Wednesday afternoon, our group had the opportunity to visit a nearby children’s home called, Umoja. The visit was organized by Dean, a Friends of Tenwek Field Director. A few other Tenwek temporary staff/family visitors also went with us. We stopped in Bomet to get some oranges, pineapples and some other treats to take to the children and staff.
We received a tour of the facilities. There are two buildings for sleeping (one for boys, the other for girls) which had iron bunk beds and small trunks near the beds, which presumably contained each child’s belongings. It's hard not to notice how very little they have. There was a main larger building which they use for assembly, recreation and dining and a few other small out buildings for offices and storage. Umoja began as the mother of the current director, Joseph, began taking in orphans when Joseph was a child.
When we first met the children, they were all seated on benches together and in groups according to their age, they came to perform various songs and to tell their names. They whispered their names so quietly, so sadly we couldn’t understand them. They were all precious.
Then it was our turn to perform. Tenwek Dean and Knoxville Dean debuted a juggling act! Then came entertainment from some of the other Tenwek visitors—Sarah, a visiting doctor, and her three children, originally from Albuquerque. They plan to be at Tenwek for a month this summer. Sarah’s two teenage daughters are competitive jump ropers and brought their ropes with them. Pretty soon, everyone wanted to try double dutch—even some of the children at the home! Very impressed with our team’s jump roping abilities. We hope to have been a blessing to the children at Umoja and lightened their hearts!
Please pray for the children and staff of Umoja—that God would provide for them all, that the children would grow up healthy, cared for, educated, knowing the unmatched love of their Savior and their value in His kingdom.
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