In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the 50th anniversary of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, we are sharing a series of posts this week to highlight the dreams of children, parents and staff of eduKenya. Today we share the dreams of several students from eduKenya’s Kwa Watoto School.Kwa Watoto is aptly named, meaning “for the children” in Swahili. We exist for the beloved children of the Mathare slum community and are privileged to help them dream of bright and hopeful futures while receiving the education they need to pursue their dreams. We pray that nothing will prevent our students from chasing their dreams - not hunger, disease, violence, lack of resources and opportunity, or any other hindrance.Reverend King said, "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." We are privileged to educate and shape the character of our students, to prepare them to pursue their dreams. Join us in celebrating and praying for these students and their dreams![caption id="attachment_268" align="alignleft" width="128"]

Judy, age 10[/caption]Judy: I have a dream of growing up to be a teacher. I would like to be a teacher because I want to help pupils learn to read and write and to have good lives in the future. I want to be like my teachers at Kwa Watoto School. I make sure that I have done my work well and I listen to instructions from my teachers carefully. All my teachers are good. I trust them because they teach me well. I follow what my teachers tell me to do and so I work hard. They always tell me to be honest. They love me and I also love them. Thank you teachers for teaching me. I am working hard to become a teacher like you.[caption id="attachment_269" align="alignleft" width="128"]

Kelvin, age 9[/caption]Kelvin: My dream is to become a policeman because I want to help Kenya. A policeman helps to maintain law and order. The teachers at my school are helping me learn to be obedient to my leaders and kind to other people. This way I will be a good and caring policeman. I am also learning to concentrate on my studies at school. Concentration helps one to be a good policeman. At school I work hard so that I can reach my dream of being a policeman when I grow up.[caption id="attachment_270" align="alignleft" width="128"]

Mercy, age 11[/caption]Mercy: I have a dream of being a doctor when I grow up so that I can treat sick people. I want to help people not die from illnesses. When I get a lot of money I shall open my own clinic and employ enough nurses to help take care of the sick. I shall be a polite doctor, listening to my patients. To become a good doctor, I listen to my parents and teachers and obey what they tell me. I do the work my teachers give me so that I can learn everything I need to know to become a good doctor.[caption id="attachment_267" align="alignleft" width="128"]

Isaac, age 9[/caption]Isaac: I have a dream of becoming a pilot because I want to take people where they want to go faster. They will feel good when I am taking them where they want to go. I am working hard at school because when you want to be a pilot you have to study hard. My teachers teach me well because they want me to be the best pilot in the whole world. My teacher comes very early in the morning and teaches me about the compass points. I also learn a lot of science and mathematics. To fly an airplane one needs to be well educated and so my teachers are teaching me what I need to know to one day become a pilot.[caption id="attachment_266" align="alignleft" width="128"]

Fidelis, age 11[/caption]Fidelis: I have a dream of becoming a lawyer. To be a lawyer you must work hard in your studies and make sure you have passed your exams. My school is making sure that I work hard so that I can reach my dream of becoming a lawyer. I must finish all my classes and pass my exams so that I will be a good lawyer.Stay tuned tomorrow to celebrate more dreams of students at eduKenya's Kwa Watoto school.