Pay It Forward

The concept of "Pay It Forward" is one of the most beautiful things to witness when I am in Kenya.

I am sure you have all heard of this concept before. 

Pay it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying the kindness to others instead of to the original benefactor. 

Let me give you a few Kenyan examples.

During my first trip to Kenya in 2012, I met a young man who was volunteering at one of the primary schools.  The oldest of 8 children, his Dad had struggled to keep him in secondary school.  Amazingly Tsuma Jira had graduated and been invited to study at a university but with 7 other children at home his father had no way to pay his tuition.  In order to keep his brain sharp and keep learning, he was helping teach 8th graders.

I happened to notice him because he was wearing a Real Madrid shirt and I am a die-hard Barcelona fan.  We were soon 'discussing' the merits of our respective teams and the abilities of each player.  A friendship was born.

The first student we sponsored - Tsuma Jira - Read Madrid fan!

When the Kenyan Executive Director of Kenya Keys told me his story, George and I decided to sponsor him through the University.  I really wanted to keep it anonymous, but Rinda convinced me that the kids loved meeting their sponsors so I had the fun of going to his home and letting him and his family know that his dream of becoming a high school teacher, the first educated person in his large extended family, was going to come true!

This is the day that Tsuma learned of his Kenya Keys sponsorship. 
Lots of happy tears that day! 

Now Tsuma is a high school teacher doing pretty well for himself.  How is he paying it forward?  The oldest girl, the one who is standing by me, was married young to a elderly man who paid a substantial dowry for her.   Tsuma is determined that his twin sisters (the young girls on the other side of the photo) will not meet the same fate.  So he is sponsoring both of them to attend high school.  I got to meet them last month.  They remembered me and were so grateful that our sponsorship meant that now their brother could keep them in school.  Tsuma is paying it forward!

Tsuma's two sisters who are now students at Taru Secondary.

As I walked through the market one afternoon, two very friendly women called out to me.  Turns out that one is a retired teacher and how is she spending her time now?  She is tutoring young mothers who have no education at all and is teaching them to read and write.   When you can read and do simple math, you are much less likely to be taken advantage of. This isn't Kenya Keys sponsored but is a great example of paying it forward.  Someone helped her get an education and now she is helping others.

We hear many other examples but some ask that their contributions be kept private.  One formerly Kenya Keys sponsored university graduate now sponsors several students at the AIDS orphanage.  Another comes back to his former high school to mentor young boys and encourage them to stay in school, as someone once did for him. Recent secondary school graduates who are waiting to go to college or university, teach adults at the non-traditional learning class.