Rusinga Island Visits

As I have been working with Paul Onundo and some other local primary school teachers to set up this football club, we have identified the best players in the area. So we have been travelling to each of their schools and homes to meet with their principals and their families. This gives us a chance to share with them what we are doing and why we are doing it. It also helps us to understand the players better when we know where they are coming from.

It has been an interesting journey. The harsh realities of life in this area struck me once again. Today we drove over the man-made bridge to Rusinga Island. I have been there many times, but never deep into the interior. The visit we made was to the house of Alice. She lives in a tiny tin sheet house just off the main road. Her mother has 8 children, but the husband sent her and his other wife away several years ago when he found a third wife he liked more. The mother and her 8 children were staying at the grandmother’s home, but then one of Alice’s older sisters passed away and because of cultural traditions the mother had to move out of her parent’s house. So now they are staying in a tiny rental house for some time period of “cleansing.” She buys and sells fish to survive and take care of all of the children.

Later we went to the home of Lucia. She lost her father when she was young and her mother died a couple of years ago. She was staying with another wife of her father who was a polygamist. That mother just passed away a few weeks ago. Now she is under the care of her elderly grandmother. The only one in their family who earns an income is her uncle who is the principal at her school.

Last weekend we visited Phenny’s home. She is a very hard-working and responsible young girl that was selected as the Head Girl at her school this past year for those qualities. She lives with her mother and her 1 year old sister down close to a fishing beach by Kirindo market. It is a nice compound and a good sized mud-house that they keep very clean and neat. Phenny’s father passed away when she was still young. The mother makes a small income through buying and selling fish at the beach when the fishermen bring in a good catch. Phenny has many duties at home cooking for the family and taking care of her younger sister and also her mother who is often sick.

Working at CGA on a day to day basis for the past five years, I am surrounded by children with the same kinds of stories. As I teach them and spend time with them, I think I sometimes forget the harsh reality of what their home situation is like. Praise God for ministries like CGA that are assisting these children in breaking the cycle of poverty in their families through education.