Jim Intriglia’s Blog

Winnicent’s Dream of Becoming a Physician: Just Add a Sponsor July 1, 2011

Posted by jimintriglia in Community Service, Harambee Kenya, Personal Interest, Volunteer Opportunities.
2 comments

I received an early birthday present the other day, when I learned that a friend had decided to provide a full academic scholarship for Issac Oloch, an aspiring journalist and student of the St. Antony school, located in Siaya district, Kenya.

As you can imagine, Issac was both surprised and happy when he learned that his new sponsor, Peggy, cared enough about him to invest in his life and his dream.

While this was terrific news, we have more children, like Winnecent Auma, who are anxiously waiting for generous sponsors that are willing to reach out and help break the lock that poverty has on their lives.

I am appealing to you today to join me and other Harambee Kenya Children’s Education Sponsors, in our quest to free children from a life of poverty, through our student academic sponsorship program. More on that later… let’s first talk about the effects of poverty on developing children, and what can be done to help free kids from living a life in poverty.

You’ve likely seen images of children living in poverty, engaged in the daily struggle for food, water and shelter, barely making it through the course of a day.

These children have been born into a life of extreme hardship, through no fault of their own. Many suffer from malnutrition and disease. Some are forced into hard child labor, that often makes their plight even worse.

If you had an opportunity to personally make a significant difference in the life of one of these children, would you take action? Would you like to experience firsthand how your actions can change the course of a child’s life, toward freeing them from a life of poverty?

Education is one of the key areas that can free children from suffering a life of poverty. Through the Harambee Kenya initiative, children in the Uluthe-Mungao sub-location in Western Kenya, have a new school and library facility. The teachers educating the children at St. Antony Mixed Secondary School are providing students with life options through education.

Developing and maintaining the St. Antony school and library, and staffing it with qualified teachers, requires payment of tuition and school fees by parents of children.

Sadly, many children’s parents or guardians do not have the means to enable their children to attend school. Without a

good education, children will never escape a life of poverty that they struggle with each an every day. Their hopes, dreams and ambitions will fade over time, as they lose hope and accept the message of poverty: that they are basically worthless, destined to live a life struggling daily to acquire food, shelter and clothing.

You can make a significant difference in the life of a child that is fast losing hope. Your action today can literally change the life of a child, by giving them hope by enabling them access to a good education at the St. Antony school.

Becoming a student academic sponsor does not take very much time or money. The rewards you will receive in turn from sponsoring your child will far outweigh anything you might imagine!

So, what’s involved in sponsoring a student? Financial support is an important part of enabling a child with a good education. For the cost of a daily cup of coffee at your local coffee shop, you can sponsor the cost of an entire year’s tuition and school supplies for your sponsored child.

Imagine the joy your sponsored child will feel, when they learn that someone cared enough about them, to provide them with a gift of education.

Developing a relationship with your sponsored child, through the exchange of letters with them, is also an important part of child sponsorship. Children who struggle with poverty often feel that nobody cares about them– that they are worthless. Letters written to your sponsored child show them that they have value, that someone cares about their well-being.

You can join us in the fight agains poverty by sponsoring a needy child’s education today. Harambee Kenya of Colorado is a U.S.-based non-profit organization that provides academic sponsorship opportunities for children of the Uluthe-Mungao sub-location.

Your donation of:

$20 – Will provide pencils, notebooks and reading books for your sponsored child, for a year.

$50 – Will provide a year of Primary School tuition for your sponsored child.

$57 – Will provide lunch for the school year for your sponsored child.

$150 – Will provide a Full Year Academic Scholarship for your sponsored child.

Your gift of a Full Year Academic Scholarship covers the cost of your sponsored child’s school tuition and fees, and provide access to the new library facility. Additionally, if your child needs medical attention, they can obtain free medical care through the Uluthe-Mungao medical clinic and dispensary.

Winnicent Auma Otiemo very much needs an Academic Sponsor to help her realize her goals, ambitions and dreams. Winnicent dreams of being a doctor and surgeon, so she can help the affected people in her community.

Seventeen year-old Winnicent was born on April 4, 1994, to her parents, Lucas and Patricia. Her parents are both alive; her father is mentally handicapped due to injuries sustained from an assault. Her mother works hard as a peasant farmer, supporting Winnicent and her five other siblings.

Winnicent volunteers helping the aged and needy in her community, by fetching firewood, water and cleaning. She also helps in the planting of vegetable gardens and maintains the school’s tree nursery with her classmates.

By sponsoring Winnicent, you are greatly increasing her chances of achieving her dream to be a physician. Without your sponsorship, Winnicent will likely have little chance of escaping the hardships of poverty and helping a child in the future live a better life than she has experienced.

To sponsor Winnicent, simply click on the “Sponsor this Child” button or complete Winnicent’s Sponsor form and return to me via email or fax (contact me for the fax number).

I hope you will join me and other Harambee Kenya sponsors in making a difference in the lives of poverty-stricken children, by sponsoring Winnicent today.