A Special Day

Thirty new children began going to school at Christ’s Gift Academy on Monday this week. The application process, short-listing and home visits were all done at the end of last year. The ones that met all the requirements and qualified based on need reported to school with their parents/guardians. Most of these children are between the ages of 4-7 and very few of them can speak any English or Kiswahili at all. They only know their local tribal language which is spoken at home. Because of the high number of orphans in our area, all of the available spots were filled with orphans this time around, except for just a couple that were given to the children of some CGA staff.

Some of the children were so excited to start school that they came up the hill running with big smiles on their faces. Others were a little intimidated which made them very hesitant, but by the end of the day all of them were very excited about going to their new school. Each child was given a new uniform, including sweater and shoes. It was the first time many of them had ever put on a pair of shoes. It was amazing to see the transformation from a child with his regular clothes to a full-fledged CGA student!! Each of them also had a blood test to see which ones were HIV positive so that we will know who needs extra attention and possibly to begin on ARV’s.

Today was a special day in the lives of those children. They will not forget it for a long time.

It was also a special day for our staff and teachers to welcome these little ones. It is fun to think about what God is going to do in their lives in the next 10-20 years.