Students vs Sponsors; The Dilemma

Ndoto students participating in a past church service

Michael; ndoto student who recently graduated to be a pastor, with his brother Tobias, also a ndoto student. They too did not go through the interview process to join the program.

    Yesterday as I compiled the names of the shortlisted students for this year, I was reminded of just how lucky I am to have joined the program when I did. Competition has become so stiff that not just anyone can get in anymore. BRIGHTand NEEDY are the bywords of the day.

   The reason we take 50 students annually is due to the fact that it is so difficult recruiting sponsors. We rely entirely on the good will of the sponsors to run this program. Our sponsors play a critical role in giving disadvantaged kids in Obunga the basics and the confidence they so much need to realize their dreams. The monetary contributions made by the sponsors not only help the students afford quality education but also go a long way in  providing love and attention to the poor children in Obunga. Recruiting sponsors has been the sole responsibility of Ndoto’s executive director, Allison Schlack who works tirelessly to ensure that each of the 50 students that we admit annually have sponsors by the start of the school year. Although we do roll out the sponsorship application forms in June each year, the vetting process and the interviews take a long time and by the time we come up with the successful applicants it is always late in the year with only 3 months before the start of school year. The good news is that God has always provided for us and we have no iota of doubt He can do it again. Our slogan has always been to pray! pray! Pray! until every student has a sponsor. Previously, some students who are not  lucky to have sponsors by the start of school year in January have had to either delay reporting to school until they have one or have their guardians struggle to pay the first term fees on their own until the start of second term by which time all the students usually do have sponsors.
        Taking students above the “normal” limit of 50 usually means extra work for Allison and other Ndoto volunteers helping recruit sponsors and lots of prayers from the entire Ndoto fraternity. We always don’t know what to expect, we just take students and go out there believing that God will provide a sponsor for every student we have taken in. Sometimes the difficult process of recruiting sponsors is aggravated by the fact that some sponsors drop out due to financial commitments and we have to look for alternative sponsors because at the end of the day our priority is to keep our students in school.
        With the overwhelming applications received this year, we ended up short listing a massive 152 students last week! Each of them had good marks, well articulated dreams and demonstrated financial need. So after days of rigorous vetting, we had 152 students and we were ready for the interviews. Then it dawned on us that we only have 50 spots. Yes, 50 spots for 152 students all with dire need. Knowing explicitly well how difficult the process of recruiting sponsors is, we were forced to go back to the drawing board and embark on another vetting process, this time to eliminate 50 students so that we could interview 102. How painful it was getting rid of 50 precious people! We raised the standards, and went for the crème de la crème of the group; taking the brightest from the group and assessing their financial need. I must admit that all the 370 plus students were very special. Thus to come from 370 to 152, and then reduce the 152 to 102 was painful indeed. How I wish we could find sponsors for all of them!! Right after we had shortlisted the final 102 students who are coming for the interviews tomorrow,  Thursday, 30^th August, we posted the list and scores of prospective students and their parents scrambled to find out if they made it at least for the interviews. I loved seeing their eyes light up when they realized they had made it for the interviews. It was a real reminder of how fortunate they were to have made it amid stiff competition and the stringent vetting criteria ever in the Ndoto history.

Lawi, a student whose life has changed dramatically since joining the program last year. He now goes to Akili prep school, a school started in Obunga by one of our graduate student teachers, Erick Oduor.

        Not everyone was happy though, there was anger and frustrations written on the faces of those who did not make it and we encouraged them to keep working hard and apply next year. The Ndoto premise in Obunga has become a favorite hanging out place for most of the youth in Obunga. Some come to study at Akili library while others just come to hang out. It has been so sad walking around and meeting familiar faces in the library and in the compound; faces of students who applied and didn’t make it, not that they are not bright, but because of the limited spots we have for the year. Every time we meet them, they look at us with expectation as if their future is in our hands. Sometimes, you look at them and it dawns on you that they are indeed very needy and should have made it for the interviews were it not for the limited spots. Those are the times that I wish everyone in the world could sponsor a kid and make a difference in the world. Unfortunately that can’t happen and we must keep praying that God will minister to people in a special way and change their hearts towards giving to help the less fortunate in our society.

some of the ndoto students having fun at the ndoto office in Obunga.

    If you have a heart to help the poorest and most vulnerable in the world, then we invite you to learn more about our work and join us as we offer life, opportunity and hope to the children in need in Kenya. When you sponsor a child, you can transform a life, please act now to make a difference in the world. With $35 dollar a month, you can put a student through school in Kenya! As a sponsor, you will help provide a child with sustainable access to appropriate life-changing basics like nutritious food and clean water for the Boy’s and Girl’s dorms, healthcare, and education for the over 100 students that we support. Ndoto will also give you the opportunity to personally connect with your sponsored child thus building a relationship that could change both your lives.

Ashley Reed, one of our sponsors with Ridah, the student she sponsors. Ashley is volunteering with Ndoto in Kenya, mentoring our young girls

“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord-and He will repay you.” Proverbs 19:17