July 2024: Story of Impact

Last fall, we found out that the twin sibling of one of my sweet older kiddos had gone missing at home, a couple weeks before they had their August break to go home for a few weeks. All of us in the social department were heartbroken for the family, and no one knew how to tell the child the bad news. One of the social staff, who knew that this was one of the students I have known for a long time, asked if I wanted to be the one to tell him the news. I felt strongly that I should be there when he was told, but telling him felt a little out of my scope.

It was eventually determined by the social staff that we would wait until the school broke for the break at the term, and that the social staff and I would travel to the home to make sure that he was surrounded by family and doing okay as he learned about what had happened. It was made even more stressful as we considered how the potential loss of one of his siblings would affect his mental state, as their national exams were only a few months away.

In Kenya, in 8th grade you take an exam that determines what kind of high school you will be able to go to, which then has influence over your opportunities to go to university.

To make matters worse, the student contacted me a few days later to tell me that they had no groceries at home and he and his younger siblings had no food. I was able to communicate closely with the social staff about the issue, and we arranged for me to go to the store with some other staff from Kenya Relief who could help me to choose staple groceries that would sustain the family for the remainder of the break.

Being me, I also added in some chocolates and fun things for him and his siblings! I am thankful that my missioner’s fund allows me to step in and help when there are problems that arise while I’m here!