This year I was able to spend time with the Matanya’s Hope Mission team. I saw beyond what Matanya’s Hope does for me alone. I now realize that this mission was spearheaded to break the cycle of poverty by saving and changing many more young innocent souls than whose names I know.
Wealth fades away. Civilizations grow old, but the love and kindness that Matanya’s Hope offers to the hundreds of Kenyan children who have faced abject poverty, lack of a good education, food and respectable shelter, is what keeps the flag of this charitable organization high. Matanya’s Hope, you’ve been a beacon of hope to those who were once crying; you are helping us break the vicious cycle of poverty in Kenya.
Child walking home from school in rural Kenya
Just a few days ago, I decided to search Matanya’s Hope on the internet and I learned some amazing facts. The most impressive to me is that Matanya’s Hope has students in the fields of medicine and pharmacy, aeronautical engineering, law, IT and in accounting and finance. Having in mind that these fields not only remain to be the most lucrative and illustrious in a growing market like Kenya, they are also esteemed fields in developed nations like the USA, Germany and many others.
I realized that I had been ignorant of the many milestone achievements accomplished by Matanya’s Hope. I remember telling Michelle Stark, the organization’s founder and president, that my joy would be to see her charitable works become a success in the near future, but I wish I had told her that my joy would be to see her efforts and works continue to grow and succeed. Why do I say this?
Because having nurtured students who eventually have joined such esteemed fields is a clear indicator that Matanya’s Hope is already successful and that the love which has been spread over the poor Kenyan child is bearing great fruits.
Students at Matanya Primary School are excited to thank their donors for the daily porridge and safe drinking water.
Matanya’s Hope reaches multitudes of radically diverse cultural communities across Kenya. The Maasai Mara Region is one which forever encourages me. To this day, Matanya’s Hope works to bring about gender equality to the GIRL CHILD by empowering her through education. The Maasai (at large) consider the girl child inferior among her community. She is seen as unclean and unworthy lest she undergoes the FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION, after which she will be sold into marriage. However, this charitable organization has come to the rescue of many Maasai girls by offering them education in lieu of FGM and forced early marriage.
Slowly, this archaic ritual is being traded in for higher learning and a healthier lifestyle. Efforts such as this remain a benchmark in the fight against gender violence and in the advocacy of gender equality and human rights at large. When I see what Matanya’s Hope is doing for pupils like me, who were once so lost and hopeless, I see Matanya’s Hope as one of the few world leading organizations dedicating their energies to changing the world and saving lives through positive transformation.
Girls as young as 9 years old are forced to undergo female genital cutting. (FGM) Once healed, they are sold into marriage and may become one of many wives in an older man’s collection.
Where would I be today if not for Matanya’s Hope?
I was born into a family of 3 boys. My parents were not able to cater for even the very basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing. These daily struggles brought about pain and turmoil and left me very confused. But, at 6 years old, God sent angels to come to my rescue. And this has been the beginning of my transformation. Until today, Matanya’s Hope has been catering for my school fees and encouraging my social, emotional, academic and spiritual development.
Why do I say that God sent angels? More than 250 impoverished pupils at my rural primary day school also deserved a chance to a better education, to develop their hidden academic potentials, yet Matanya’s Hope specifically chose me.
I, therefore, cannot sleep when God’s divine favour allowed such an opportunity to change my life. Against all worldly odds, I have come far. Once I was barefooted and schooling in a dirt floored primary school. Today I attend one of the most academically esteemed high schools in Kenya! Who could dare to dream of this, especially at the tender age of 6? Opportunities such as this were unheard of.
Thanks to the Matanya’s Hope academic scholarship, I am here to bid appreciation for the good work done by every stakeholder in this organization. Because of them, I have learned that education is the foundation upon which we build our future. I believe that those who passionately cherish knowledge never cease to grow and glow. I believe that education is the only sustainable way to break the cycle of poverty in Kenya, in Africa and in the world at large.
I pray that this little boy is chosen, like I was, so many years ago. He longs to feel hope instead of hunger and abandonment. He is 7 years old, a year older than when I was sponsored. Sponsorship is a light in darkness. Please – consider changing this little guys life.
Today, I, a young man named Ndirangu, am in highschool. I work hard every day and I believe that one day I will be attending Harvard or Yale as an aspiring lawyer and actuarial.
This song (below) inspires me.
We are the blossoms of our land.
We are the ceram of our generation.
We are the future of our nation.
Where are those who used to doubt us?
Where are those who thought we are not worthy?
Let them come out
and see the builders of our economy.
We shall be doctors, engineers and lawyers.
We are proud to be the blossoms of our land.
We are the cream of our nation!
And together we shall build our nation.
To my sponsors and to my esteemed friend and founder of Matanya’s Hope, Michelle Stark:
Michelle, you encouraged me and I pray that my story serves as an inspiration to others.
I forever thank my family for encouraging and supporting my efforts to better myself every day.
To the Almighty,
I THANK YOU.
Written by C. Ndirangu, Mangu High School, 2nd Year
