As a child, going back to school for many of us was filled with excitement and anticipation of the year ahead. With rising school fees and higher costs for school supplies, many children in Kenya struggle to access opportunities for education. Essential items like uniforms, books, backpacks, sanitary supplies, and toiletries are often out of reach, leaving some students with no other choice but to drop out of school.  

​​Children of the Kingdom remains committed to bridging this gap. In August, Children of the Kingdom provided school supplies and fees to 82 unsponsored students. This one-time support aimed to ensure that these children could stay on track with their education. As schools open each term, our team on the ground there in Kenya is praying for continued resources to help even more children overcome the obstacles they face, so that no child is left behind in their academic journey.​

Thank you for your continued support that is allowing us to make a real impact on the community for many children and families in Turkana! 

​I had a chance to be in India this past week, and it was a ridiculously joyful time with Ratnakar (our India director), his family, and the children and families in the Children of the Kingdom program. 

​I want to share some of that joy with you here. Each day, we made multiple home visits to see the children and their families, and every time I took off my sandals and walked over the threshold into their homes, it was a reminder to me that I was on holy ground. It was such an honor to bear witness to the stories that were shared from the families that gave me windows into their resilience, their grief over unspeakable loss, their delight in one another, and their fierce and abiding love and commitment.

​In hearing people’s stories through the week, the story of Hagar was a poignant one to share about at church on Sunday morning. In spite of the fact that Hagar was a non-Israelite woman with no power or status, she was the first person in Scripture to be visited by an angel and the only person in Scripture to give God a name--El Roi, “the God who sees me.” 

Sunday evening, we gathered again to celebrate Mother’s Day and hosted a banquet for the mothers in the community. I asked the children through the week what they loved about their moms, and they named many things: their cooking, listening, nurturing, helping them when they are hurting, calling to check up on them, buying special things for them that they know they will love, and taking care of them whatever situations come up- good or bad.  They shared stories about their smiles, kindness, affection, gentleness, and love. 

​We gave crowns to everyone as they walked in the church, and after the Mother’s Day message that I shared, we passed out necklaces with rhinestone pendants to the mothers to remind them of Proverbs 31:10: “She is far more precious than jewels.” 

​And after the gifts were handed out, we handed out bubbles to blow in honor and celebration of their mothers there in our midst, and it was a time of sheer delight and joy for everyone. There really is something magical about a whole room filled with bubbles! 

It seemed that everyone left that night glowing from the celebration and the love that filled that room. How great is the love the Father has given unto us that we should be called the children of God! 

​It was a wonderful time to be there this past week, and the investment in these children through this program over the last 14 years is showing much fruit as they are growing up in such a beautiful community clearly anchored and grounded in God’s love. Thank you for your continued support of these precious children around the world! 

In honor of the mothering heart of God and of mothers around the world, I offer you this beautiful prayer from Cole Arthur Riley and a video from Christine Sine to celebrate the mothers in your life this weekend. Happy Mother's Day from Children of the Kingdom! 

​God Our Mother,
We thank you for grounding your character in the tenderness, protection, and even sorrow of a mother. To know that no human experience- mother or child- is far from you gives us permission to uncover the particularities of how we were made to love and be loved. On this day, we’re reminded that we do not begin with ourselves. Our beauty, our pain, do not exist in a vacuum but are tethered to those who’ve come before us. We pray for the mothers who have protected us, who are weary, who have stayed, who have left, who are grieving, who are proud--- understanding that the story of what it means to be a mother is not singular. And as children, would you remind is that it is okay to lament the ways we have not been loved well while also celebrating the miracle and mystery of those who loved us fiercely? We are made of more than us. Help us to behold it. Amen.
-Cole Arthur Riley, Black Liturgies

Children of the Kingdom’s main program through the years has been to support students with school fees in their education from primary school through college. Children of the Kingdom also implemented a supplemental family support program many years ago to come alongside families who were struggling with food insecurity and whose daily income was below $1 a day.  Last year, the Kenyan staff and board sought guidance for the future of the family support program as they did not want to just be giving handouts but wanted to support and empower families in more sustainable ways.

One of our board members in Lodwar (Jane Apetet) works for an organization called Joyful Women (JOYWO) headed by the First Lady of Kenya which leads trainings all over the country on the benefits of table banking, teaching people to save and borrow money to support one another to become economically sustainable. She introduced this model to Children of the Kingdom in the past year. 

​Using our family support funds, Children of the Kingdom now has implemented two table banking groups with 54 members (5 men and 49 women) who meet monthly pooling their savings and then lending to one another based on agreed terms. They are finding this to be quite a successful model. Since September, the total for the savings from the groups is 225,160ksh (roughly $1720). At the end of the year, all members will qualify for dividends depending on the individual’s savings. 

Why Table Banking?

• Accessibility: Table banking is often more accessible to individuals who may not have access to conventional banking services due to various reasons like location or limited financial resources. Most of our beneficiaries cannot access loans from banks or microfinance institutions because they lack the collateral to access such services.
• Community Support: It fosters a sense of community support and cooperation. Members trust each other and work together to achieve financial goals, promoting social cohesion.
• Flexible Loan Terms: Table banking allows for flexible loan terms that are often tailored to the needs of the members. This can include lower interest rates, customized repayment schedules, and smaller loan amounts. The members have agreed upon rules and regulation with guidance and support from the counseling team.
• Savings Culture: It encourages a savings culture among members, as they contribute regularly to the pool, which can be used for lending or emergencies. Each member is encouraged to save every month, and there are guidelines of how much they can borrow from the collective pool.
• Cost-Effective: Table banking can be cost-effective compared to formal banking institutions, as there are fewer administrative costs and overheads involved.
• Empowerment: It empowers individuals, especially women and marginalized groups, by providing access to financial services and opportunities for economic empowerment. 

​guest post written by Children of the Kingdom sponsor Tim Hartman, Associate Professor of Theology at Columbia Theological Seminary. 

Visiting Children of the Kingdom in Lodwar was a powerful moment of seeing a dream becoming reality, and then exceeding expectations. Emily and I met on the way to church before our first day of class at Stanford.

 
​I spent the summer of 1993 in southern Africa in Swaziland, and then Emily spent the following summer in Kenya. I can remember her letters and seeing her (many) pictures, including hearing about the hospitality and leadership of Pastor (now Bishop) Kaaleng. She relayed how Pastor Kaaleng had shared with her about a need in his church to raise funds for children’s school fees to support their education. And then, Emily being Emily, immediately jumped in—and while balancing lots of other responsibilities, she also began Children of the Kingdom and started lining up supporters to sponsor children’s education. That was about 30 years ago. ​

​​Fast forward to the present when I was in Lodwar in early January leading some seminary students on a cross-cultural trip to Kenya: Driving down the road, past compounds for World Vision, Save the Children, and other international NGO’s, our van turned left into a large courtyard with Children of the Kingdom signs. Emily’s dream has become a concrete reality…with Veronica in one office, a social worker Jecinta in a second office, a storage closet full of school uniforms, a make-shift kitchen ready to make a meal, additional classrooms storing mattresses for children going to boarding school, and more rooms waiting to be used in other ways. There are current students waiting to meet with Veronica along with Children of the Kingdom alumni talking with one another and just wanting to say “hi.” 

​​For me, the personal connections that the Children of the Kingdom staff have with families and the community are what are distinctive for Children of the Kingdom. In this sense, COK is a grassroots, Kenyan organization seeking to serve its neighbors for the sake of the Turkana community. While the funding comes from outside Kenya, the vision and day-to-day operations are led by Turkanans. These relationships over the long haul account for the effectiveness of Children of the Kingdom. 

​What I encountered was a non-profit organization meeting a clear and specific need in Lodwar. The city of Lodwar (population about 80,000) is the capital of the county of Turkana in the northwest of Kenya bordering Uganda and South Sudan. (Kenya has 47 counties—similar to a state in the United States or a province in Canada). Turkana is the poorest county in Kenya with a poverty rate of 77.7%. Traditionally, the Turkana people have been pastoralists herding cows and goats. Persistent drought has dried up the grasses and the cows have been driven south to graze. Now, goats and camels range freely seeking food. There is little economy, and there are few jobs. For young people, education is the way to shape a different future for themselves. Children of the Kingdom offers a faithful presence, an oasis in the desert, for children and families seeking hope. This is why the waitlist continues to grow.

​
​Though seeing the Children of the Kingdom compound is a profound visual of the growth of the organization, the dream has long ago been realized as students supported by Children of the Kingdom have finished high school and university and then returned to Turkana to live and work among their people. Veronica uses her wisdom, patience, and organizational skills to talk with children and their parents about ways that Children of the Kingdom can help, and points them to others for additional needs. I was so impressed by the tangible, real difference that Children of the Kingdom is making in Turkana. 

​In Kenya every year in January, students are promoted from primary school to high school. Many families in Kenya spend almost everything they have for their children’s school supplies and fees which can be incredibly stressful with challenging life circumstances along with rising costs in Kenya.
​
To support families and students who are not currently on our list of sponsored students, Veronica Lemuya, our director of Children of the Kingdom in Kenya, dreamed up and implemented a program called “I Care – Leaving No Child Behind.”  We funded this project through our general fund that is supported significantly from our annual Rafiki Run. 

​This year’s “I Care" program reached 127 boys and girls in Turkana. The students received the following items which are required for them to join high school:

• A trunk
• Two pairs of school uniforms
• 3-inch mattress
• 16 books
• Mosquito net
• Pens and Pencils
• Bed sheets
• Rubber shoes
• Games kit

​This program also reached out to six Pokot high school students who needed funds for their school fees to begin high school. The Pokot are a community that has a difficult history of conflict with the Turkana people over livestock and land.

​This student outreach speaks volumes to the fact that the love of God knows no boundaries and that Children of the Kingdom is playing a part in the work of reconciliation in the region. 

Not only did our Children of the Kingdom staff provide the children with these tangible gifts, but they also sent them off to high school with motivation and with dignity as they began this new chapter.

​Veronica shared the following verse from Isaiah to give thanks for the hope that God brought to many through this project. 

Below is a prayer I wrote in honor of those who are a part of Children of the Kingdom: 

Lord, help our brothers and sisters
in Children of the Kingdom
to make something
beautiful for You with their lives.
May their words, choices, and actions
be offered as true expressions of worship [1]
Help them to love you from deep within,
with the strength of their arms,
the thoughts of their minds,
and the courage of their hearts.[2]
Amen.


[1] From Morning Prayer from Every Moment Holy
[2] From the beautiful translation of Matthew 22 from the First Nations Bible

Though many are sharing messages of cheer for 2024, I am writing with some difficult news to start off the year. I was just informed that one of our wonderful young college students in India was killed by a motorbike on Saturday as she was going to work. As a way to grieve and mourn her loss, I wanted to share pictures of her here and to ask for prayers for her family. 

Mahima with her sponsor Marcia Murray from a visit in 2012 above
​and other images below from visits in 2012, 2014, and 2018

"Be merciful to us, O merciful God, for we have lost one we loved, and there is no earthly balm to unmake this sadness. Only the ceaseless, tender work of your Spirit can braid bright strands of comfort across this weave of earthly sorrows."
- Douglas McKelvey, Every Moment Holy