What began as a love for working with underprivileged and disadvantaged men, women and children in rural Kenya more than ten years ago has culminated into active involvement in doing similar work in Mathare. Yet it is distinctly different. Now the faces have names I relate with, not statistics I put into the system to determine how well the project is going. Naomi Moraa’s beautiful voice raised up in praise as she sings of God’s Amazing grace brings tears to my eyes; tears of joy not of helplessness. Now I see the potential in the children of Mathare as they stream in through the gates, not the poverty.At the time I joined eduKenya in 2010, I had worked for a non-profit organization in Kakamega, with projects all over western Kenya, Namanga and Kiboko in Eastern Province. Working among the poor was gratifying in its own way, but the thing that was most disturbing for me was the way the children bore the brunt of poverty. Due to poverty they lacked opportunities to change the course of their lives because they were not attending school. Just when I started to do something about it, I had to move back to Nairobi due to illness and other personal reasons at the end of 2007. For two years I asked God where he would have me serve him and one evening I got a call from one of the directors asking if I was still looking for a job. That was how God connected me to eduKenya. The first two years of my service were full of challenges but as He overcame them for me, I was more convinced that this was where God had called me to be. He has grown and stretched me in ways that I could never have imagined. Most of all I have learned to depend on Him every step of the way.Praying about the work of eduKenya in Mathare has become a priority. The needs are many, the work plenty and the workers committed to making God’s vision for the children in Mathare a reality. I oversee the overall day-to-day running of the work in Mathare. For instance as we prepared to start the new term, it was my responsibility to see that we had the finances to get provisions for the school before the term began. With the help of Eric, the accountant, we determine how much we would like to spend without giving too little to the students yet still keeping our overheads as low as possible. I also work closely with the head-teacher, the support staff, the home-based care coordinator and the skills training tutors so that the operations flow seamlessly. I have a weekly planning meeting with the Kenya Director and the Chairperson of Kwa Watoto Project Trust every Tuesday, and another with the accountant and head teacher every Thursday. Between Eric and I, we manage the project finances and make periodic reports to the US administrator. The highlight of my day is when I see the children healthy and happy, eager to learn so that they have a chance to be the ones making a difference in their generation. I know deep within my heart that this is what God has called me to, and I am humbled that He can use someone like me.Ajema Kikuyu-NgumbaeduKenya Project Coordinator/Kenya Administrative Director