It all began at the time I was in high school. High school was a very challenging time for me as I struggled with not having what other kids had such as books, uniforms, shoes, lunch money, etc. When I was in grade 11 things got especially difficult for me.
There was one time that I was with my friends. We were going to school. Before then I had already shared my dream of having an NGO that would be going into the villages to hand out bibles, etc. My friend Isaac really wanted to be a priest. He had never laughed at my dreams but now as we were going to school on that day all my friends were laughing at me just because of my heart’s desire. Ever since that day, I never wanted to talk about my dream to them or anyone again. Finally we completed school in 2013. The struggle was so real that I faced the next days with the question “why have I survived to see this day?” I was lost and didn’t know where to turn. I didn’t know what I was going to do because my future looked very dim. I had nothing to look forward to and almost no chance of finding work.
It was early in 2011 that I gave my life to Christ as a 17 year old boy. Right after that, I met mum when she came from America with a short term mission team to our church. It was then that I did my first mission work. All my life I had dreamed of doing mission and that year, the opportunity presented itself and I was available and ready for it. Mama Debi has been my backbone from that time until now. I really appreciate her. When I started working with mum, it was my very first time to work with a muzungu (white person). I would say it was intimidating but it was all about learning something new. We administer a sponsorship program for David Livingstone Memorial Presbyterian Pre and Primary School. I was put in charge of developing the profiles of the sponsored children by interviewing families and taking photos of the kids. It was through that that I gained my confidence back of sharing my dream. Looking at the work that we do, the conviction of me following my dream became so strong after seeing how families were being helped and how grateful they were. It motivated me so much to follow my dream. My passion is to care for those kids out there who don’t have anyone to make them realize who they are in Christ and encourage them to follow their dreams and career choices.
One morning at work I told mum how passionate I was to carry on with the sponsor program, even if something happened to her. I never wanted anything to happen but I wanted her to know that I would keep going with the programs if something did. I felt strongly called to this work and now my hope of pursuing a dream of my own began to grow stronger and stronger every day.
A few weeks after that, I began to have sleepless nights, thinking about what I really should do about the vulnerable kids out there who really don’t have anything. Those were hard nights for me. I was so tired but I couldn’t sleep, or rather I was almost afraid to sleep. One morning I woke up early and went to talk to mum, waking her up to tell her what was bothering me. I had always shared with her about my days at work, the interviews and how they went and how happy and excited I was to be doing this. This morning was different. I told her everything I was feeling and I told her I wanted to start an NGO that will continue to support the kids we are already supporting as they graduate from our school and move on to grades 8-12, maybe even college. Will you help me? Mum was surprised and happy and excited about all of this and of course she said she would help me.
That very day and every day since we started on this journey, the sleepless nights have passed and I rest well knowing I have joyfully made myself available for God to use me in the way he has called me. We continue to travel along the road of a successful start-up and look forward to the many blessings that are sure to unfold as we glorify God.
