Maureen benefited greatly from her time with Neema’s trauma and guidance counselors who helped her heal emotionally. In Maureen’s third year at Neema, one of our counselors shared, "Maureen said her love for God grows each and every day that passes because of the second chances God gave her through Neema."
Read MoreBy 10:00am, students, staff, and guardians had arrived at Neema and were waiting for the festivities to begin. Neema’s annual Fashion Show is a special time of year for students, staff, and alumni, and the Kenya staff team was thrilled to celebrate the students’ hard work and encourage their creativity!
Read MoreJackie Birungi, one of Neema’s counselors, is living out her great passion of “putting a smile on somebody’s face” in a profession where genuine smiles are hard earned but a definite sign of hope for the future.
Read MoreWhile each individual Neema student has her own story surrounding her life prior to Neema—who she was raised by, how she survived, etc.—they all collectively carry the burden of extreme material poverty. And even though coming to Neema, with adequate food, lodging, clothing, healthcare, etc., has relieved some of that burden personally, they still carry that burden for their families.
Read MoreWhen spending time on campus, the environment feels more like a family than like a community. And at Neema, children are welcomed as part of this family. They’re even provided with counseling to help them prepare to readapt to life outside of Neema when their mother graduates. Meanwhile, their moms are given the opportunity to develop and learn new skills through our training and livelihood programs.
Read MoreHer dad agrees it’s true that she isolated herself and felt like life had come to an end — she didn’t see any reason for it. But by coming to Neema, Brenda was taught that her inability to continue on to high school doesn’t mean it’s the end of life. She accepted that and is now moving on and has hope in life. And in terms of the tailoring skills she’s learning, Brenda has been bringing good samples of her work home and can even give them to the neighbors.
Read MoreBut in this moment, it hit me hard that some of the families we’re working with are actually those found within the statistic, “10% of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day.” Because of this, Angeline’s parents didn’t have the money needed for the required uniform and school supplies to send her onto high school after she finished 8th Grade.
Read MoreStories were told and vulnerabilities were shared. Honor, respect, and empathy were traded equally; the currency of humanity stretching much farther than any shilling or dollar could.
Read MoreAt Neema’s recent mentorship roundtable, Neema alumni stood up in front of our current students — those just a couple of years younger than them — and teachers to encourage those in our program today. They shared with these current students that they should be resilient and learn to persevere through situations.
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