Written By: Fratern Tarimo, Managing Director
I can’t believe how time speeds by… Seems like yesterday when we took kids back home after the end of the third term at Usa River Academy (URA) and second term at Star High School (SHS) and here I am already blogging about taking them back to school to start a new term. On Saturday we took 8 of our students who were accepted to start Form One at SHS. Their faces mirror the excitement as well as the uncertainty that usually come with starting a new chapter in one’s life. These eight kids are starting secondary level in a new school—new environment, new teachers, new classmates.
This term we were fortunate to have Board Member Denise McFadden from the US join us and help throughout the process. The TFFT team was very happy to have extra helping hand at one of our busiest activities of the year. The appreciation did not just end with the staff but extends to the kids themselves. Kids who were picked up by Denise couldn’t stop calling attention to the fact that they came with “Mama Denise”!
The following day, January 8th, was URA students’ turn to be picked up and ferried back to school. Checking kids in at URA has never been easy but this time we were surprised at how organized the school was. Tables were arranged all around the main campus with teachers at each table to do registration. Students were greeted cheerfully by the teachers and welcomed back while the process of checking items continued. One could easily tell that this time around a new management was in place.
This year we are also excited to welcome seven new kids in our scholarship program. Of the seven kids, three from Nkoaranga Orphanage have already arrived at school ready to start classes while arrangements are being made for the other 4 students to start school soon. With these additional students, TFFT now supports over 80 kids in our scholarship program.
Many thanks to the TFFT team, including Denise McFadden for helping out with the process. Special thanks to Joshua Nassari, TFFT Scholarship Program Director, who spent his birthday ferrying kids to school. We are also very grateful for the parents, guardians, and foster families for helping with preparing the kids for school. Last but not least, we are very thankful to our sponsors for making it possible for these kids to get a quality education.