Student Stories

by Fred Sadia Telling a story is nice, but telling a story of true resilience is sweet. Such is the beautiful story of a man who, after several years of challenges, is ready to repair. He is ready to patch up the broken past…. and broken vehicles. It is a breezy Wednesday afternoon – the advantage of being in a town adjacent to a lake – and as usual all the Ndoto offices are occupied with staff who are ensuring that the mission and vision of Ndoto are attained.

Ordinarily, when a student leaves Ndoto before graduating, it’s a sad occasion. Sometimes, however, we are amazed at their maturity and praise God for it! Irene is an example. She joined Ndoto in 2018 at 21 years old, going into her third year of pharmacy school at a top university. With incredible grades, but her single mother raising 3 other children in high school by selling tomatoes, Irene’s family had sold nearly all of their belongings to settle debts.

by Fred Sadia This is not a story of qualified physicians operating in slums. It’s an account of a slum that is producing doctors year after year, young men and women who have overcome all odds to be able to dress in brilliant white lab coats with stethoscopes hanging around their necks. It’s the dream of most Kenyan children to become doctors and study medicine, but because of the high cost of the programs most families cannot afford to send their children.

by Fred Sadia The dates have been set, the preparations are in high gear, and the graduates are ready to embrace the moment…it’s all systems go for the 2018 graduation ceremonies! In Kenya, the Christmas season is always accompanied by graduation parties, as the month of December is when most colleges around the country hold commencements. Families travel from rural areas to grace these occasions all over the country. It’s always a scene worth admiring: various communities dressed in their traditional regalia, thronging school courtyards, ready to witness their sons and daughters put on the caps of academic brilliance.

by Allison Schlack Phanice, a 17-year old high school junior in Ndoto Everyone told me my wedding week would fly by, and to try to savor it, because afterward it would be hard to remember the details. Hosting a retreat for 300 Ndoto students two days before the wedding, an Ndoto sponsor/student lunch for 50 one day before the wedding, and a rehearsal dinner for 80 the night before the wedding, all led to the joyous blur of the weekend.