Education is the key to a brighter future as it opens an individual to a world of limitless opportunities. In Kenya, high school education is especially important as it acts as a stepping stone to university education where individuals can specialize in their desired goals.
However, high school education is expensive and not affordable to many families in the Kibera Slum. As a result, many young people are cut off from their dreams and unable to connect to their destiny. My name is Michelle Mwema, and I am one of the lucky ones. By good fortune, I connected with a reliable sponsor called Crossing Thresholds. They have allowed less fortunate young women like me to fulfill the dream of higher education. Already, my high school education has helped me improve my communication skills and extend my interaction with other students from all over Kenya. My heartfelt gratitude to Crossing Thresholds for supporting my education. I can now see clearly a bright future ahead of me. May God bless you. Michelle Mwema Crossing Thresholds Student My name is Kean Ayub. I graduated from Facing the Future Primary School a year ago, and have since joined high school. When I was much younger, I couldn’t even imagine a future as a professional in Kenya. I didn’t believe I would attend high school. I want to thank Crossing Thresholds for the support they offered me by sponsoring my high school education. They gave me a chance to dream. Now, I have the opportunity to work hard, to go to university, and one day to fulfill my dream of becoming an Information Technology (IT) expert. When a person fulfills their dreams, they have the skills to fit in and make a contribution to society. For me, it began with the chance to go to high school. I want to thank Crossing Thresholds for helping to make my dreams come true. Thank you, Crossing Thresholds. Kean Ayub Crossing Thresholds Student
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In the summer of 2009, just after my freshman year of high school, I joined Crossing Thresholds on my first trip to Kibera. By that point in my life I was no stranger to travel, but I had never been on a service trip or gone anywhere that could be considered a developing country. On our first day in Kibera, we walked from the edge of the slum to CT’s first school, Drug Fighters (DFC), and I remember feeling shock and horror at the conditions that hundreds of thousands of people lived in everyday. When we arrived at DFC, however, the greatest contrast to my own emotions was the joy and happiness of the students. Despite the conditions that these children experienced everyday, what I saw and heard from them was constant gratitude – gratitude toward their incredible school directors and teachers, the meals they got to eat everyday, the CT volunteers, and toward Carter.
To me, and I believe to many others who have joined CT trips, this mentality was contagious and led to a change in my perspective that continues to affect me on a daily basis. I was used to feeling gratitude for large things that stood out to me - the amazing opportunity that my parents and CT had presented to me, the gifts that friends and family generously share with me, or the surprising experiences that continue to enrich me. But the children and people of Kibera showed me that I should not just feel gratitude when it is obvious to me, but instead that I should actively look for things to be grateful for. You can find things to be grateful for every day and it not only makes you a happier person, but also has an amazing positive impact on those that you show gratitude towards. When I went on this CT trip, I knew that it was an amazing opportunity to help those less fortunate in Kibera, but I didn’t expect it to provide me with one of the greatest life lessons that I have learned. This profound shift in my own understanding of gratitude was one of the many reasons that I returned to Kibera several more times and have continued to work with CT. Many of the things that I came to be grateful for in my life were the things that Crossing Thresholds was working to provide for so many children – a great education, food, healthcare resources, love, opportunities to follow dreams, and so much more. And as I continue my work with CT, it brings me joy to see that same gratitude in an ever-widening circle of children, teachers, and volunteers. Grateful people aren’t just happier but live with greater purpose and almost always greater impact. Josh Pedowitz ELI Committee Does it really make a difference? Does the high cost of traveling to Kenya outweigh the benefits of donating the same amount of cash? Couldn’t CT find locals to do ‘what volunteers do’ and in many cases do it better?
These are all worthy questions, and worthy of reflection. So why do we dare to argue that it’s incredibly important for us to run volunteer trips? Here are 3 reasons that stand out:
Carter Via Executive Director “If You Can Make a Difference You Have a Responsibility To Do So”
In 2004 I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to lead the New Canaan YMCA as it’s new CEO. In the spirit of the YMCA’s mission I set a goal of having an international partnership with a international organization that had a similar mission. I envisioned a very affluent community partnering with or adopting an organization that served a very impoverished community in another country. Along came Crossing Thresholds who thought that vision could become a reality by suggesting we explore a partnership with a small branch of the Kenya YMCA that was in the heart of Kibera. Through email, Skype, and phone a relationship was built with Simeon Ajigo, the then Executive Director of the Kibera YMCA. At the encouragement of Crossing Thresholds a trip to Kibera was planned and several months later off we went. Like all who see Kibera for the first time, we were shocked by the level of poverty, the lack of hope, and the bleak living conditions that we saw. What was unimaginable was seeing children trying to survive in this environment. Thriving was not an option. We came home, our lives changed forever, and I promised my commitment and our Y’s commitment to Simeon Ajigo and the Kibera YMCA. As time passed Simeon kept his passion in helping the children of Kibera but now with a different organization that he founded called Facing The Future (FAFU). The New Canaan YMCA followed him. For the rest of my tenure at the Y, we continued to support FAFU financially. We were making a difference. Another trip with Crossing Thresholds was executed and our commitment and support grew. Each trip reinforced our responsibility to make a difference. I always felt that we could do more. But operating a large Y and serving many constituencies can allow you to do only so much. It was unsettling to me that I could not focus more on the youth trying to survive in Kibera. My tenure recently came to an end at the New Canaan YMCA. Time to retire, I did my part with Kibera but felt not enough. Unfinished business. As fate would have it, Crossing Thresholds reached out to me to see if I wanted to work with them where there was one mission; creating hope and giving opportunity for children in Kibera. So from retirement to semi-retirement my passion to help the youth of Kibera stays alive. After all: “ If you can make a difference you have the responsibility to do so!” Craig Panzano Chief Operating Officer My first interaction with Crossing Thresholds (CT) was in 2011. From that time forward when I hear of the word Crossing Thresholds, I reminisce on the great work they do to transform my community through education and providing sustainable opportunities to all.
I am inspired and grateful for the generosity of CT that has reached and healed wounds that only the act of compassion and love can heal. Their proactive efforts to respond consistently and find solutions will never be taken for granted. To echo the words of a wise soul, "No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others – those who are wise acknowledge this help with gratitude." I will not give myself the credit for being a wise soul at this juncture in my life. But with utmost confidence, I want to recognize Crossing Thresholds for its enormous support that has immensely contributed to my success in life today. As a grateful beneficiary, I have been fortunate to be part of their scholarship program that helped me obtain my Bachelors Degree in Communications. Similarly, I have worked with them on various community projects that have been deeply satisfying and impactful. One of the projects that positively impacted my professional growth was working on the film crew for Light Within the Cracks -- a documentary that showcased life in the Kibera Slum, directed and produced by Philip Ennis, Senior Producer at Phillip Ennis Production, a brilliant, creative individual. Through Crossing Thresholds, I was also given the opportunity to work with a partner organization, the Wangari Maathai Foundation -- a not-for-profit organization in Kenya dedicated to nurturing young people to be leaders of courage and character. Through their connection with Crossing Thresholds, they are working to bring value-based education to CT schools and to raise environmental awareness for the children. In the face of the global environmental crisis, this is a critically important initiative. Lastly, I am delighted that through the ten years of friendship with Crossing Thresholds, I am now their social media coordinator!! I am beyond excited to share with the world the great work that CT is doing. Mercy Otieno CT Social Media Coordinator |
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