James and I had the privilege of a quick visit (3 nights, 2 volunteer days and 2 travel days) to CCMI during our three week trip to Kenya this past May.
Grab a coffee (or a cup of Kenyan chai!), and take a walk with me as I show you around!
We will start with the dorms, which houses up to 47 children throughout the year.
There are 17 orphans in grade school or younger and 25 orphans in high school. The high schoolers do not stay on the premises 9 months of the year because high school in Kenya functions as a boarding school. However, while those 25 are out of the children’s home, another 30 of the most vulnerable elementary students who attend Christ Care Academy are allowed to stay in the high schoolers’ place. This allows the most vulnerable students the opportunity to perform well in school - either through reducing the amount of time they spend walking to and from school, reducing their health issues by providing consistent meals, giving them solar light to study by in the evenings, receiving moral support from their peers, and/or receiving educational support and unconditional care from the staff.
Currently, CCMI lacks a stable, potable water supply. They use this well, which is about 15 feet deep, and although there is enough water now between the rainwater collection and the well, water runs sparse in dry season. Unfortunately, the well is also a source of many waterborne diseases secondary to misuse and/or contamination. For this reason, we hope to implement a borehole at CCMI. (If you or someone you know has experience with borehole drilling in Kenya, please contact us.)
I did practice using a “tip tap” - a clever engineering hack to get running water without a faucet. All we need is some soap!
After visiting the grounds of the children’s home, we proceeded to visit the school, which offers high quality education to over 250 students, >90% of whom are partial or total orphans.
Here are pictures of some of the classrooms:
One of the pride and joys of the school is this giant soccer field, which is often used by other schools who do not have a field to play or practice or compete on:
In true Kenyan fashion, we were welcomed with singing, and dancing:
The next day we spent hours driving around western Kenya to multiple high schools to visit 14 of the 25 high schoolers sponsored through CCMI. These are no longer children, but young men and women. Can you believe how much they’ve grown??
Thanks for walking with us. We hope you enjoyed all the pictures and videos of these amazing kids and staff and the humble life they live in Migori, Kenya. Your support has given them hope and a future and, for some, literally brought them back to life.
Asante sana!
Students and teachers of Christ Care Academy
******Special thanks******
Danish Kavai, who went the extra mile to show us around and answer all of our questions.
Maryanne Omendah, who spent her valuable time off from work as a physician to show us around and help us feel at home.
Lilian Omendah, who welcomed us with open arms and filled our bellies with delicious Kenyan food!
Alfred Omendah, who kept us safe as we drove to visit 14 high schoolers at 8 different high schools across western Kenya.