Brian’s family – Kwa Njenga LIFT community, July 2018

Have you ever considered living apart from your family in order to support them? That’s the choice Brian’s father, Geoffrey, made in order to try to build a better life for his family. He and Brian (pictured above) – who is supported by our LIFT program – live in Nairobi, while Brian’s mother and 4 siblings remain in a rural village.

Brian and his father, Geoffrey, live together in a 1-room home in Kwa Njenga, one of Nairobi’s sprawling urban slums. Geoffrey works as a security guard at a hotel while Brian attends school. Geoffrey feels that life in the slum would be too hard for the entire family.

In the village, Brian’s enterprising mother, Rose, manages affairs at home and sells porridge at a nearby shopping center, when she can. The family also owns a 1/2-acre of land in the village, but it is shared among the extended family. The children who have remained at home with Rose attend school in the village. Rose and Geoffrey have seen their lives improve substantially since receiving LIFT funding to support Geoffrey, since they now can divert funds to pay school fees and purchase clothing for their other children. They hope for help in the future to grow the home business and better support their 5 children.

At home in Kwa Njenga, Brian helps with fetching water and washing dishes. At his school, which is located in the middle of the slum, he enjoys studying English and wants to be a teacher one day. Brian wishes that his school had a playing field.

Poverty, not the death of a parent, is the leading cause of orphanhood in Kenya. LIFT is our family unification program providing support with food, education, and health care, with the aim of keeping families together. YOU can change a child’s and family’s life! Learn more or become a sponsor at: https://lightuphope.org/about/lift-family-unification/