For people who send Kisima Academy donations directly to FTKI, the address has changed. It is now: FTKI, 6614 Van Winkle Dr., Falls Church, VA 22044.
Kisima Academy, a mission of COS, is a Christian orphanage and school in rural western Kenya.
Kisima was started in 2006 with 83 orphans in kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades. Another class was added each year as the orphans grew. There was excitement in December as the oldest students graduated from college. Of course there have been a lot of orphans added over the years. Two are George, whose degree is in pharmacy and Gloria, whose degree is in English literature.
Gloria was at Kisima from the beginning. Her parents were killed in tribal clashes. Victor is another of the original orphans who received his diploma. His great-grandmother had been raising him but was no longer able to continue. Marsh and Linda Gruening sponsored him from 2012 and are very proud of him. Just ask them!
The new school year started January 6. In addition to the orphans there are around 250 underprivileged community students at Kisi-ma. Each year we have Martin pick two of the brightest 8th grade students to send to boarding high schools where they will get a much better education than in the public schools. This year Ryan Kisan-gai, a community student, got the second highest national exam score in the entire state and the highest score ever at Kisima. I’m so happy that I was able to find a sponsor for him.
Another community student, James Juma, was only seven points behind at 407. I’m still looking for a sponsor for him.
Twenty orphans and two outstanding community students graduated from high school in December. This is putting an enormous strain on our resources as we now will have 62 students that we are supporting in college and vo-tech schools. Two of the orphans have no sponsors. If you are interested in being a blessing to a deserving student by helping him achieve his dreams please contact Gerda Fink at 865-458-3295 or at
gerdafink@gmail.com. Thank you
Gerda Fink, COS Kisima Committee Chair-person, www.friendsofkisima.org, on Facebook at Friends of Kisima Academy.