He Is A Community Asset

Kamaro dreamed of going to school but he had to work for his food!

However, when Kamaro turned thirteen, he had to fend for himself.  His mother was dead and his father very ill. He desperately wanted to go to school, but he had to eat.  Whenever he got the chance, he worked as a farm laborer, earning enough money to purchase food and paraffin for a few months. For those few months he attended school, but then the food money ran out and he had to work again. Needless to say, this intermittent pattern of school attendance did not give him a good educational grounding! 

A new chance!

At seventeen his fortunes changed. A Nairobi family who had already taken in many orphaned children, invited him to stay with them and sent him to school. For Kamaro it was like heaven, to be surrounded by family and to have the opportunity of an education!

He started High School, along with classmates who were three to five years younger. The age difference never phased him. He was simply thrilled to have the chance to learn. Having known hardship and suffering himself, and having seen the need of others around him, from a young age he dreamed of being a social worker, of being able to be there for others who needed a helping hand.

On his way home from school, Kamaro fixes the homes of elderly widows and never accepts anything in return- not even a bowl of porridge, they report!Just happy to be of use and help others!

Kamaro was a good student, his adoptive mother says, considering his lack of educational grounding, but his marks were not high enough to enable him to go into social work studies.  The alternative for him has been to train in masonry. Kamaro is very happy with this. He has learned skills that he can use, gained tremendous self esteem, knows that he will always have work, especially in rebuilding schools after the seasonal floods. Through his education he has a livelihood and a future.

Even more than that, however, he has the chance to use his skills to help others. On his way home from school every day he passes through villages where there are elderly widows. They ask him to fix something for them, maybe their roof, or their wall. He never accepts any gift in return, not even porridge.

Kamaro is resourceful and practical, with good values. He plans to train other youth in the same skills. He inspires younger boys to take the right path, telling them that they don’t need drugs or alcohol, only to work hard. Kamaro is an asset to the community!