A few years ago, Patrick came to learn about the plight of two children who were living in deplorable conditions in his neighborhood. It hurt him to see these children suffer, and he made it his mission to rescue them. “When the children lost their father, their mother could not care for them, let alone take them to school. They were missing meals and were always at home while their peers were in school learning,” he says.
The obvious course of action was to rescue the children and place them in a safe home. While on this mission, a friend told him about Moja Tu’s work and introduced him to Kathy, our founder and president. “When she heard about the children, she immediately agreed to help, and together, we arranged for them to go to a safe home. The children were later transferred to Dream Children’s Home, and they are thriving. They are now both high school students with bright futures ahead of them,” Patrick reveals.
Thus began a long-standing relationship between Patrick and Moja Tu. Patrick is Moja Tu’s representative in the Makueni, an area in the eastern part of the country. Besides helping the organization identify the needy cases in the region, he has also been instrumental in coordinating the program’s activities from that end.
“I have been working with Moja Tu for seven years, and this job has changed my life in many ways. Most recently, my daughter – a student in the Moja Tu program – fell very sick. The program immediately took up the responsibility of taking care of her, including getting her high-quality treatment at one of the leading hospitals in the country,” he says. “I know that my child’s health is in good hands thanks to the organization’s help.”
Patrick has also been Moja Tu’s go-to tailor from the beginning. He is responsible for making our students’ school uniforms, which has empowered him, his family, and their community. “Since there are many students in the program, I enlist the help of local tailors to craft the uniforms needed. This creates more job opportunities and more income for everyone in the community, which everyone appreciates, of course!” he tells us.
Patrick says that the organization’s most significant impact is in the lives of bright, needy students in his area who wouldn’t have otherwise gotten access to quality education. “Once these children enroll in the program, their lives, that of their families and community at large, are transformed instantly,” he says. “You can see the hope spark in their eyes.”
How would Patrick like to be remembered? “As a person who helped change the lives of needy children for the better by connecting them with Moja Tu,” he concludes.