Asante

A couple of days ago I paid the girl's school fees. I wanted to take a moment and say asante, which means thank you in Swahili, to those of you who have given toward our work. Keeping the girls in school is one big way we are providing a hopeful future for them.

Why do we pay for school, when the government provides free education? Mostly because the free education is not a reality. The teachers who run those government schools create fees all the time, or request money for things like desks, books, and anything else they can think of. Most of our girls had missed a lot of school before coming to live with us. We took them to the nearest public school, but they did not score high enough on the placement exam to secure a spot.

Right now the school fees are 6,500 KES per term, per child, of which there are 9 children, three terms a year. That is approximately $80 U.S. dollars per child, so $713 per term (depending on the exchange rate). Not bad at all. Though that does not include books, uniforms, exams, remedial classes on Saturday, and other small things that creep up on us.

Once again thank you to those who gave, you have ensured that these children remain in school.