It is all about connections and timing!
It is all about connections and timing!
When we think back to our initial planning stages of the Girls Empowerment group we wanted to launch, we remember that it was all about connections….. the right place, the right time….paths crossed just as they were supposed to….. God orchestrated and timed it.... it was all right on time!
The shell of our organization for our work in Kenya was already in place with women’s skill building classes, girl’s empowerment sessions, and our Shining Scholar’s Sponsorship Program…. And all we had to do now was fill it in with teachers, resources, and a schedule of operation at this point.
When our Founder, Jennifer, was in Kenya in July 2018, one of the many goals was to find qualified teachers to serve the organization and time was beginning to run out on the trip. She took some quiet time and went to have tea with another volunteer she met at the Volunteer House, Breanna Winters. Breanna listened to the needs that Jennifer presented and shared her support for what The Angaza Project was doing, encouraged Jennifer to keep looking and a teacher would be found, it is a matter of timing. Breanna also shared with Jennifer the projects she was involved in and invited Jennifer to come along to see what she was up to. Jennifer went with Breanna the next evening to see the construction project she facilitated (which was amazing, by the way!). While there, we spent time with the overseer of the children’s school, the community called her Sho-Sho (Swahili term for Grandmother).
While there, Sho-Sho’s son came by to meet Breanna and mentioned there was another school connected to this around the corner. So, we went to see it… Breanna and I made our way through the alleyways in Kibera and we finally reached the additional school.
Inside, we met a teacher named Michelle. She had been working at this school for about a year now and she also facilitates some girls activities on weekends. Michelle invited us for that weekend to come and see what they had going on so Jennifer went. It was there that Jennifer realized THIS was our teacher for the Girls Empowerment group, Michelle! Jennifer spent the next two weekends watching the work Michelle did and evaluating it, along with reviewing her credentials. Later that day on the second weekend, Jennifer invited Michelle to a formal business meeting for dinner at the local Java House to discuss an opportunity for teaching for The Angaza Project.
At this meeting, Michelle shared her life story with Jennifer and it turns out, she was a sponsored girl for high school herself and knows just how important the work of The Angaza Project really is. (We will post Michelle’s story at another time so stay tuned!) Jennifer offered Michelle a contract for the Girls Empowerment teaching and here we are! Breanna, Asante Sana!
It is all about connections and timing! Thank you for being part of our work Breanna and making this connection! We admire the work you have done in Kibera!
(Breanna and Sho-Sho, posted with permission)
It is all about connections and timing! Thank you for being part of our work Breanna!