Stories of Success: Spotlight on Star Students at DSCC
How do you change a student’s life?
by Dorothy Schwartz, Living Water Children's Fund BOD Member
Fall 2024 Newsletter Update
We discovered one of the keys! In 2015 LWCF board members learned that youngsters were graduating from 8th grade at Dorothy Schwartz Community Centre and scoring high grades in the national exam. The national exam is the gateway for going on to a good high school. High grade = Good high school acceptance. However, these bright young people could not afford the money it cost to proceed. Kenya was losing talented young people from it’s future educated work force.
LWCF started a sponsorship program; for $500-$700 dollars per year, a graduate could proceed on to a good high school. Sponsors and students exchanged letters and photos via email through us. With monitoring and communication provided by our Kenyan counterparts, the students thrived. All graduated, and many with very high grades. As of summer, 2024 we have sponsored 122 high school students.
So now we had bright high school graduates, enthusiastic about the future. But – money for further education was lacking. Only one solution: we needed to start a sponsorship program for our university students. In 2019 we launched a university sponsorship program. To date we have sponsored 28 students for higher education, some in 4 year programs, some in 3 year diploma programs, and 3 in medical school. When students show interest in technical training, such as the bakery business, we have helped those students as well.
Student Spotlights
Meet John: A child who was sleeping on the street when discovered by Isaac, our liaison and founder of DSCC. John has just finished his practicum in counseling psychology and looks forward to helping people in his community. He is very excited about his new abilities.
Meet Elizabeth: A quiet girl who spent her free time reading whenever she was home from school. She has now blossomed into a teacher, having completed her practice teaching. Her plans? Become a college math professor.
Meet Fadhili: He went straight into medical school after high school graduation. (That is the process in Kenya.) He writes to us of his forays into community medicine, environmental health, and so much more. He glories in the science he is learning.
Meet Trizer: She is just starting her college career, enrolled at a college of nursing. Besides her academic achievements, she is a chess champion! She has won several inter country chess tournaments in Africa.
Several of our newest college students write about wanting to help the residents of their slum community when they graduate. And knowing the strength, resilience, and motivation of these young people, I believe they will!
Every child deserves a chance ❤️
Thanks to generous donations Living Water Children’s Fund has been able to help meet the needs of children at Dorothy Schwartz Community Centre in Kenya.
Please consider donating to support DSCC. Any gift, big or small, helps us on our mission to make sure children have their basic needs met so that they may flourish and grow.
