<<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcnoj0EOtAE>>
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“I am appealing to all Sudanese’s friends, well wishers, and donors to give me the assistance to complete my Form 4 class. I promise that I will do well, better than local Kenyan friends. I will also fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a neurosurgeon or alternatively, a computer technology career. It will be a pleasure to see a nice event in the footprint at the sand of your time for developing me. I hope I will make you smile big when I perform well in exams, and that is the only way of saying thank you so much for developing me. I am in a jovial mood.”
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That is an excerpt from a letter about his life that I asked Agostino to write. It describes his journey from Sudan to Northern Kenya, and finally to here in Nairobi. He is an extremely intelligent student, and was the top student at Sud Academy when he was there. In January when I started with the other Form 4 boys, I mistakenly thought that he had found funding to complete his high school career- he has been sponsored in the past because of his high performance levels. When I ran into him a couple weeks ago, I asked why he wasn’t in class and he said he had been going but hiding from the administration because he couldn’t pay his fees. He looked much thinner than he did in December when I taught him for 4 weeks, and I asked if he was ok. He smiled and said “life is very hard these days.” He asked if I could lend him his exam registration fee last week, because the deadline was approaching and a failure to register means no exit exam at the end of 2009. Without writing the exam, you cannot claim you’ve graduated high school. When I agreed to pay this ~$100 fee, his reaction was shocking and moving. With tears in his eyes and his hands shaking, he hid his face in his sweater and kept repeating, “thank you so much Kellee, thank you, thank you… you are blessing my life, I am so appreciative, I promise to do well, thank you…” I was taken aback, saddened and then immediately decided that THIS would be my next responsibility. With a little financial help, Agostino will be on the fast track to success- I would bet my own Queen’s University degree on it.
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"Hi Kellee, yesterday was a nice day, you made me proud, I walk tall in class, I relief stresses. Cheers from Agostino"... text message I received while writing this post. I met with his principal yesterday and hung out with the boys all day at school.
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Not that it is the reason I am here and helping these boys, but it is one of the rarest and sweetest things I have experienced this far in life, knowing and seeing that together, we are really helping people. It isn’t just throwing money at a problem, which I am very critical of in developing countries. With these education sponsorships, we are providing these boys with something immaterial & intangible, something that cannot be bought, and that will stay with them and imply every day of their life from here on out. Their joy and their appreciation make everything worth it. I am really grateful to all those who’ve donated already, every time I see the boys I know in my heart that we have all made the right decision to make small sacrifices in order to provide big rewards. I hope that we can fundraise enough to pay the rest of Agostinos fees. He is a remarkable boy and deserves this tremendously. Thank you for reading this emotional message.
1 comment:
Kelle, Kellee how much you have learned, be sure to tell the boys that as well. And be sure to tell them what they have taught us about determination and commitment to excel. I am so happy for you, that you have experienced the ultimate completeness of what helping and being appreciated on that very real level feels like. It is humbling but it is no humble achievement.
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