Ndoto means ‘Dream’ in Kiswahili, the lingua franca of Kenya. When we chose it for the name of our new ministry in 2009, we immediately knew that one of the first questions we’d ask every new sponsored student would be, “What is your dream for your future?”
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| Philip in 2011, his first year as an Ndoto student |
Many of our students, especially the younger ones, default to the things they know, like being a doctor or lawyer. Those careers sound like a quick path to prosperity, but they require the highest of grades and an extra-long stay in college. Most of our students realign their dreams as they get older, but the wisest ones follow their passion.
Philip joined Ndoto in high school when the school fees became too much for his family to bear. Last born in a family of six, his family had moved from the rural area to Obunga, where we work. He had good grades, and we were able to sponsor him to go to college in 2016 to earn a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
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| Philip graduated in 2019 |
Just before graduation in 2019, Philip got a job in the capital city, Nairobi, to work in the finance department of a telecommunications company. Unfortunately, he was laid off a year and a half later when the Covid pandemic devastated many jobs, including his. In May 2021, he decided to venture into the fashion industry, recalling his passion for it in college. He made the risky decision to start his own business, which he called “Phil-Clothing.” He had wisely been saving money from his paychecks, and he deployed this as his startup capital.
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| Philip on our campus recently |
Today, Philip has emerged as a sought-after designer in Nairobi, and is progressively and steadily growing his business in an environment that is known by locals in Kiswahili as ‘Shamba la Mawe’ (the Farm of Rocks), a hyperbolic description of an intricately impenetrable market in Kenya. Despite the challenging environment, he attributes his success to Ndoto and to the business sense he learned in school.
Philip already has an employee working for him. He has built a house in the rural area he grew up in and appreciates the Ndoto sponsorship and discipleship that gave him the opportunity to achieve his dream. He says that Ndoto positively impacted his life, transforming his whole way of reasoning. “I pray that God sustains Ndoto to see more less-privileged young people helped, like I was,” he told us.
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| Two styles designed by Philip |
