Remember - if you are an avid blog follower .... (are there any, I ask myself ?) ... Mama Pat, that I first met in 2011 ? Refresh your memory here :- http://luolaughter.blogspot.com/2011/03/visit-to-covenant-orphanageschool-at.html
I decided to visit her this morning, so after phoning her and knowing she lived in Aga Khan Road, I walked. It was about a mile and a half , but I took my time, and despite it being extremely hot, I got there ! (And back again later !) She was delighted to see me, and over cold drinks she told me what had happened to her Covenant school. It has basically been taken over by another evangelical group who have access to a lot more money and clout than she had, and in her opinion, it's gone rapidly downhill, with staff leaving or being sacked, and the children not cared for and loved, like she used to.
She was heart-broken, but being determined, she now has a house full of ex students who left Covenant, and are now in training, colleges, higher school classes or university, and need a home .... which she provides for them until they are through with education and can support themselves. Pat is still using her own resources, and donations from well-wishers in the UK ... and her recently discovered pension pot (!) to feed about 20 youngsters and provide a home. As she says, God never sleeps and always somehow provides.
Pat is now 76, and stays almost permanently in Kisumu; she is classed as a 'permanent resident' having decided not to try for Kenyan citizenship, which she wouldn't have got as she speaks neither Swahili or a local dialect. She thinks that in another five years, her 'boys' will no longer need her, so she'll retire then and 'write the book' !!
An amazing lady.
Sunset over Lake Victoria from my balcony.
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