Meet Faith!!

I would like to introduce you to a girl who is an example of someone who truly lives out her name.

Faith. A 15 year old who has experienced more tragedy and struggle in her few years than many who are twice her age.

Like many in Kenya, Faith was a child born to one of the wives of her father. Before she was able to walk, Faith had to say goodbye to her mother, which meant also saying goodbye to the source of a mother’s love. You see, many times, what happens in a polygamous culture, is that after the death of one of a man’s wives, the remaining wives don’t recognize children of the one who has died as their own, resenting having to feed and care for a child who is not from their own body. This means that the children of this wife tend to be neglected or left to fend for their own much of the time. Though these families are connected through one man, they tend to lead separate lives.

Faith, as the only child of her mother, was raised in a home with her father’s other wives as caregivers and their children as the only siblings she has known. Since 2002, she has suffered from a sickness that causes her to collapse at random times throughout the day, sometimes twice, for unknown reasons.

In 2011, when Faith was 13, her father passed away due to complications from a long struggle against HIV/AIDS. In the course of his hospitalization and subsequent treatments, more than half of the family’s land had to be sold to cover the costs, leaving Faith and her step-brother as the only children left from her father. Though Faith is the oldest, the community elders decided that since she is a female, she cannot inherit any of her father’s land, so the entirety was given to Faith’s younger brother as heir, leaving Faith with no land or way to support herself and no one but a grandmother who is unable to support her adequately.

Things started changing when some of the teachers at Faith’s primary school noticed her hard work, and that, in spite of everything, she was doing very well. So they gathered funds together from amongst themselves and contributed towards supporting Faith, and sending her here to Omwabini, helping with the purchase of soap, uniforms, and other necessities she would need.

Since coming to Omwabini, Faith was introduced to God for the first time, and has finally found a loving family in the caregivers and other orphans at Omwabini. She is growing in her faith and continues to draw closer to God every day. Since coming to Omwabini, and seeking prayers of healing from the episodes of unconsciousness she had been struggling with, she has been completely healed, and has not had any episodes in the last few months at all.

In Faith’s words:

“I am a girl, who sometimes gets to hear what people say about me, and what they say might make me lose hope in my life and get worried about my future. Sometimes I feel lonely, I feel as if God doesn’t care for me, as if my remaining family does not care about me.”

Though she may struggle with thoughts of despair, Faith is meeting each day as it comes, and working hard at Omwabini. When she is grown, and living the life she is beginning to dream about, I have no doubt that she will prove wrong those who have told her she is not worth anything. For she is worth more than any land or money. She is worthy of an opportunity to be cared for while she attends secondary school, and gains an education that will help her throughout the rest of her life.

P.S. Faith is one of the girls that will be benefiting from the Ruby Cup Fundraising campaign! Check it out through the widget on the right sidebar of my blog!