Posts Tagged ‘children’

It was a Saturday afternoon when visitors arrived at St. Clare. We saw men and women dressed in black pants and blue shirts with the letters NIC written on their shirts.  Because it is unusual for Africans to come to our school, we were both wondering why they were there, but also happy because we had prepared to entertain them. 

Some of the St. Clare secondary school girls began dancing some wonderful Kikuyu songs. Then other students danced a Samburu dance and sprinkled water as a blessing. All of the girls presented the items they had made for our visitors who were very happy to receive the gifts. Some small girls from class three presented a poem in “Swahili” which was talking about child labor,  and others did skits about an important Kenyan woman, Wangari Mathai.

The NIC visitors brought some presents: exercise books, glue, pencils and pens.  They also told us that they will always help us and asked us to work hard because hard work pays.  One important thing that they said was that without education our lives would be difficult.  They encourages us to study in order to help our society.  We were very happy with their visit and did not want them to leave.  Finally, our principal gave a word of thanks and our day of visitors ended!

(The article’s authors, Brianna and Theresa, are both class 8 students at St. Clare School.)

This article was written by Beatrice who is an older girl in Form II and a big sister to the younger children, as you see her her with Judy, the youngest 4 year old. After many years at St. Clare, Beatrice offers her insights on how love binds them together as a family.

AT ST. CLARE, WE LIVE IN LOVE (BEATRICE)

At St Clare Girls’ Centre, we all observe the greatest commandment given to us by God, which is love. For we know in love you canachieve more from others as long as you live in this world. This is why at St Clare there are about twenty different tribes but as long as we are together we speak one language. So we are able to understand one another. We are as one family united by Jesus Christ through a great messenger who is the father and mother of the St Clare children, Father Francis.
In St Clare because of love, no one is considered higher than the other one; we are all equal as one family united by Jesus Christ. As a family we do everything together. We all jog in the morning as one family. The nutrition is the same amaranth and bread for we believe in natural food. After classes we usually have sport, both teachers and pupils, and everybody normally participates fully without being forced for we know through exercises we are able to keep ourselves fit and our muscles relaxed.

For many reasons being from the poor backgrounds of the children at St Clare, we need to show love to one another. There are different kinds of children who really need to be taught how to carry themselves for since they were little  they have never had their parents to teach them and bring them up in a good way. When they come to St Clare, they find love among the people in the environment and they take the people in authority as their parents.

Because of love shown at St Clare children grow and are never sad. They are always shining and happy for they lack nothing and they never think of any evil things or flashback to the problems they had undergone before. This makes St. Clare a small heaven for it is where many children from different parts of Kenya find happiness when their parents die and their relatives reject them, the same way Jesus was rejected by his people.

The 6^th grade students at Seneca Middle School in Clinton Township, Michigan heard a presentation about the Children’s Village and decided they could help. They brainstormed ideas and decided selling snacks and accessories at school would be the most effective. They were able to raise $480 to sponsor a young girl at St. Clare.

                                                     They wrote:

“Since Mrs. Ozar visited our school and shared the many stories of Fr. Riwa’s schools, we have been collecting and raising funds to help out. We are continuing to raise more funds, but we wished to send our first contribution so that you know that you have a new group of friends United States who are working to assist you. Sincerely, Your Seneca Middle School Friends.”

Mrs. Karen Lizza, a teacher at Seneca commented: “It is amazing how many ideas and creations our students continue to come up with to earn money for the girls’ school. From candy sales to bows, bags, purses, and wallets made from duct tape, to locker decorations, they have spent much time at home and on their lunch periods creating things to sell. It has been wonderful to watch!”

Recently Friends of Kenyan Orphans has received donations from US children, the following are their words. 

‘I am 8 years old, my name is BO. Last night I heard Father Riwa speak at my church in Iowa. Here is $2.00 to buy something for the children.”

“My name is Jessica. I am 16 years old. Sister Kathryn has shared how God is leading her to work with the children at St Clare. I want to sponsor a girl at St Clare so each month my Mom will send $40 because I don’t have a check book. I will repay her the money each month. I’m so excited to see the pictures and correspond with a child.”

John Trumbore wrote: “What really happened during those weeks in Kenya is gradually being revealed. It begins with the second great commandment, ‘Love thy neighbor.’ If my neighbor is all people, how do I express my love for those whom I have never met? This visit allowed our group, privlileged Americans with careers, educations and networks of loving friends and families, to meet, know, and fall in love with our neighbor, the orphaned and abandoned Kenyan children. We will never be the same.”

During two years working in Kenya, one afternoon after another, I sat in my small make-shift office at The Children’s Village, listening to children talk of sleeping on stree verandas, foraging gutters looking for garbage, fighting animals for a crust of bread, and in desparation, eating cigarette butts to appease hunger pangs. I wondered if there could be any children lining as difficult an existence as these former street boys?

One year later I discovered the answer when a group of 140 war-torn children arrived at the village who witnessed their homes burned, their families lost of killed by machetes during the post-election violence of 2008. Clearly the children of Kenya continue to suffer. This past winter I returned to The Children’s Village. This time Father Riwa asked me to listen to the life stories of a few young girls recently rescued from the desert in northern Kenya, girls from the Samburu Tribe. (more…)