Sanford and June were driving to the market yesterday. They saw a young boy, maybe 11 years old, crying at the side of the road. Sanford got out of the car and sat with the boy. He asked why he was crying. The boy was very shy at first, but Sanford encouraged him to tell him why he was not in school. He stays with his grandmother and she has sent him to school but he has no books. She told him to just go a learn and borrow a piece of paper from a friend.
Sanford called the grandmother to get the number of the school the boy attends. He then phoned the school to find out what books he needed. Together they went to Nakumat and bought 20 exercise books and the text books the boy will need. Sanford sent a very happy boy, whom he had just met moments ago, to school equipped to learn.
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June's mother supports orphans. They do their best to find a relative that can take in a child rather than have the children in a separate orphanage. They pay for all school fees, food and clothing for the child to ease the burden on the family. If the family is poor, they will also assist with school fees and food for the other children. June told us about a grandmother whose daughter has died and she is now caring for her 5 grandchildren. The grandmother's other daughter died, only three months after having her third child. She now, at the age of nearly 80, is caring for 8 small children. June's mother is looking for other relatives that may be able to assist the grandmother. Sometimes there is a stigma whereby (Kenyans use the word whereby a lot) the family members don't want to bring in the child for fear that they may also be infected.
These children just need love and the communities need so much... education, AIDS awareness, and encouragement that they can accomplish much on their own, even in times of struggle.
I will be following June and Sanford around as much as possible to learn from them about how they mentor youth in small business, etc...
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