By Caren McCormack, President & Co-founder, The Kilgoris Project
At first the gift appeared to be a tub of lard. (I’ve been given stranger things.) The group urged me to open the container. Dark honey with pieces of honey comb floated inside. One of the Oloilale community leaders smiled; he had scooped this from his hives that morning. The group—three leaders and one teacher—had walked two hours to our Nentekeny campus to say thank you for their new school.
“We are happy for your help, and our kids are happy to receive porridge,” the beekeeper said.
Over the last three years, I had sat in the same room with a similar group of Oloilale leaders three times. At each meeting they asked for a school. At each meeting I responded that we could all pray about the need. It’s hard not to be able to say “Yes” to each request. But it is wonderful to sit together when we have finally been able to bring a school to a new site.
Thanks from our communities always humbles me. First, I often get credit for the work of many. I hope I am always quick to point out that I’m not alone and pass the kudos along to those who deserve them. Second, I see the results of our work on real lives—how a little money makes a big impact.
This year, it will cost us about $5k to feed the 105 students of Oloilale Preschool two meals per day and about $4k to pay their teachers. This modest investment will create healthier kids who will be ready for primary school in a few years.
Our work is like that beekeeper tending his hives with a little direction here and a little feeding there. In the end, he gets a pot of gold. So does the community and TKP.