Pages

Thursday, August 07, 2014

Kenya: Kids

The children at Made In The Streets are inspiring. The younger children are learning basic literacy, math, communications, science, Bible and some other subjects while the older children are learning a trade: woodworking, fashion and design, catering, beauty and hair, or farming. They are being prepared with useful and marketable skills for their local economy. With these skills, these children who were formerly on the streets fighting to survive will be situated to thrive.
IMG_7723
I like Antony’s smile and sly sense of humor.


IMG_7779
Jane gave me my first ever pedicure. This girl is going to make it. She is good at what she does and is savvy in her marketing.


IMG_6557IMG_6335
Lydia and Lucy are both such sweet and beautiful young women. Their hearts are deep and they have a lot of love to give.

IMG_7686
Ambush is his name and he graduated last year and is working in the Nairobi fashion industry. He came back to MITS for a day to speak with current skills students on what it is like to graduate, get a job and live on your own. He is an inspiration to the current students, but also to the MITS staff and the visiting team.

IMG_6483
Sylvester has such a welcoming smile and servant’s heart. He was found helping out frequently.

IMG_7671IMG_6355
One of the great joys of this trip was to have my mother join us. It was a dream come true as I recall when I was a children she would speak about how wonderful it would be to do mission work in Africa. Well, it took a few decades, but here is evidence of a dream fulfilled.

Mom got tagged as “Sho Sho Linda,” which means Grandma Linda. The children took to her. Being from the streets, these children had little or no contact with their grandmothers. There is a grandmother void for these kids and my mother was glad to put a little something of herself into that void.
IMG_7681
I had the privilege to teach a class to many of the older students to help them prepare to launch out into the world.

IMG_6566
Children of all ages of all nations like to  play

IMG_7005

and to be silly

IMG_6495

and to be held. it should be stated that this little guy has the look on his face that we saw more than once. It is his fake "I am not having fun face." He was loving the attention he got from Sierra and LOVED HIM SOME IPHONE.

One of the most amazing things to ponder is how the street children of Eastleigh, with their painfully filthy living conditions, glued addicted stupor, and withering poverty can turn into healthy and smiling children poised for success in life. Having seen face to face both street children and MITS children, there is no better measure of the transformational work of this mission and how God uses people to lift people.

No comments: