Eight Yumans travel to Kenya to visit sponsored children

This spring Cynthia Shrader led eight Yumans on a trip to Nairobi, Kenya, to visit 12 children they sponsored through Tumaini International Ministries.

The children they visited had all lost their parents to AIDS, according to Shrader.

During the five-day and four-night trip, the eight travelers got a chance to participate in home visits with sponsored children and their guardians, many of whom the sponsors have had regular correspondence with, said Shrader.

Both sponsors and Tumaini officials work in partnership with the children's' guardians to provide for their emotional, spiritual, educational, medical and physical needs, said Shrader, all of which are of great importance given the traumas and disadvantages facing each child.

Shrader said many of the children in Tumaini's care witnessed either one or both of their parents succumb to AIDS.

Tumaini, which means "hope" in Swahili, was founded by Professor Mutanga, whom Shrader said she met during her studies at Hope International University.

According to Shrader, Tumaini began its foster program with 15 children in 2004. Now she says there are "over 800 children in foster care after losing their parents to AIDS."

"Ninety-nine percent of those children are living with family members, and Tumaini monitors the child's care," she said.

Of the 800 children Tumaini monitors, Shrader said, over 85 children are financially sponsored by Yumans.

Shrader insisted, however, that the sponsors' financial help is more useful than a handout. To illustrate, she told a story about one child who shared a mud hut with his uncle.

She said that the child and his uncle made an appeal to their sponsors and Tumaini for help in improving their poor living conditions. A deal was struck that so long as the family made their own bricks, Tumaini would provide a tin roof and build the structure for them.

Shrader said that in this way, a partnership can be formed between the child's guardian and their sponsors that enables the child and their remaining family members to move beyond their often tragic circumstances.

"The Kenyan people don't need us but what they need is financial help," she said.

In particular, Shrader discovered that despite the extreme poverty and misfortune in Kenya, the people she met were extremely joyful and appreciated what they did have, a characteristic she believes is rare in countries like the United States.

She said her goal was to share these characteristics with Yuma as well as to increase the number of children who are sponsored through Tumaini.

According to Shrader, "Sponsorship only costs $30 a month and 100 percent of that goes to the child."

To sponsor a child through Tumaini, call Shrader at 920-3074.

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FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH KENYA TEAM 2008

- Cynthia Shrader
- Jeff Cedar
- Kari Dyson
- Chrissy Keeling
- Leah Carroll
- Lavel Cook
- Rick Keeling
- Retta Springer

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Erin Orozco can be reached at 539-6849 or eorozco@yumasun.com.