I met Senteyo my first morning at Unity women’s village in Kenya.
I woke fully rested from a night in the guest hut, where the beds were comfortable and the mosquito netting was charming. She was sitting in the shade of the only tree, holding a baby on her lap while two women sat around making beaded jewelry. In the kitchen hut, Serewana was preparing my breakfast of fried eggs, toast, and fruit. Selling their beadwork and occasionally running an AirBnB in the guest hut are the village’s only sources of income. Senteyo asked me questions about my life in America, such as how many children I had, and she told me she had four. What she didn’t tell me was how many other children are living with her. Two of the children are her younger brothers. Their father and her older brother were murdered by cow thieves, on two separate occasions. They couldn’t call the cops because the thieves were cops. Their mother died of cancer. Two of the children are her nieces. Heart Projects has been raising money for Senteyo’s sister, Elizabeth Lenaiyasa, to go to college to study tourism. Getting this degree will be a huge help to the village, but Elizabeth has two daughters — a four-year-old and a ten-year-old — and she can’t take them with her. Elizabeth can’t pay to support her children for the four years she’ll be college. Senteyo offered to support them for her. The other four children are orphans, or their parents weren’t able to take care of them. Senteyo’s generosity blew me away. The Samburu women live in poverty. Their small huts usually have two rooms: the entryway/kitchen, and a bedroom for the family to share. Some families have a single bed, but many of them only have a mat of cow skin that they lay on a dirt floor. In that single room, twelve children sleep together on mats these. The huts and the dirt floor don’t bother me. I asked the matriarch of a different, more prosperous village if they could raise money to build houses, since Umoja has a dozen beautiful guest houses with floors and running water. It was a rude question; she said they liked their way of life. Their children might choose to live in different homes, but they enjoyed their huts. So it’s not the living in huts that gets me, or the laying on mats. It’s the size of the single hut holding so many children, with only one woman to support them and look after them. Building a second hut for the older children would be difficult, if not infeasible. Their homes are made of specific bendable sticks, which are difficult to find, that are woven together, wrapped in metal sheets, and topped with cardboard. A woman might walk hours every day to find them. The village is a tightly-knit community, so she has more help raising the children than an American woman would have. Still, it can’t be easy, especially since she’s covering their school fees in addition to their food and clothes. Education is very important to the Samburu people. I’ve occasionally wondered if it’s easier to give to others when you don’t have much. Maybe the excess of the Western world is a breeding ground for greed. But I suspect my second theory is true. Perhaps the Samburu women are so generous because each of them have needed help before, and they likely will again. Americans have a do-it-yourself mentality, whereas if a Samburu family doesn’t have enough to eat, they go to another hut to ask for help. Either way, it was a privilege to hear Senteyo’s story, and it’s a privilege to share her story with you. If you want to support Senteyo’s dozen children, support Elizabeth’s education, or support Heart Projects in general, find us on Venmo @heartprojects. Leave a note saying where you want the money to go. We’ll make sure it gets to the right place!
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After leaving Kenya last August, I asked my hostess, Beth Lenayasa, if she needed anything. She wanted the same thing every Samburu I met wanted: an education. Beth was able to graduate high school after getting a much sought-after scholarship from the Samburu Youth Education Fund, and because of it, she's been able to run an AirBnB and Etsy shop for her village. But she needed a degree in tourism for her village to thrive. She had hoped to start school in April 2022. When I didn't hear from her in April, I reached out and asked if it was too late to attend school that semester. She replied: Yes it's too late indeed I was about to give up with the school but they didn't take any intake they were confirming when 2021 result to be place so that they can have a good number of students and give out the intake day at once! I was contacting them all time and they respond to me they they had confirmed my admission and i need to wait till August when everything is okay! Sorry for the delay. She them sent me an email from the college: Dear Applicant, This is to acknowledge receipt of your application to Wildlife Research and Training Institute( Formerly Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute) We wish to inform you that the intake is scheduled to be in August 2022( Specific date to be communicated) in the admission Letter to be sent in due course. Please do not hesitate to seek any clarification to the undersigned In less than a month, she'll send updates about her first day at school. We can't wait to hear how it goes! While she's in school, her sister will be taking care of her kids. Elizabeth's school is a 9-hour bus drive away from her children, or a 3-hour car ride for anyone with $450 to spend. We would love to help her sister with the girls' living expenses. Every bit helps! To help Elizabeth and her family, Venmo us @heartprojects. Thank you for your support!
What the Project Is Unity is an all-woman village in Kenya, made entirely of women who have fled abuse. All their income depends on tourists and selling their beadwork. The only woman in the village with a high school education wants to study tourism to bring more money to the village. Why the Project Matters In the summer of 2021, I stayed in an all-women village in Samburu, Kenya. One woman helped me set up the trip: Elizabeth Lenaiyasa. She was the top of her class in grade school and was given a scholarship to attend high school by the Samburu Youth Education Fund. Because of her education, she is the only one in her village who knows how to use a smart phone, which she uses to run the AirBnB, an Etsy shop, and to communicate with tourists. To the women and children in her community, she is indispensable. Elizabeth wants to get a degree in Tourism to bring more money to the village. These women are living in poverty, so when she asked me if I could pay for her education, I couldn't tell her no...especially since it only costs $4,000! So far, I've raised the money for her first semester by selling macarons. In addition to tuition, Elizabeth needs help with her living expenses. Her children, who will be cared for by her sister while she's gone, will also need help. Elizabeth needs money to be able to visit them, and to pay her phone bill so she can continue running the AirBnB and the Etsy store for her village. Thankfully, living expenses in Kenya are small compared to ours. It won't take much for us to make a huge difference! I'm especially excited about this project because it isn't mine. For this clothing drive, the Project Directors are my 6- and 8-year-old daughters!
Bella's heart cause is the poor. (This includes the working class, the impoverished, the disabled, the homeless, and developing countries.) She also has a passion for fashion. She told me when she grows up, she wants to design wedding dresses for poor women and give them away for free. I was touched by her creative and thoughtful idea, but I was also unsettled by her phrase "when I grow up." People often use the words "if" and "when." Too many of us believe we don't have the resources to make real change. I didn't want my children to have that mindset. I said, "We can give clothes to the poor now." Both my daughters perked up. "How?" they asked together. "We can host a clothing drive." The girls made their own fliers, which I've sent to our church and to their school. At a specific time, we're going to park our van in a parking lot and accept baby and kid clothes to take to With Love. With Love is a program that provides clothing and toiletries to foster kids who often go to foster homes with nothing. My parents used to keep foster kids, and they typically had to buy clothes for new foster kids. This is a burden on the foster families' finances and time. My girls have been praying every night that their clothing drive will be a success. We'll keep you posted on our progress! We did it!!!!
For the very first heart project, I successfully sold enough macarons to pay for the first semester of Elizabeth's education. It was $500 for tuition plus $50 for living + $182 for expenses, which added up to 360 macarons. Whew! I only need to do this seven more times to cover the cost of her entire tuition -- $4,000 -- plus hopefully more to cover her cost of living and to support her children. Read more about Elizabeth here. Donate to the cause on Venmo @heartprojects. |
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