LOVE FOR
KITUI
BENSON'S STORY
The community of Kitui currently cares for 53 children who have lost one or both parents. These orphans are supported by other relatives or members of the community, Guardians, who have lovingly accepted them into their homes to raise alongside their families. We aim to help by covering all the children’s school fees, provide funding for food, shelter and any other medical needs so as to enable the community’s youth to flourish both mentally and physically.
BENSON'S STORY
Benson Mbuvi Mutisya is the heart and soul of LFK. He is the President of our Board and the Leader of our Programs. Here is his story in his words...
"I grew up in the village of Kitui alongside Susan who eventually I married. It was the year 2004 and we had just settled into a new neighborhood. I decided to take a familiarization walk to the nearby neighborhoods with a friend of mine. It was then that I noticed many nice houses which seemed to be deserted. I asked my friend, who owned the buildings. He gave me the names but told me the owners were dead. Then I asked him “How about the children?”, and he told me that they either stay with their grandparents, relatives or even some are working as house helps in the village or in towns and cities. Then I asked, “Don’t they go to school?” and his answer was that most of the guardians cannot afford their upkeep, let alone take them to school. Coincidently, that day, we met three orphaned brothers and I engaged them in a talk. I discovered they were A’s and B’s students in their primary schools. One had just finished the primary school education which is freely provided by the government. He said he cannot go to secondary school because there was a fee. He told me that his two younger siblings are soon going to finish primary school and will have to look for casual work to sustain their day to day needs. I asked him whether I can see his school results, which he brought alongside his letter of invitation to join a secondary school. This moved my heart. Then I started asking myself, is there something that can be done to help this kid and many others in the village who had lost their parents to continue with their education.
In 2005 I heard of seven kids who were all double orphans and decided to ask my friends for money. We were able to raise the funds to send them to secondary schools and technical schools. After two years the word went around and the guardians started bringing more orphans to us with similar stories. At the end of 2007 we had 13 children, and then 2009 we increased to 25 and now 53. We thank God for those many years those individuals and some organizations stepped in to help. Unfortunately this year the resources went down because our main donor shifted attention to other outreaches. We haven’t lost hope for these kids because we have seen some go through high school education, colleges and universities. Thankfully, Love for Kitui has stepped in and decided to partner with us to help these orphans.
I dream one day that these kids will be agents of change to the villages where they come from in Kitui and the nation of Kenya at large. Given a chance, they can be great people who will bring positive change, not only to Kenya but to the world. For amongst them there might emerge teachers, scientists, engineers, pilots, doctors, politicians, lawyers and so forth.
Join my dream in giving these amazing children a chance in life to excel and be the people that God created them to be."