My son, Chase started preschool this September. Living in Princeton, New Jersey where education is highly valued, my husband and I had an abundance of schooling options available to us. Public, Montessori, private cooperative and non-cooperative, bilingual, religious, and other preschool opportunities abound (particularly, in the case of private preschools, for families with considerable means).

I was stunned by the plethora of options and, admittedly, slightly overwhelmed with the decision. That is, until I remembered that we were talking about preschool, and that multitudinous children around the world lack access to any educational opportunities.Even without a profusion of academic choices, I take the education of my children for granted. I expect that they will have access to high quality public education. If public school proves to be an inferior learning environment for whatever reason, I assume that I will have excellent schooling alternatives from which to choose. The belief underlying the expectation that my children will have access to quality education is that education is a basic right, which the country and community in which I live will uphold.For the children living in Kenya’s Mathare slum community, having access to education, much less high performing schools, cannot be assumed and is not treated as a basic human right. With only two operating public schools for a population of 600,000 people, countless children are out of school, idle, and much less likely to escape the cycle of poverty than their educated peers. With an average daily income of between $.50 and $1.00, parents do not have the luxury that I have in accessing education apart from limited availability in the public schools. For the children God created and is for in Mathare, education is a privilege, not a fundamental right.I would do anything to protect and provide for my children, to enable them to learn, grow up in a healthy and loving environment, and join with God in bringing shalom to the world. I cannot imagine shouldering the daily burden my brothers and sisters in Mathare carry of not having the resources to nourish their children, let alone access educational opportunities ostensibly out of reach. Theirs is a reality far from the comparative life of privilege, affluence, and opportunity in which my children were born. I grieve upon imagining not being able to provide my children with the opportunity to reach their potential due to lack of assets, including food, income, education, health care, and a strong network of support.However, the seemingly indomitable reality of poverty in Mathare is far from hopeless. Recognizing that education is central to breaking the cycle of poverty, eduKenya partners with the community and local church to provide high quality, sustainable, Christ-centered education for children who would otherwise remain uneducated. I am grateful for the opportunity to come alongside brothers and sisters in Mathare to help their children access the same opportunities I desire for my children.

Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” and my involvement with eduKenya is one way I work toward ending the injustice of slum life, including lack of education, for the beloved children of Mathare. I believe along with Martin Luther King Jr. that the reality of justice and wellbeing for my children is tied to that of children everywhere, including those living in oft forgotten places like Mathare.Jesus said that he came to give life to the full. The life that Jesus offers is marked by transformative love, peace, justice, grace, mercy, and joy. One in which we know deep in our bones that we are called beloved and redeemed. One in which our lives have purpose in bringing about God’s shalom on earth. One in which the oppressed are set free and the radical sharing of our resources and lives transforms both the rich and poor. I yearn for my children and children everywhere to experience this fullness of life offered by Jesus. I am grateful to God for the eduKenya team – staff and financial partners – joining God to bring fullness of life to the beloved children of Mathare, as I believe that the lives of my children are bound, in Jesus, to theirs.Elizabeth Hopfinger-ThompsonUS Vision Team/International BoardeduKenya