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Children at the Core

Education is critical for breaking the cycle of poverty. Adolescents need to stay in school, perform well, and graduate. At Valvisions Foundation, children are at the core of what we do, from rescuing girls who are at risk of Female Genital Mutilation (F.G.M) and ensuring they get an education, to helping girls in our communities back in Kenya by providing sanitary towels, so they do not miss school when they are on their menstrual periods. We have in the past held various workshops where we emphasis the need for the government and the local authorities to ensure that children, especially the ‘girl child’ who is normally ignored, gets the same opportunities as the boys in their age groups. We advocate for the right of the girl child to get an education, as opposed to the cultural view which looks at her as a commodity to be sold to create wealth for the families. And so we say ‘no’ to F.G.M and early marriages that compromise the lives of these young girls! We have also been able to form clubs at a couple of schools where we offer mentorship to the girls and supply them with sanitary towels and school stationary from time to time. In our quest to see that we support families that are needy, Valvisions Foundation “adopted’ a family of three siblings in dire need. These children had been out of school for a long while because they did not have the basic needs a child should have nor did they have tuition fees. Their mother was not able to take care of them because she does not have a job to provide them with shelter. Despite the siblings being very bright with a lot of potential at school, there was no hope of their getting an education. In our own small way, Valvisions Foundation was able to rescue these children and take them back to school. The oldest is a girl who joined Secondary School while her two brothers continue their primary education. By Valvisions Foundation stepping in and helping these children with tuition fees, the siblings have been able to get an education, and they are thriving at school. Having the children back at school has given the mother relief. She is now able to fend for her other children and discontinue anti-depression medication. We are happy to report that the ‘adopted’ children are happier...

Modern Day Slavery

Harsh economic realities and high levels of unemployment have pushed many Kenyan women and girls to cross the country’s borders in search of better opportunities. Unfortunately, many of them end up in the hands of brutal and abusive employers who subject them to perpetual misery, mental anguish, and untold hardship. Some have succumbed to injuries afflicted by vicious bosses. These girls are employed in private homes where they are employed to perform basic household chores like cooking, cleaning, caring for children as well as the elderly members of the household. They offer a service that most of the owners of the homes would not be able to handle on their own. They shoulder the workforce of the home ensuring that all the work that is to be done is done to perfection. Despite the vital role that these young girls and women perform, sadly, they are the most abused and exploited of workers. They work for long hours for wages that are way below the minimum rate, and some suffer physical and sexual abuse. The International Labour Organization Convention (ILO) has fought to protect domestic workers from the harsh working conditions many of them face. The organization has called on their member states (which Kenya and Saudi Arabia are part of) to ensure that measures geared towards respecting, promoting, and realizing the fundamental principles and rights at work are put in place. Unfortunately, the effort put in by International Labour Organization (ILO) has mostly been in vain. Kenyans continue to hear and witness the amount of suffering the young girls and women go through in the hands of their employers. Kenya has been hard hit by these scandals, followed by Uganda. The number of Kenyans working and living in Saudi Arabia rose from 55,000 in 2019 to 97,000 in 2022. Recently, a Kenyan girl known as Diana, failed to raise funds for her university education and opted to go to Saudi Arabia as a domestic worker. She deferred her studies to go to work, get money for tuition fees, and afterwards, to return to Kenya to resume her studies. After she landed in Saudi Arabia and was taken to her employer, what she hoped was an escape from a life of poverty, became an even worse nightmare. She was fortunate to have been able to raise an alarm and thereby, appeal for her rescue which, is ultimately, how she...

GENERAL ELECTIONS- what does God say?

General elections were held in Kenya. Today, Kenyans have elected the President, members of Parliament, county governors, members of the Senate and members of the 47 county assemblies of Kenya. General elections are held every 5 years. The two candidates vying for the Presidential spot are both strong contenders. The residents are praying that the elections will be safe and peaceful and that the candidate who loses will accept defeat and not cause chaos. The election violence Kenyans faced in 2007 is still fresh in people’s minds. Many people lost their lives, many were maimed for life, and many have never recovered after their homes and businesses were set ablaze. People tend to pray a lot during the election period. There are public prayers in almost every county in the country and the churches and human right organizations focus on teaching messages of peace. Below, I have shared a message that brought the importance of praying for the right leader home for me as shared by a pastor from one of our local churches. His message spoke volumes and made me look at the leaders we chose in a different light. Most people vote on tribal lines, but the message below, was an eye opener. By voting, we will end up with either of these three: 1) a leader we want, 2) a leader we deserve, or 3) a leader after God’s own heart. By praying for the leader we want, we are simply telling God, ‘keep quiet, we know what we want, we know what we are doing.’ But the leader we want could cause a lot of damage. We can end up with a leader we deserve. There is a lot of corruption as it is. Good and faithful politicians do not exist, at least not in Africa. Absolute power corrupts a person, very few people can remain humble when in power. When people have power, their true colors show. God can give us a leader we deserve but if we reject Him, He can also give us up to the ills of this world. A leader after God’s own heart would be an ideal person, but how many exist? This can only come out of prayer. God chose David though he was the least suited in Jesse’s household. David did not have kingly qualities, but he was a man after God’s heart, and so God chose...

Rewarding Good Efforts

Written by Grace Wandia To educate a child is to chase away poverty. When an individual has an education, only mental incapacity or death can take that away. Material wealth can disappear, but the wealth of education will generally remain. The Form 4 examinations are over, and students are waiting for the results. Those that did well will be able to join local colleges and universities for higher education. Each student who sat through the examination did so with the hope of performing well, but there will always be winners and losers. Parents look forward to their children performing well and earning the required marks to join college. Educating a child up through Secondary School is very expensive, especially in these, post-Covid, hard-hit, economic times. It is, therefore, a great joy when students pass the exam. It makes the sacrifice well-worth it. I was invited to join in the celebration of a boy in my village who has made his mother, Judy, and the whole village proud for his excellent performance in the just concluded examinations. The mother sells vegetables on the roadside to passer-buyers who are either driving by or coming from their farms. I always stop at Judy’s stall to make purchases from her shed. Judy has excellent customer care skills and very fresh produce. I have traded with her for many years, and for all the years I have known her, she has always been diligent in caring for her family. Judy’s husband would help her from time to time, but unfortunately, he fell ill and passed away. I still remember how broken Judy was after his death. Regardless of her emotional pain, Judy continued selling her wares, and her customers continued to support her. When Judy’s husband died, her son was only 2 years old. She lovingly brought him up along with her other children. He showed a lot of promise academically, and every time I stopped to buy vegetables from her, I received an update on his progress. Every so often, the boy’s mother would ask for stationary for him, and I offered support whenever possible. Judy never begged nor did she ask for anything else, not even tuition fees. She humbly managed as best as she possibly could, and I have always admired her for that. Judy’s son finally finished Primary School, scored good marks, then joined Secondary School where he again did...

School Uniform – Uniformity

With the kind of peer pressure and self-esteem issues we have witnessed at schools, parents are happy to have a standard school uniform for all their learners. The school uniform helps make everyone equal. Uniforms reduce peer pressure and help students stay well-groomed and decent looking. The students may not like the uniform, as many prefer going to school in different kinds of attire. They consider the school uniform to be old fashioned and would prefer if it was no longer required. The teachers and parents, on the other hand, would rather have school going children in uniforms. The uniform gives the students a sense of belonging; they identify with the school they attend. Some students equate school uniform with boarding schools. Boarding schools are looked down upon by many students who would much prefer attending day school. It has, however, been proven that boarding school helps students concentrate more and thus, perform better in their academics. There is a lot of interruptions for students when they are at home. They have so much to do they often don’t take the time to concentrate on school matters. Boarding school builds character. One learns to live with all manner of people, some very strange, some selfish, rich, poor, some kind, some thieves, some generous. One learns to take care of themselves, and besides, a little discomfort is not bad. Being in uniform reminds the students that they have a responsibility to themselves, to act in a civilized manner. They are reminded of the need to work hard, to be humble, to be disciplined in all that they do, and to take responsibility for their actions. Uniformity helps students with low self-esteem, to cope. Those that come from low-income households would have a very tough time fitting in at school if they had to wear their home clothes. They would be stressing out worrying about their clothes as opposed to concentrating on their studies. The school uniform ensures they dress smart and are equal with other students from more well to do homes. We teach the need for all students to be considerate of their school mates who are struggling in life, not to make their lives harder. We teach the students with low self-esteem to carry their heads high, and to watch that they do not get distracted by negative peer pressure. It is important for these students need to...

It Takes A Village

By Grace Wandia I was invited to give a talk to a group of Secondary School students on the need to be hospitable and considerate to other children in their school with special needs and those that come from very poor backgrounds. The talk came about because the teachers noticed that a group of students were not being kind and making snide remarks about the unfortunate situations of their peers. The school invited parents to the talk to share with them the concern and to encourage them to instruct their children on being mindful of the less fortunate. One of the unfortunate students was a girl who lost her father two years ago and just this year, unfortunately, also lost her mother. It did not occur to the other students to be mindful of her situation and to be kind and sensitive to her needs. Whenever things went wrong for her, the girl would retreat to a corner of the school and cry her heart out. Instead of showing concern for her plight, her classmates nicknamed her ‘cry baby.’ This hurt her so much that she wrote a note and put it in the suggestion box at school saying she felt all alone in the world, and she wanted to drop out of school. When the note was received by the school principal, she asked that whoever had written the note come to see her, so they could talk. The girl did not acknowledge that she wrote the note, but her teacher saw her crying as the note was read, and automatically knew she wrote it. The teacher called her aside and asked her if the note was from her, and the girl replied: ‘Yes.’ The teacher requested the principal to call all the parents of the students in her class and when they came, she briefed them on the incident. Some of the parents took it upon themselves to talk to the girl and asked how they could help her stay in school. She said she feared being chased away, since she had tuition fees in arrears, and her name was always on the list of those sent home for failure to pay. She said unlike the other students who had parents that would work hard to pay the fees, she had no one and felt helpless and all alone. The parents regrouped and agreed that each one...

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