Kisima Academy

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. More information is at www.friendsofkisima.org or on Facebook at Friends of Kisima Academy. Gerda Fink


Kisima Academy


Kisima has had misfortunes before : droughts, equipment failures, etc. With the grace of God they’ve always pulled through and managed to feed, care for, and educate all the children. In the last few days they’ve had two real disasters. The girls’ dorm had a fire where everything in the dorm was lost. The last I heard investigators were on the scene to determine the cause. Cleaning the building and replacing

everything ( beds and bedding, clothing and shoes, schoolbooks and personal belongings ) will take time and funds. We are eternally grateful to some friends who stepped up immediately and offered to cover the costs. They were the ones who donated the funds for the dorms and the dining hall in the first place.


The other event was the loss of one of the orphans. Victor was one of the original orphans whom Martin and Margaret took in in 2006 when he was four years old. He earned a diploma in electrical engineering in 2022. Although he was unable to find a job in his field due to the very high unemployment in Kenya he persevered in creating a future by starting a business. He was doing well until the violence in Nairobi a couple of weeks ago destroyed everything he had worked for. Last week Victor was killed instantly in a head-on crash when the other driver crossed the center line. Marsh and Linda Gruening began sponsoring him in 2012 and became very close to him. They considered him one of their children. They sent him frequent cards and emails and Victor responded with beautiful letters. They will miss him terribly but can take comfort in knowing that they were a real blessing to him. His life was immeasurably richer for having their love and support.


Gerda Fink, COS Kisima Committee Chair-person,  www.friendsofkisima.org, on Facebook at Friends of Kisima Academy.

update

News From Kisima Academy


At the last update we had four unsponsored high school graduates with no money for college or vo-tech school. We thank God that some current sponsors of recent college graduates were willing to take on sponsoring a recent high school grad headed to college. All the high school grads will soon be headed off to begin the next stage of their academic career. Many in the oldest class of orphans have graduated from college or vo-tech; some were delayed by the pandemic and are still in school. Several have started teaching careers. It’s very gratifying to see these orphans on their way to a productive future. Many have been cared for and educated by Kisima since they were in early primary school.


A couple of months ago a hailstorm severely damaged Kisima’s gardens and crops. The plants were able to recover but in June an even worse hailstorm occurred. The vegetables will have to be re-planted but it may be too late to replant the maize and bean fields. Crop failures inevitably cause price inflation of those foodstuffs. Maize and beans (augmented by a small amount of vegetables) form the basis of their diet and will now have to be purchased, making a sizeable dent in the budget. Kisima not only feeds the orphans and staff but also provides two meals a day to the 250 or so community children attending school there.


Bonnie Lefbom, who came with a group I took to Kisima in 2012 and who subsequently became active in the effort to support the orphanage/school, is in Kenya right now (July 15) with the first group of visitors since the pandemic started. I put out a feeler to see who might be interested in going this year and only one person responded. If you might be interested in going next year, please let me know. Trips are two weeks and in addition to working at the school we visit the elephant orphanage and the giraffe refuge outside of Nairobi, spend two nights in a retreat center in the last tropical rain-forest in Kenya, and go on a short safari in Maasai Mara.


Gerda Fink