Tsuma Jira

During my first trip to Kenya in 2012 I met Tsuma Jira.  I noticed him because he was wearing a Real Madrid shirt....arch rivals to our beloved FC Barcelona.  We quickly started talking and debating the merits of our favorite teams, much to the amazement of the African males who were shocked that this OLD American woman knew so much about football!  When I learned that he had been accepted at the university but lacked the funds to attend, George and I decided to sponsor him.

I'll never forget going to his humble home and letting his family know that he WOULD be attending the university!

I saw him again in 2014.  He was still a Madrid fan and our conversations about football continued.  I even went to see a World Cup game being broadcast at the local bar accompanied by Tsuma!

 I am so happy to report that he will be graduating from the University in the coming months, one of the top 5 students in his college of education.  Hopefully he will soon be a high school physics/mathematics teacher.  That makes me so happy.  He's the first educated member of his family and his goal is to help to educate his younger siblings.  Tsuma Jira is a fine young man, even with his poor taste in football teams, and I am proud to know him!

Now in 2017 Tsuma traveled 4 hours in a crowded bus to visit with me again. That is about 8 hours of  total travel time and he squeezed this in between exams and papers that were due. I teased him that he came so far just so he could gloat over Real Madrid's Champion's League and La Liga triumphs! Notice that he is wearing a Real Madrid shirt!