It's time for me to introduce to you the winners of our Rehma Youth Scholarships! We were suppose to only have 3 winners but our committee said they just couldn't pick only 3 but they wanted to choose 4. Here they are...
Nuru Juma
This young lady has a heart for people living with disabilities. Her huge heart literally oozes out love and compassion for these people. Every time I meet her, she never fails to tell me a story about some people she has just helped or some ideas she has for people with disabilities. Her mother is disabled and has overcome huge obstacles so Nuru wants to inspire people to do the same. We are currently praying and researching about the right program that she should go into in order to reach her goals. We are also thinking of starting some sign language classes with her!
This girl is feisty! I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up as President one day. She loves to seek justice for all people. Her dream is to become a lawyer and work specifically with women's rights. She is the most vocal of all my ladies and is involved in every program in the community which seeks to better the lives of young people. Her parents both died of cancer a few years ago and she now lives with her aunt and sister. Pray for her as we search for the proper program for her to begin her studies in!
We will miss this young man as he has just left to attend a school on the other side of the country. However, we know that he will be getting a better education and more opportunity to play soccer. His family is the poorest of the poor and truly struggles to put food on the table. For some reason, everyone who knows Faithfulness has the utmost confidence that he will succeed! He has an incredible ability to inspire people around him. We are praying for the best for him in his new school!
Justus Maloba
This sweet young man comes from a family of seven. His parents are divorced and his mother is their sole provider. She makes a small living selling fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, its not always enough. Justus has had to repeat several grades because there hasn't been enough money to pay the school fees. One thing about this boy is that he is not much of a complainer and tries to keep positive no matter what comes his way. He is a pleasure to have on the team and is a force to be reckoned with on the field. He dreams of being a lawyer and a business man. We are praying for him as he finishes his last 2 years of high school!
Noah isn't one of our winners but is a young man we sponsored to go to school last year. He finished his course and was trying really hard to find an internship. Yesterday he called Kelvin to ask if they could meet. When they met, Noah told him how that morning he had sat and prayed to God really honestly about getting an internship soon. I think it was a really heartfelt prayer. Well, he went to town the same day and went to another company. To his surprise, they hired him on the spot and told him to start now! Noah was just elated to tell us the news last night. I think he was more amazed at the way God really pulled through for him. Anyways, we are super excited for him.
The team has been playing a lot in the last couple weeks. Here's a few shots from their games.
Warm up - I am always amazed at how rhythmic even their warm up is! They seriously don't miss a beat.
A somewhat dysfunctional team shot. I love how our goalie is saving the ball...
Our team captain, Lolo. He came straight from school to the game. When was the last time you dressed like this to attend your college classes?
Our faithful servant/coach/co-worker Nicky. I will have to do a better introduction of him in another post. Kelvin and I are so thankful to have him!
Our boys are getting a little discouraged lately as they haven't won many games. They keep drawing (or tying as we say) and their morale is a bit low. Some have even stopped practicing this week. Kelvin says they are playing the best they have in the past 2 years but its still not enough to put some wins under their belt. We hope they can overcome these small hiccups.
Keep praying for our youth. Our numbers are a bit low right now and we are not sure why. Even many of my girls have missed meetings the last few weeks. It's hard because we can't force them to come but we know that they are missing some good opportunities with us. One of our biggest challenges is dealing with stubbornness, pride, lack of perseverance and commitment, and other social behaviours. It's not just a couple of them - many of them have these traits that are just ingrained in them. Pray with us as we try to reach them on their levels and shower them with a lot of love and hope.
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