Happy New Year! We are filled with anticipation at what 2014 will hold, the ways we will witness God transform the lives of children and their families living in extreme poverty.As we look forward to the future, we are reminded of how God has been faithful in the past year. Through peaks and valleys, triumphs and challenges, God continued to guide and refine us. Deuteronomy 8:2 says, “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way.” Before we forge ahead into 2014, we want to remember with gratitude how God led us and used our work to minister to His beloved children in Mathare.Here are our top 10 highlights of 2013:10. Expanded Partnerships. We were blessed to work with many generous partners, including Kijabe Children’s Education Fund, Rotary International, Kenya Smiles, Spunsor, SoCo Hammocks, Penya Africa, One Laptop per Child, many generous churches and other groups. We are deeply grateful for these partners, who helped to feed and educate our students, provide access to information and expanded educational opportunities, improve our students’ health, raise awareness of our work around the world and much more!9. Classroom Sponsorship & Ambassadors Programs. We launched two exciting new programs to help you stay better connected to the children we serve. Classroom Sponsorship is a program that maximizes your monthly giving by leveraging the gifts of other sponsors to educate an entire class of children for the year. The Ambassadors Team is a volunteer group that helps you harness your time, talents and influence to improve the lives of children and their families in Mathare.8. Sustainability & Documentary Videos. If you haven’t watched these videos, stop reading and go watch them here and here! We are very thankful to Ryan Thomas for videography, Njeri Gould for editing and production and Reagan Lodenyo for assistant shooting. These videos are powerful tools for sharing the stories of children and their families in Mathare, and what we are doing to help them rise out of poverty.7. First Annual Sports & Awards Days. The first annual Sports Day was a major highlight for the students as they competed in field events such as discus, high jump, long jump and many others. It was exciting to have a special day set aside to focus on teamwork, learn about healthy competition and build school spirit. The Awards Giving Day at the end of the year was another highlight, as students received awards and reflected on their many achievements over the past year.6. The Giving Gallery. Our incredibly generous friends at Hoffer Photography created The Giving Gallery to support our work while providing gorgeous images for purchase. This innovative online gallery features stunning photographs donated by acclaimed photographers around the world. When you purchase a canvas wrapped image, 100% of the proceeds are donated to eduKenya. While the gallery is open year round, each image is only available for 30 days. Start your year off right with beautiful images on your walls to inspire your journey!5. Technology in the Classroom. We received over 30 Kindle e-readers thanks to the fundraising efforts of high school student, Jack Ryan! Our students now have access to endless electronic books. They have also been blessed with the opportunity to learn on laptop computers because of the generosity of Kijabe Children’s Education Fund/One Laptop per Child. The opportunity to have these electronic teaching devices in the classroom took teaching and learning to a whole new level this year.4. Exceptional Academics. Our students continued to receive excellent grades on their tests in comparison to other schools in the region, proving that the Kwa Watoto School remains one of the best primary schools. We are proud of our students for their hard work and of our teachers who work tirelessly and creatively to teach the next generation of Kenyan leaders.3. Peace Walk. We were incredibly proud of our students when they took to the streets to call for peace ahead of the presidential election in March. Calling themselves Peace Ambassadors, they carried banners, sang songs and marched through Mathare. The students concluded the walk by singing songs and reciting poems as part of a concert headlined by award winning artist Eric Wainaina and other well-known Kenyan artists. Their prayers were answered, as the election was mostly peaceful.2.Sixth Graders off to Boarding School. Our beloved sixth grade students graduated from the Kwa Watoto School in December and will continue their education at a distinguished partner boarding school outside the slum. While sad to see them go, we are thrilled they have the opportunity to continue receiving a high quality education. We are especially grateful that they will be less vulnerable to dangerous elements, such as violent gangs and prostitution rings, which are rampant in the slum. Please pray for the students and their families during this transition time.1. Purchased Land to Build New School. The top highlight of 2013 is that, thanks to your generosity, we were able to purchase two plots of land to build a new, more spacious school in one plot and a second investment property in the second plot. We are thrilled to report that the excavation and building of the new school will begin soon, funded by a highly generous private gift. Our current school building is unsustainable due to its small size. We look forward to the day – very soon! – when our students have sufficient space to learn, grow and reach their potential.We are deeply grateful for all that 2013 held. Thank you for holding out opportunity and fueling dreams for God’s beloved people of Mathare. We can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in 2014!