MY BIRTHDAY WISH: CHARITY'S SCHOOL
Donation protected
For my birthday this year, I want you to help me keep Charity in school. We have only 48 hours to collect all her fees for the year.
If you remember, we successfully helped our former nanny Everlyn with both of her daughters' education last year. Now her older daughter Brenda is going to graduate from college in October, but her younger daughter Charity is still in high school, and if we don't ACT NOW, she will be sent home this week!
Their story will be familiar to those of you who supported our cause last time, but we feel it's important to include these details again because this is still the story of a family struggling to create a better future for themselves through the power of education.
We met Everlyn, a nice 42-year-old Kenyan lady, in Nairobi, when we moved there in 2016. She was looking for a job and we were looking for a nanny for our two-month-old baby Ruslan. We never had a nanny before, so we were very careful with our choice. After a few weeks, we could easily go shopping or pick our daughter from school and leave our son with Everlyn. We spent lots of time talking and sharing life experiences, and we soon met her lovely daughters Brenda and Charity.
Despite experiencing cruel treatment and disrespect from those around her, this brave woman has remained positive throughout her life. Her faith in education is only rivaled by her faith in God, and by telling you her and her daughter's story, we hope you will help us in supporting the education that she herself was denied.
Though Everlyn showed great academic promise at an early age, she was kept from continuing her education after turning ten years old because her family couldn’t afford tuition. She was sent to live with her grandparents and put to work at a friend's house as a housekeeper, and all the money she earned went to her grandparents. The employers and houses changed, but the job remained the same: cleaning and cooking, and also babysitting sometimes two or three kids.
Everlyn met her husband, who was from a somewhat well-off family, but his parents were unhappy with his choice and always showed great disrespect to her and her grandparents. Despite this, they carried on together and welcomed Brenda and Charity into the world. Sadly, Everlyn’s husband passed away when she was thirty, and she and her young daughters (who were six and two at the time) didn't receive any help from her or his families.
They made her to cook for all the family and to look after little babies. They used her without any respect. More than that, his family took whatever money was left from her and told her on several occasions that she and her daughters have AIDS and they were going to die.
One good neighbor, who felt sorry and always liked Everlyn and the girls, came and told her if she stayed in that house she was always going to be used and the only way was to leave. Seeking a better life, she took her girls to Nairobi from their small village. She had to work hard saving and putting everything she could aside. For a long time, she fed them once a day with porridge, which they remembered forever. When Brenda went to school she saw a kid in the cafeteria throwing leftover food away and she was so shocked that she came home telling this her mom with tears.
Their economic situation, though, was still very grave. When Charity was four she had typhoid and they didn't have the dollar needed to take a bus to the hospital for a checkup. Everlyn left her at home with a bucket and went out to ask neighbors and family for money. After finding the money, she came home and found Charity dangerously dehydrated. It was a miracle she survived.
Everlyn has worked hard to earn money to give her daughters education. There were always good people on her way who helped with many things. Some paid school fees, some gave extra money for food, one gave an old TV and little gas oven. Some ladies she worked for yelled at her and told her to leave before they came home. There were times when children, who she helped with, were asking their parents to be nicer to her, as they liked her a lot and didn't want mom to yell. Generally speaking, the lives of housekeepers and nannies are hard, heartbreaking, and unfair.
Last year Charity started high school, even though she is sixteen. When she got enough grades to apply to a few boarding schools, as the system in Kenya is mostly boarding education, we remember Everlyn was searching for the best choice within her financial range. She found a friend who helped to enroll her to a good place, so that the area around was safe for the girl; some schools are surrounded by bars and it was dangerous as the rape statistics in Kenya are outrageous. We were so happy she went to the safe school. The boarding system gives Everlyn some rest, as both girls now have places to stay and are being fed and taken cafe of every day. Among a few things she has to buy for her are books, a uniform, clothes, sugar, sweetened milk, and cocoa.
Starting two years ago we helped to pay for both girls’ school fees and to buy all necessities. The plan was to stay in Nairobi and keep Everlyn employed, but our circumstances made us leave in the end of June and take a job in Armenia. We were very upset to leave; it was heartbreaking to say goodbye to Everlyn, and there were tears all around.
Everlyn has secured employment since our last fundraiser, but the little money she makes is not enough to support Charity's education. We've been sending $100 a month for the last several months to help cover Everlyn's basic needs, but without your help, Charity will be sent home. She still needs another year before she can go to college.
Though our financial situation has improved a little, we still have to recover, pay credit bills, and take care of our two young children. It hurts to even think that all the hard work for more than twenty years Everlyn has put into her younger daughter will be lost. Her dream is to give both of her daughters a better life than her own. We don’t want her sacrifices to be in vain.
Everlyn is still an active member and leader at her church, so she is also helping people in her community. One time when we gave her some extra money, a neighbor with a sick child came to her the same day. Everlyn gave her the money with the words: "God provided me today with this money from my boss, so I could help you. Go buy him good food." She is a person who helps others with an open heart. After all the rough life events, she believes in good.
We know that it is in our hands to keep Charity educated and give her a chance for a better future, and WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT NOW!
The goal we've set is $700, which is:
$500 - school fees for Charity this school year (2018-2019)
$200 - books, clothes, uniform for this school year.
We know we've had a hard time getting the thank you gifts together, but Charity will make a HANDMADE POSTCARD with an element of traditional Kenyan clothes on it and mail them to you. If you are interested in that, please donate and include your name and mailing address (country, city, street, building, apartment, zip code).
Another opportunity to express their gratitude could be online friendship with Brenda (Charity is still not allowed to use a phone at her school), who can answer your question about life in Kenya and her studies. For this please write your contacts (email, WhatsApp or skype)
Please donate, and I will make a call to Everlyn and yell: "WE'VE COLLECTED THE WHOLE YEAR’S MONEY!"
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND MAKING MY BIRTHDAY A MOMENT TO HELP OTHERS!
If you remember, we successfully helped our former nanny Everlyn with both of her daughters' education last year. Now her older daughter Brenda is going to graduate from college in October, but her younger daughter Charity is still in high school, and if we don't ACT NOW, she will be sent home this week!
Their story will be familiar to those of you who supported our cause last time, but we feel it's important to include these details again because this is still the story of a family struggling to create a better future for themselves through the power of education.
We met Everlyn, a nice 42-year-old Kenyan lady, in Nairobi, when we moved there in 2016. She was looking for a job and we were looking for a nanny for our two-month-old baby Ruslan. We never had a nanny before, so we were very careful with our choice. After a few weeks, we could easily go shopping or pick our daughter from school and leave our son with Everlyn. We spent lots of time talking and sharing life experiences, and we soon met her lovely daughters Brenda and Charity.
Despite experiencing cruel treatment and disrespect from those around her, this brave woman has remained positive throughout her life. Her faith in education is only rivaled by her faith in God, and by telling you her and her daughter's story, we hope you will help us in supporting the education that she herself was denied.
Though Everlyn showed great academic promise at an early age, she was kept from continuing her education after turning ten years old because her family couldn’t afford tuition. She was sent to live with her grandparents and put to work at a friend's house as a housekeeper, and all the money she earned went to her grandparents. The employers and houses changed, but the job remained the same: cleaning and cooking, and also babysitting sometimes two or three kids.
Everlyn met her husband, who was from a somewhat well-off family, but his parents were unhappy with his choice and always showed great disrespect to her and her grandparents. Despite this, they carried on together and welcomed Brenda and Charity into the world. Sadly, Everlyn’s husband passed away when she was thirty, and she and her young daughters (who were six and two at the time) didn't receive any help from her or his families.
They made her to cook for all the family and to look after little babies. They used her without any respect. More than that, his family took whatever money was left from her and told her on several occasions that she and her daughters have AIDS and they were going to die.
One good neighbor, who felt sorry and always liked Everlyn and the girls, came and told her if she stayed in that house she was always going to be used and the only way was to leave. Seeking a better life, she took her girls to Nairobi from their small village. She had to work hard saving and putting everything she could aside. For a long time, she fed them once a day with porridge, which they remembered forever. When Brenda went to school she saw a kid in the cafeteria throwing leftover food away and she was so shocked that she came home telling this her mom with tears.
Their economic situation, though, was still very grave. When Charity was four she had typhoid and they didn't have the dollar needed to take a bus to the hospital for a checkup. Everlyn left her at home with a bucket and went out to ask neighbors and family for money. After finding the money, she came home and found Charity dangerously dehydrated. It was a miracle she survived.
Everlyn has worked hard to earn money to give her daughters education. There were always good people on her way who helped with many things. Some paid school fees, some gave extra money for food, one gave an old TV and little gas oven. Some ladies she worked for yelled at her and told her to leave before they came home. There were times when children, who she helped with, were asking their parents to be nicer to her, as they liked her a lot and didn't want mom to yell. Generally speaking, the lives of housekeepers and nannies are hard, heartbreaking, and unfair.
Last year Charity started high school, even though she is sixteen. When she got enough grades to apply to a few boarding schools, as the system in Kenya is mostly boarding education, we remember Everlyn was searching for the best choice within her financial range. She found a friend who helped to enroll her to a good place, so that the area around was safe for the girl; some schools are surrounded by bars and it was dangerous as the rape statistics in Kenya are outrageous. We were so happy she went to the safe school. The boarding system gives Everlyn some rest, as both girls now have places to stay and are being fed and taken cafe of every day. Among a few things she has to buy for her are books, a uniform, clothes, sugar, sweetened milk, and cocoa.
Starting two years ago we helped to pay for both girls’ school fees and to buy all necessities. The plan was to stay in Nairobi and keep Everlyn employed, but our circumstances made us leave in the end of June and take a job in Armenia. We were very upset to leave; it was heartbreaking to say goodbye to Everlyn, and there were tears all around.
Everlyn has secured employment since our last fundraiser, but the little money she makes is not enough to support Charity's education. We've been sending $100 a month for the last several months to help cover Everlyn's basic needs, but without your help, Charity will be sent home. She still needs another year before she can go to college.
Though our financial situation has improved a little, we still have to recover, pay credit bills, and take care of our two young children. It hurts to even think that all the hard work for more than twenty years Everlyn has put into her younger daughter will be lost. Her dream is to give both of her daughters a better life than her own. We don’t want her sacrifices to be in vain.
Everlyn is still an active member and leader at her church, so she is also helping people in her community. One time when we gave her some extra money, a neighbor with a sick child came to her the same day. Everlyn gave her the money with the words: "God provided me today with this money from my boss, so I could help you. Go buy him good food." She is a person who helps others with an open heart. After all the rough life events, she believes in good.
We know that it is in our hands to keep Charity educated and give her a chance for a better future, and WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT NOW!
The goal we've set is $700, which is:
$500 - school fees for Charity this school year (2018-2019)
$200 - books, clothes, uniform for this school year.
We know we've had a hard time getting the thank you gifts together, but Charity will make a HANDMADE POSTCARD with an element of traditional Kenyan clothes on it and mail them to you. If you are interested in that, please donate and include your name and mailing address (country, city, street, building, apartment, zip code).
Another opportunity to express their gratitude could be online friendship with Brenda (Charity is still not allowed to use a phone at her school), who can answer your question about life in Kenya and her studies. For this please write your contacts (email, WhatsApp or skype)
Please donate, and I will make a call to Everlyn and yell: "WE'VE COLLECTED THE WHOLE YEAR’S MONEY!"
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND MAKING MY BIRTHDAY A MOMENT TO HELP OTHERS!
Organiser
Jason Lasky
Organiser
Palm Tree, NY
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