Upendo Homes of Kenya

When I arrived in Africa in March, 2007, I know I expected to see God perform miracles. After all, he had performed many of them already in preparation for me and 11 other women to undertake the mission that brought us to Mountain Park Academy. However, my mind could have never conceived that my heart would be stolen by a seven year-old orphan named George.

The mission that brought me and eleven other women to this village near Nakuru, Kenya was to fund the Dining Hall so that the more than 600 children in the school could eat their meals inside away from dust and rain. The Dining Hall also provided a new kitchen so that the cooks would no longer prepare meals over open flame. Large enough to hold over 1500 people, the Dining Hall can also host community events for the village. We went to Mountain Park to dedicate the Dining Hall and visit young women in neighboring secondary schools proclaiming the message of God’s call to a life of prayer, purity and purpose.

It was during my first afternoon at Mountain Park that I met George. No doubt, it was his infectious smile—the prettiest smile I have ever seen—that immediately drew him to me. As he went about his chore of herding goats, he wandered over to meet me. His smile and his meek and sweet spirit instantly captured my attention. I soon learned that George was an orphan and lived in a wooden shed outside of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robi, who founded Mountain Park Academy. By African standards, George’s room is comfortable. The room is smaller than my American bathroom and is insulated with cardboard. George shares the room and the single bed with James, another orphan, and a hen. I only know about the hen, because one night, when praying with the children before bed, I stepped too close to the hen and was pecked in the ankle. The children found that very amusing! He’s fortunate to have a bare light bulb by which to study. During my visit, the four orphans huddled by the light to study each night for hours at a time.

Upon investigation, I learned that both of George’s parents died of AIDS and that he had lived with a grandfather, but he had three wives and was not overly concerned with George’s welfare. The Robi’s had taken George in along with five others that now live either inside the wooden shed or in a spare room in the Robi’s home.

From that first meeting, God placed a burden on my heart for George. I could think of little else, especially when I closed my eyes. George’s face, along with that brilliant smile, seemed to appear in my head everytime I shut my eyes. By the time I left Africa, it was clear to me that God had a plan for me and George; I just could not discern what it was. For some time, I thought maybe I was supposed to adopt George and I prayed without ceasing for God to provide direction. The idea of George joining my family of three non-Swahili speaking blonde headed, blue eyed boys seemed illogical to me, but I was truly open to whatever God had in mind for us. I just had to break it to my family gently.

In the meantime, I knew there was one issue that had to be cleared up about George. His parents died of AIDS, and it needed to be determined if George was sick, too. The very next day after we left Africa, the Robi’s took George to be tested and there was great rejoicing a week later when the test results were returned and George was NOT HIV positive.

As I explored the possibilities of George visiting the U.S. and even being adopted by us or another family, I learned a lot about African orphans. There are over 1.2 million AIDS orphans in Kenya alone. It is estimated that in Nakuru, the closest city to the village where Mountain Park is located, that 40% of its residents are HIV positive. The AIDS epidemic is not just claiming the lives of millions of people in Africa; it is leaving behind an entire generation of children without parents, without families at all – without hope. And while I cannot solve the big problem, God had definitely given me the burden to help the orphans at Mountain Park Academy.

In Africa, children will be taken in by other relatives, or even people in the community. They are given a roof and food as is available, but they are usually not accepted as part of the family with whom they live. When they are grown, they go their own way, should they find a way, usually without ongoing contact with the family with whom they lived. Understanding this part of the culture made my burden clearer. Not only do these children need homes, they need relationship that a loving family provides. Without the roots and foundation that a family provides, children are far less likely to be find success in the world and break out of the cycle of poverty.

So the vision was birthed: George needed a home and a family. The best model I knew of was to build children’s homes and staff them with house parents. Kenya and other African nations are familiar with dormitory style orphanages housing hundreds of children. But the children’s home model where 12 children and two house parents reside is less common.

With approval from the Kenya Project Board to pursue purchase of the land and begin building the first home, it was clear that the burden I carried is a mission to grow families for the family-less in Kenya.

In May, my husband, Ashley, and 13 year-old son, Trevor, traveled to Mountain Park with another mission team. They, too, became very fond of George, and James, too! They broke ground for the first children’s home in Mountain Park and they interviewed a local pastor and his wife, who have interest in being the first house parents.

I still am unsure what God has in mind for George, a little boy I think about and pray for every single day. But I do know that he is the inspiration behind the vision of this project. And I can just imagine George walking into his new home and into the arms of a new family, who will nurture him, strengthen his foundation, give him roots and a place to always call home.

"The house of the righteous contains great treasure." Proverbs 15:6

If you, also, have a heart for the family-less and would like to help the Kenya Project build children’s homes for the growing number of orphans at Mountain Park, you may make a tax-deductible donation to the Kenya Project designated to “children’s homes and sent to:

The Kenya Project P.O. Box 2023 Lilburn, GA 30048

There is also an opportunity to “adopt” these orphaned children and help support them by sponsoring them for $100 per month. This monthly amount covers their living expenses, tuition, books, uniforms and medical care. The Kenya Please contact Gideon Robi at kenyaproject@ bellsouth.net and an orphan can be assigned to you.

The Kenya Project, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

There are multiple mission trips each year, providing the opportunity to visit your sponsored child at Mountain Park.

If you are unable to contribute financially, please pray with us for these children and their desperate circumstances.

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