Remembering

It’s been a while since I’ve been in Kenya, and I notice that I’ve started to miss being there.  I’ve been going to Kenya twice a year for several years.  However this summer, it was decided that I should not go to Kenya this June due to finances and a desire to invest in bringing our Kenya director and chairman to the U.S. this spring.  Managing Kupenda from the U.S. side means I don’t get the constant reminder of what our work accomplishes.  In the quiet, I close my eyes and remember them….

I see them.  There are so many beautiful faces.  The smiles of the children we support are something that you have to experience to understand.  I walk into one of the schools and they look up with me with a smile that causes my face to match.  It means so much when I know that some come from a home where smiles were never part of life since there was nothing to smile about. 

I hear them.  The first time I heard a child say my name my heart surged with warmth.  It revealed that they know me on a personal level.  It is especially gratifying when the child saying my name was previously unable to speak until they had access to education. 

I feel them.  I feel their little arms around me.  Some of the children who are learning to walk will hold on to me to steady themselves.  Others will put their arms around me like an old friend.  I’ve known some of the teenagers since they were just in kindergarten and they really are old friends.  Then there are the little ones who just curl up into my lap just to be held.  Some have never had this kind of love.

It is such a privilege to be in the lives of these children but my place is not there with them physically.  My job is to tell their stories.  Would you like to know some of them?  You can read about them here.  There is no greater reward than the knowledge that a child’s life is better because you were a part of it.  I promise you.

Thanks for reading,
Cynthia

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