Mr. Maina, Principal of Mbita Academy (Kenya, June 2006)
For example, take the case of Mr. Maina who is the Principal of Mbita Academy, one of SHARE’s best boarding elementary schools. I met with him during my Kenya visit this June 2006.
Mr. Maina himself is educated in the West and recognizes that the road to life for many of these orphans is through education – but education as he defines it. To grasp Mr. Maina’s unique definition of education, we need to understand some cultural aspects of AIDS and AIDS orphans. Quite simply put, AIDS has a negative stigma. Children orphaned because their parents were struck with AIDS have an additional burden of fighting the stigma that leads to their total social exclusion. Exclusion regardless of age! These are the outcasts, but such exclusion may be the least of their burdens when facing starvation.
Mr. Maina physically surveys the local area searching for the abandoned orphans. More often he finds them near local trash dumps scavenging for food. He has taken upon himself to bring these children to his boarding school. Often he contacts SHARE to see if there are any sponsors available for these orphans. And that is one of the ways an orphan becomes part of the SHARE Sponsorship program.
Mr. Maina explains that in his brand of education the first step is to teach the children that their fate is not their fault. He builds their self respect and strong inner convictions that their past is no obstacle to having and achieving dreams for the future. To do this, he has to make sure that all the teachers are on board and that they do not bring any of their own exclusionary proclivities to school. Mr. Maina’s priority, quite simply, is to build self respect, followed by academic performance. And this is what makes him an exception.
So naturally, I inquired how the orphans are performing academically. With a great deal of visible pride he noted that 100% of the sponsored children achieve the test results necessary to go to secondary schools. Furthermore, Mbita Academy has consistently contributed 20% of their graduates to the top and highly competitive secondary schools in Kenya – surely one of the highest!
And that is not all. So far, 100% of the sponsored girls have been admitted to the nation’s top secondary schools.
I marveled at his commitment and at the results he and his team have produced. And most of all, I thanked God for people like Mr. Maina – the unsung heroes that take the annual monetary contribution we make and turn it into lifetime treasures that will surely change the world at least on these devastated shores of Lake Victoria.
And that is how your contribution makes a difference between life and death!
Learn more about the SHARE Orphan Sponsorship program and other ways to donate.