In Africa, schooling is a challenge as well as being a great blessing. Although it is supposed to be free for the primary years, with the requirement to supply their own uniforms and supplies, many orphaned children cannot attend school. Once a child misses the first few years of school they are seen as too old to be admitted in later years. On the positive side, all the children love going to school. The conditions of the schools are often very poor with bad lighting, few books or supplies and teachers who often only have a very basic education themselves. Most of the lessons are done through rote memorization and do not involve problem solving.

On day I was visiting a school and it was an arithmetic class for 14 years old. Once I determined their ability to add and subtract, I held a contest. The prize was 200 shillings ($2.50) to the person who could first solve the problem. Everyone was then sitting on the edge of their seats. I went to the chalkboard and proceeded to outline a very long series of additions and subtractions as fast as I could write. They all worked furiously to come up with the correct figure. Some started to work as teams to combine their abilities. It was fun to watch. After about 10 minutes one young boy came up with the right answer and received the prize. We all laughed and I saw that he had just found many who desired to be his new best friend.

Another day I was walking along the coast of Mombasa and decided to go into the bush to see if I could find any children in need. After a while I came across a small village tucked in the forest.  I asked if they had a school and was led to a small clearing on the hillside. There I was shown the tiny school which consisted of two small shacks. They had a crude chalk board and no supplies. There were three adults who taught the 15 children. The village was so poor that there were no uniforms and no fees.  In these humble circumstances the children were happy to just be in school. We now support this school and send them assistance every month.