Kevin’s family – Umoja LIFT community, Sept 2018

15-year-old Kevin lives with his extended family in Umoja, an urban area of Nairobi. Funds from our LIFT program help to support Kevin and his family by paying his school fees at Kariobangi South school.

Kevin’s family came to live in Nairobi when his maternal grandmother migrated with his mother. Kevin and his sister, Pauline, both were born in Nairobi. After their mother sadly passed away 3 years ago from tuberculosis, Kevin and Pauline stayed on with their grandmother in the family home in urban Umoja. They now share the 3-room home with their grandmother, uncle, and cousin. They have a kitchen, sitting room, and 1 bedroom for the 5 family members. Their grandmother also is in ill health, due to diabetes and high blood pressure.

(L-R) Our Head social worker, Eliud Kipkorir; Kevin’s uncle, Saitoti; Kevin; and Kevin’s sister, Pauline – outside their home in Umoja.

The family is very grateful for support from LIFT, since they now can divert funds formerly used for school fees to cover rent and buy food for the family and medicine for Kevin’s ailing grandmother. Like most children in Kenya, Kevin helps with household chores at home such as washing dishes, house-cleaning, and fetching water for drinking and cooking. His favorite subjects at school are math and science. He wants to pursue these interests and help people, at the same time, by becoming a doctor one day. Kevin wonders whether American kids study Kiswahili. His biggest hope is that life will change for the better for him, and his family.

LIFT is our family unification program helping with food, education, and health care in select rural and urban areas in Kenya. Poverty is the leading cause of orphanhood in Kenya. Our hope is that YOUR support will help to keep families together! Learn more or join our group of dedicated sponsors at: https://lightuphope.org/about/lift-family-unification/

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