meet Milka!

Hello,

Since we have been here, we have met so many children who we will never be able to forget; Dominic, Paris, Eric, Helen, Emily, Philip, Charles, Joseph... and also Milka.

Milka is a sister to Philip, Charles, and Joesph. Even though she is only nine years old, she is responsible for her two younger brothers whenever her mother needs to do errands. Her mother is a single parent, struggling to support all four of her wonderful children. Philip went to boarding school earlier this month thanks to his sponsorship. He was happy to go, but you could tell that his family was already missing him very much. When Philip left for his school orientation, his mother went with him. Milka stayed with the two younger boys, who were both very upset about their brother and mother leaving. Milka is extremely protective of her brothers, and we can tell she loves them very much. When we are at the slum playing, you can often hear Milka's laughter above all the other tiny voices. Even from the first day we arrived, she was never shy.

Milka and her younger brothers.

Last week, Milka and I were sitting in the shade while the other children were playing football. She asked me what Philip's boarding school was like. I showed her some pictures that I had taken on the day that we dropped Philip off. She liked the pictures, but afterward seemed sad. She told me that she thought she would never get the opportunity to go to school, because it was more important for her to take care of her brothers. I asked her if school was something that she wanted for herself. She did, of course.

This week, we got the news that another child would be sponsored, and I immediately thought of my conversation with Milka. We spoke with her mother, and asked if she could go. Milka's mother was hesitant, because Joseph is still quite young and needs to be taken care of. After talking for a bit longer with the Pastor, she agreed and thanked us. She also wants to pass her gratitude to Milka's sponsors.

When we told Milka that she would be going to boarding school, she could hardly contain her excitement. She was jumping around, smiling from ear to ear, and beaming proudly when Pastor took her shoe size.We also needed Milka's measurements to get her school uniform made. To do this, we had to go into town, so we all went with Milka into Nakuru and decided to take her out for lunch also. We asked her what she wanted, and she said a soda. We also got her some chicken, rice, and vegetables. After that we went to a store and got her some sweets and cookies. All of the volunteers had a great time spoiling Milka.

When we got back to the slum, we conducted a video interview with Milka in her home at the garbage slum. This was an idea that we had before Milka was sponsored. We wanted people to be able to see a child in these surroundings, talking about it in their own words. Milka still wanted to do the interview, as she thought it might help other kids living in Gioto. She has such a big heart.

Monday, she will be off to school with two other children from the slum who recently got sponsored. She is very excited to go to the same boarding school as her older brother, Philip. Milka's mother now helps cook the food for our feeding program at the slum, and washes the children's dishes after they are done.Milka's two younger brothers (Charles and Joseph) are still living in the slum with their mom.

Outside Milka's house in Gioto garbage slum.

Again, we would like to extend our thanks to Milka's sponsors.


Love, Kyle and Kate