ultimately provide much needed income for the orphanage.

We also delivered a suitcase full of donated flip-flops to the children. They were so grateful!!
Flip-Flops collected & donated by the staff at Chase's office


Some Kitoben Children


We loved our time catching up with each other. It was good to encourage them in this work.  They are blessed by us traveling from so far to see them.  They want us to come home and share their story.
Below enjoy a short video of these precious children.




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