“…you don’t need much to change the entire world for the better. You can start with the most ordinary ingredients. You can start with the world you’ve got.” Pay It Forward, Catherine Ryan Hyde

Ajema Kikuyu-Ngumba delivering books to Millennium Light School

Our 7th grade students spent the first term of 2014 boarding at the Millennium Light School in Chuka, Kenya. After one term at the boarding school, parents and staff became aware that the Mathare students were performing at a much higher level than their peers at the boarding school. Therefore, at the beginning of this term, we brought the 7th grade class back to Kwa Watoto School in Nairobi.Kwa Watoto School has maintained a good relationship with Millennium Light School, and recognizing that God has blessed our school immensely, the staff and students decided, in turn, to bless the boarding school.“Blessed” in Mathare may appear much different from blessed in more financially privileged parts of the world. eduKenya International Board member Tom Friedel visited Kwa Watoto School in November 2013 and reflects on his tour of the school library:[caption id="attachment_1829" align="alignleft" width="327"]

Kwa Watoto school library[/caption]“…most of us would not call this room a library, as it more closely resembles a large closet with shelves holding books and assorted teaching supplies. As I looked around the humble room, I remember wondering how much education can really happen with such meager supplies. Then (the head teacher) said something I will never forget. He looked around the room and with a smile said, ‘How can we not succeed when we have all this?’ His assessment of plenty where I had seen scarcity was humbling.”The staff and students at Kwa Watoto recently decided to Pay-it-Forward out of their “plenty.” They chose to send extra copies of books from their own library to the students at the Millennium Light School in Chuka, 125 miles north of Mathare.On July 3, Mr. Obwora (upper grade teacher and school librarian) and Ajema Kikuyu-Ngumba (Kenya Administrative Director) traveled to the boarding school to deliver two boxes of books. The staff and students at Millennium Light were delighted with their new reading and study materials!We thank God for the outstanding Kwa Watoto School teachers and for the superior level of education that our students receive. Most of all, we are grateful for the godly hearts of teachers and students that desire to bless others as they have been blessed.

Each man should give as he has decided in his heart. He should not give, wishing he could keep it. Or he should not give if he feels he has to give. God loves a man who gives because he wants to give. 2 Corinthians 9:7