This is the twentieth anniversary of the Helping Orphans Purse Education (H.O.P.E.) project, which is now my ministry here in Kenya. Since its inception in 1999, H.O.P.E. has assisted about 2800 orphans to obtain an education that they otherwise would not have had the means to pursue. I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with a former student of the H.O.P.E. project the other day. His story touched me deeply and I want to share it with you.
Daniel (not his real name), who is now 30 years old, was born and raised in Mombasa. His father died when he was young. Daniel and his sister, who is just few years older than him, were raised alone by their mother. When Daniel was in eighth grade, a social worker brought Daniel’s case forward to H.O.P.E. and he was accepted into the program starting with his first year of high school. While Daniel was still in eighth grade and not long after being accepted into H.O.P.E., his mom passed away from AIDS. After his mom died, Daniel and his sister were living on their own. Again, at this time, his sister was just high school age and Daniel was in eighth grade.
After Daniel was accepted into the program, H.O.P.E. was able to secure a special sponsor for Daniel so that he could not only attend high school, but attend a boarding school. This not only provided the opportunity for Daniel to pursue his high school education, but being a boarding school, it provided a safe and stable environment where Daniel could not only learn, but thrive. H.O.P.E. paid for the entirety of Daniel’s secondary schooling – tuition, room and board, fees, books, and uniforms. Daniel didn’t just make the grade at boarding school, he excelled. He not only finished near the top of his class, but also played on the school’s basketball team. H.O.P.E. supported Daniel though all four years at the boarding school until his graduation.
The fact that H.O.P.E. was able to fund Daniel for boarding school became critically important when his sister went missing when Daniel was in his first year at the boarding school. During break when Daniel went home for vacation, his sister was gone and no one knew how to find her. With yet another devastating event to deal with, Daniel returned to school and persevered with continuing his education. On a side note, many years later, Daniel was able to track down his sister. By that time, his sister was married with four kids. Escaping everthing was apparently Daniel’s sister’s way of dealing with the situation. Daniel and his sister now stay in contact and they see each other a few times a year.
After graduation from the boarding school, Daniel was on his own again and moved in with a friend. Through the generosity and financial support of another person who came into Daniel’s life, Daniel was provided the means to attend college. Daniel applied and was accepted into a technical university to study Biochemical engineering. He started classes at the beginning of the next term. Daniel really liked sciences in school and thought Biochemistry would fit his interests well. As many of us can relate to, Daniel found his first year of college difficult academically when compared to high school. This was the case even though he had a full schedule of fluff courses – Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Calculus. :0) However, not to be deterred, Daniel studied hard and did very well. When I asked Daniel what his toughest course in college was, he answered Molecular Biology, which he took in his third year. Anyone who has taken Molecular Biology can certainly empathize.
Education here in Kenya is very time intensive. Although they have recently lightened the load a bit, students put in a lot of hours at school. This applies for primary and secondary school as well as college. Daniel told me that his classes went from 8 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday. While in college, Daniel played rugby. He played or practiced every day after classes. When I asked him when he did homework and studied, he replied after rugby. When I asked him when he slept, I didn’t get a good answer.
Daniel graduated college in four years ranking near the top of his class. Apparently colleges in Kenya, don’t provide any job placement assistance. Daniel finished his degree without securing a job. After graduating, Daniel rented a place and resorted to doing odd jobs – including driving matatus, the minivans here in Kenya that serve as public transportation. During this time, Daniel applied for Biochemistry positions at several companies and research institutes, but he could not find anything.
Discouraged at not being able to find a job as a Biochemist and wanting a better life, Daniel thought a change of scenery would help. So he moved to a rural farming town where he lived with a friend and together they tried to earn a living farming. However, they found it very difficult to make any money. After six months, Daniel and his friend gave up on farming. As Daniel was not able to find any other employment in the rural town, he was forced to move again.
This time Daniel move upcountry to the town where his father was from. With no real good options or prospects for employment, he figured we would explore his roots. Once he arrived upcountry, he was able to track down his father’s sister, Daniel’s aunt, who was still living in his father’s hometown. Daniel had never met her before, but she welcomed him to stay with her. After a short time, Daniel found a job at a pharmacy and moved into his own place. Although he didn’t have a certificate to be a pharmacist, he did at least have a Biochemistry degree. The owner proceeded to train him on the job for two weeks. Although the regulation of pharmacies here is Kenya is nowhere as stringent as in the US, Daniel was fortunate he got away with not having a certificate. Daniel stayed in his father’s hometown and worked at the pharmacy for two years.
At this point, Daniel had a yearning to move back to Mombasa, where he was born and raised. So last year, Daniel moved back to Mombasa and opened his own business selling clothes. Daniel did not have a shop, but rather sold clothes though social media using platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. He bought merchandise from China using the Alibaba website and stored inventory in his apartment. Daniel sold merchandise to clients in the Mombasa area and delivered the clothes himself to buyers using public transportation, meaning matatus. Business was good at the beginning, but then slowed down drastically. It appears that a number of people started selling merchandise procured from the Alibaba website and there was too much supply. Daniel eventually sold all his inventory off, but it took a lot of time. He now had to look for another source of income.
Earlier this year, Daniel found employment doing safety work with a Chinese company supplying building materials for a port under construction (yes, the Chinese are everywhere here and at some point soon will own most of Africa). Unfortunately, the work ended after only three months.
Since April, Daniel has gone back to doing odd jobs and looking for employment. As you can probably imagine, it is not that easy to get employment in Kenya as a Biochemist. Out of the 48 students in Daniel’s Biochemistry graduating class, only two are currently employed doing Biochemistry. Part of the reason for the difficulty in finding a position as a Biochemist is simply the fact that there is just not an abundance of these types of jobs in Kenya. However, the disturbing part for me is that Daniel is not even getting an opportunity to compete for the jobs that do exist. Unfortunately, like most good things in Kenya, you either have to know someone or bribe someone. As I’ve talked about before, corruption is rampant here and the people of Kenya are the ones who are injured by it. Daniel is a student worked hard and ended up at the top of his class, but still is not being given a chance. It’s tragic. Despite his frustrations with finding a job as a Biochemist, Daniel continues to persevere. He does odd jobs to sustain himself and continues his search for employment.
Daniel certainly seized the opportunity presented to him by H.O.P.E. He put in the time and effort to get very good grades and finish at the top of his class. He is prepared and ready for a career in Biochemistry, if only given the chance. Even though Daniel has yet to find an ideal job that utilizes the skills which has honed, he is very grateful for the opportunities that H.O.P.E. has provided him. Without H.O.P.E., Daniel would not have been able to complete high school. Without a high school diploma, Daniel it would be very difficult to get any kind of job. Without a high school diploma, Daniel would never had the opportunity go to college and earn a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry. Daniel goes so far as to say that without H.O.P.E. he would have been out on the street and ended up as a street kid where gangs and drugs are everywhere.
As I begin my ministry as administrator of H.O.P.E., cases like this are at the core of my hopes and struggles with the project. On the one hand, I see the tremendous benefit H.O.P.E. gives orphans like Daniel by providing the means to get an education and skills for a successful career and life. On the other hand, I feel helpless in the face of the unfairness that inhibits people like Daniel from succeeding. I know I can’t solve all the problems of the world, but I can at least give them a voice (as small as it may be).
Pope Francis addressed corruption in a prayer intention earlier this year. He said this.
What is at the root of slavery, unemployment, and disregard for nature and goods held in common? Corruption, a process of death that feeds the culture of death.
Because the thirst for power and possessions knows no limits.
Corruption is not countered with silence.
We must speak about it, denounce its evils, and try to understand it so as to show our resolve to make mercy reign over meanness, beauty over nothingness.
Let us pray that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption.
As Pope Francis stresses, corruption is not countered with silence. We must call it out and denounce it, and most certainly not be a party to it. Let us also pray that our Lord will touch the hearts of those in power to be good stewards of the gifts he has entrusted to them.
God is good.
