My time at the Kenya Dream Centre is an experience I will not soon forget.
It is one thing to hear and see from our home country the impact that prayers and sponsorships have had on the children of this Dream Centre, but to be there and see the results of the hard labour, sponsorships and the favour of Jesus, will grip hold of your heart and soul in a whole new way.
The boy I am holding in this picture is Dane, he was left with nothing and only months old to die behind a restaurant (“restaurant” is a very generous word, more of a shack) in the slums of Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. The truth is that when I met this little boy last month, at 3 and a half years old, he had a permanent look of disappointment on his face and it actually took 3 days before I even saw him crack a smile. This, as you could imagine was heartbreaking. The caretakers of this 36 children home, had told me they can get him to smile but it takes quite a bit of time and perseverance.
Their investment in this boy’s life has caused him to smile more often and has opened a door for this boy to experience the basic necessary joys that life as a child should offer, which many of us can take for granted. During my time there I watched as they invested time into these children giving them education, purpose, hope and life. Not an easy job by any stretch. I quickly realized how these caretakers have taken on the role of this boy’s mother who had abandoned him and how essential this influence is in developing a child’s happiness and well-being.
There are many more stories like this boys, some much worse, but what keeps me so thankful for this place is the stories yet to be written, the lives yet to be changed and the babies yet to be saved. I have never witnessed and been a part of greater good than sponsoring a child.
– Davin Pacholok (May 2016 Team)