…The story about a woman who became the change that she wanted to see…

Today I want to tell you a story about one remarkable woman who made a journey that came to change not only her life but the lives of more than 200 children and their families. So come with me to Kenya, gather a little bit closer around the bonfire & hear the story about Jacinta & the children of a small village called Kampi Ya Moto, or in Swahili “The place where the sun rises.”

Jacinta Njoroge was born and grew up in Kampi Ya Moto, a small village in the south of Kenya, but has lived in Sweden for over 20 years now together with her family. In 1999 she travelled back to her birth place together with her daughter Lotta. During their stay a close friend to Jacinta was ill and had to go to the hospital in a near by town called Nakuru. When Jacinta and Lotta went to visit their friend they noticed something strange at the hospital. There were small children running around in the corridors at any given hour of the day, children who seemed to be completely healthy, yet they didn’t seem to leave the hospital. Confused and curious Jacinta asked a nurse if these children were really ill. “They are healthy” the nurse said. ” But this is the last place where these kids have seen their parents before they have died, so they have stayed here since then. They have nowhere else to go.”

Devastated to hear about those small children’s faiths Jacinta burst into tears and couldn’t stop thinking about what she had just learned. While walking down the streets of Nakuru she couldn’t help but notice the extreme conditions on the streets in which so many children spent their generally very short lives. Jacinta’s daughter Lotta had noticed the sadness that had become a burden to her mom and asked her what was wrong.

When Jacinta explained what was making her so sad Lotta said “But mom, you can’t sit here and cry about it! You have to do something!”

Surprised by her daughters reaction Jacinta said “But there’s nothing I can do, I can’t bring them all home to Sweden with us!”

“No,” her daughter answered, “but you can do something to help them, you can build them a home HERE!”

And so she did.

Jacinta went back to Sweden to work double jobs, gather money, find sponsors and people who are willing to help her. 6 months and 20 000 SEK later she went back to Kenya to build those children a home which she named Phyllis Memorial, after her mother Phyllis. At the time there had been no rain for a long period of time and the people of Kampi Ya Moto were starving. So Jacinta decided to hire them to help her out with the orphanage. The locals considered her an unexpected angel.

When the first building was finished in the year 2000 there were eight homeless children staying there, today there are 57 plus 40 boarders. When Jacinta served the children their first meal at the orphanage they ate as if they would never see food again. And no matter how many times Jacinta repeated that they would get food every day from now on it took them a long, long time before they dared to trust those words. When the children wanted to start school the principle said no, they weren’t allowed to go to school because they had no parents. Jacinta responded to that by saying “Yes they do! I am their mother!” and she kept fighting the system until she managed to convince the principle to accept the children. Whenever there was a problem at the orphanage, for example that year when the rain flooded the building and destroyed the mattresses that the kids slept on, or when the kids started school and needed school material and clothes, Jacinta travelled back to Sweden and gathered more money by arranging different charity events.

In 2003 another woman, Sabine Gartner was visiting the orphanage and decided to help Jacinta out. Sabine and Jacinta became partners and they came to share the responsibility for Phyllis Memorial. Because the kids had to walk for hours each day in order to get to school and back home, in 2006 Sabine and Jacinta built their own school, Phyllis Memorial Academy which today educates more than 200 children from the orphanage and the surrounding villages and is considered  to be one of the best schools in the district.

Today the children of Phyllis Memorial Orphanage are safe, each of them has a bright future to await and it’s all because of a truly inspiring woman who saw something horrible and decided to become the change that she wanted to see.

But in order for these kids to stay safe long enough to reach that future, the orphanage relies on donations, mainly from private persons and helping organizations, since the Kenyan government does not give any help. For those willing to support Phyllis Memorial by donating money instructions can be found on the webpage of a Swedish support organization called ”The children of Kampi Ya Moto” which was created with the purpose of raising money for Phyllis Memorial and Phyllis Memorial Academy. There you can also read more about the orphanage and see photos of the children. Those who wish to, can also choose to sponsor either a child or the whole orphanage by donating a monthly sum and by spreading the word to others! Any amount is appreciated by the kids and keep in mind that even low amounts for us are worth a whole lot more in Kenya!  Press here to go straight to the english version of the webpage!

As for me, I will be travelling to Phyllis Memorial and staying with these children for 6 weeks during the summer of 2012 while working there as a volunteer. Until then I will be arranging charity events and doing my best to gather as much money as possible to help Jacinta and her children out and you will be able to read all about it here. If you feel like helping out, for instance by arranging a charity dinner for your friends and family or anything else that might cross your mind, just let me know! Any kind of help will be very much appreciated!

Thankfully,

Marijana

The photos in this post are borrowed from www.kampiyamotosbarn.se