Kereya ~ Before and After Books

Kereya is a 15 year old Maasai boy living in the village of Enkeua. He is an orphan. He is also very smart and has a talent for building things. He dreams of becoming an engineer. The next step for him to achieve his goal is to go to secondary school, which is the equivalent of US high school. However, to do so in Tanzania, you have to pass the Standard 7 exam. Very few Maasai kids are able to pass this exam. The main reason is because they don't have books. The books needed to prepare for the exam is a set of English, Science and Math books. Other reasons include lack of teachers in the bush and the fact that the exam is given in Swahili and English, when the language of these kids is Maasai.

The first picture you see of Kereya was taken at our orphan gathering in February. He was pouring out his feelings to my ministry partner, Joseph. Kereya was sharing his dreams of an education and his absolute lack of hope to pass the exam without the books. When Joseph shared with me what was going on with Kereya, I knew we had to get him those books. Although we can't meet every need of every orphan in the villages, I knew that I was supposed to meet this need. I've known Kereya for almost a year, and know him to be a hard-working boy who is always willing to serve the younger orphans.

So the next weekend, my husband helped me search Arusha for the books. You see, it isn't just the lack of money for kids like Kereya. The books simply aren't available in the villages. So in Arusha, we found the set of books. I should have been relieved at how easy it was for us to find them, and the fact that they were so inexpensive. However, I actually was just frustrated. Frustrated that a kid with such a desire to learn would fail because of lack of materials; frustrated that the books aren't available to kids in the bush; and frustrated that the amount of money is so small, probably the amount of money American kids spend on sodas each week.

The next week, I went out with Oleg and Heidi to the bush. I had arranged for Kereya to meet me in Mairowa. Mairowa is only a 2 hour drive for me, but a 5 hour one way walk for Kereya. And, despite the long walk, a few other boys from his village came with him to celebrate the occasion! You will notice that he is dressed differently in the second photo. When I asked why he wasn't dressed in his traditional shuka, he said that he borrowed these clothes, because he "wanted to look smart when receiving his new books."

Information coming soon about how to sponsor an orphan like Kereya!