Giving Tuesday 2022

Please consider donating to Rehema Education Fund this giving Tuesday. We currently support 36 high school and 2 university students. We would love to support five additional students this year. Your donations will help these underprivileged students advance their education beyond middle school.

Summer Newsletter

Purchase Raffle Ticket(s) for a Safari in Kenya & Support Rehema Education Fund

https://go.rallyup.com/rehema/Campaign/Details

The Wildebeest migration is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Immerse in a 7 days 6 nights safari in Maasai Mara with your loved one to witness this up-close. This will include a private safari land cruiser drive to and from Maasai Mara (operated by Killian Travel). 

Enjoy staying in the wilderness with a tent feel with all the luxurious amenities. Accommodation at the Maasai Mara by Ashnil Hotels.

The more you buy the better your chance of winning this amazing safari at Maasai Mara.

The excursion, worth almost $8000.00, could be yours!

This safari tour is redeemable within 12 months from the drawing date. 

The raffle ends on January 31 2022 and the drawing for the raffle will occur on February 15th 2022.

In short, the experience includes:

• 6 night stay

• Full board and meal plan

• Unlimited game drives using a 4 x 4 Landcruiser with a pop up roof for game viewing and photography

• Pick up and drop off from the capital city, Nairobi

• Professional driver and guide services.

Exclusions:

• The ticket can't be claimed for cash.

• Nontransferable.

• No airport transfer.

• Since hotels' prices change, there might be a slight difference in the price at time of travel that one has to bear.
  

Reference: Recommended additional lodging

Lodges / Game Camps inside the Maasai Mara Game Reserve

Sarova Mara Game Camp
Keekorok Lodge

Mara Serena Safari Lodge

Fairmont Mara Safari Club

Hotels in the city of Nairobi
Four Points Sheraton, Hurlingham 
Ibis Styles Hotel, Westlands
The Tribe Hotel

Rehema Education Fund Announces 2020 Scholars

We received over 1,600 applications between November 18, 2019 and December 2, 2019. We continued to receive more applications even after the deadline. This goes to show that there is so much need, but fewer resources to help Kenyan children from underprivileged families advance their education beyond middle school.

The applicants came from all corners of Kenya, from urban areas, from rural areas, and some from remote parts of Kenya. You know you are making a huge impact despite your size when a potential applicant from one of Kenya’s remote locations says that she heard about Rehema’s scholarship on the radio. The radio!!! We do not advertise when applications areopen. Word is passed through various social media, the most common being WhatsApp, and it somehow ended up on the radio and potential scholars from remote parts of Kenya had access to it. 

We are grateful and eternally indebted to ALL our donors and sponsors for helping Rehema provide the special gift of education to underprivileged Kenya children. You have trusted us to be good stewards of your resources, this is a duty that we do not take lightly. Thank you again for your generosity over the years.

Rehema awarded 26 NEW High School Scholarships from the just concluded high school application. Congratulations to our new scholars, their families, guardians, communities, and educators.

1. Ann

2. Bethany

3. Bernard

4. Breah

5. Catherine

6. Cynthia

7. Enrique

8. Faith

9. Hesborne

10. Jesca

11. Joy

12. Judith

13. Kilifi

14. Mark

15. Meghan

16. Mercy

17. Mitchell

18. Naomy

19. Natali

20. Njeru

21. Phanice

22. Peter

23. Precious

24. Samwel

25. Simon

26. William

A Refreshing Note from Rehema!

Dear Friends,

When we launched Rehema, we embarked on a mission to support underprivileged and academically promising children in Kenya to advance their education past middle school. According to the World Bank (2015), approximately 36% of Kenyans live below the poverty line and subsist on less than two dollars a day. Many families cannot afford three meals a day, let alone an education for their children. As Kenyan high schools are privately funded by parents and most students do not have access to financial aid or student loans, many Kenyans must terminate their education after middle school. Our scholars have faced a multitude of obstacles; they have gone without food, have been displaced from their homes, and repeated grades in elementary school because they lack a sustainable family income. These struggles have not dampened our scholars’ thirst for education. In fact, it has sharpened our scholars’ focus on breaking the cycle of poverty that holds them hostage. One of our scholars Joseph, recently graduated from Masinde Muliro, a four year university. He will walk across the stage this December with his degree in hand. He will be the first person in his family to attend university and graduate. Another scholar Cherry, will be graduating high school at the end of this year. She will be the second Rehema scholar to finish high school. She intends to go on to university next fall. She plans to be a doctor.
Rehema currently supports 24 students ranging from high school to university. With your help, we have been able to fully support the education of these young and bright students.

We would like to thank you for your continued support.

Sincerely,
Theresa Okeyo Owuor, PhD.
Communications Director

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We are a community that gives. Your donations last year and especially during the 2018 Giving Tuesday campaign, exceeded our expectations at a total of US$ 25,311. As a result, we were able to award more scholarships than we had initially planned. This year, we are proud to announce that with your help, we awarded 14 new high school scholarships. Our new Rehema scholars include: Sandra, Jafari, Ekaru, Victor, Mwandume, Zablon, Samuel, Immaculate, Ian, Gracious, Alfred, Susan, Muthini, and Selesa. We would like you to join us in extending our congratulations to them, and to their families, guardians, communities, and educators. Read more about them here.

The Community Ecosystem

Peninnah Mutungi, our Executive Director (center) visiting with our scholars Florence and Faith in Makueni, Kenya.

We would like to acknowledge and applaud the efforts of the communities that support our scholars. As you read below, you will notice that our scholars have generous and resourceful communities surrounding them, both in Kenya and in the USA. Not only are they receiving your scholarship support, but they also have local teachers, clergy, friends, and families championing their cause. All of the Rehema scholars highlighted below are now in high school. Their stories provide an example of how our scholars benefit from the donations and sacrifices that you made for their education and well-being.

Ian
Ian is one lucky kid! The people that surround him have given selflessly of themselves to help him succeed in life. Ian had a friend and classmate in elementary school who would share his lunch when Ian’s family could not afford to buy food. Ian had a school teacher who realized that Ian was unkempt and dirty when he attended school and asked him what was wrong. The teacher discovered that Ian’s entire family had been homeless for about a week, and were sleeping in the streets of Nairobi. When Ian’s family later moved to a cheaper city in search of work, one of his teachers took him in. He remained under the care of his teacher until he completed elementary school.
Zablon
With no future in sight, Zablon moved in with his brother in the Kibera slums in Nairobi. At that time, his brother was a first year college student and barely making ends meet himself. Knowing that life in the slums could lead to illegal drugs, sex trade, and gangs, his brother decided to suspend his own studies, sacrificing his academic sponsorships, in order to take care of Zablon. The two brothers have worked hard to stay afloat and to stay in school. With the help of his brother, and now with Rehema’s support, Zablon is in school as a high school freshman.
Muthini
When Muthini was in elementary school, the administration decided to exempt him from paying tuition and school fees since his family had no means of doing so. When he was awarded a Rehema scholarship, his local community came together to make sure that Muthini was able to go to school. They did a small fundraiser to ensure that he got basic necessities and supplies for the new boarding school, and the local pastor helped transport him safely to school. Read more about our scholars here.

What would you like to be when you grow up?

A note from one of our scholars on why she wants to be a doctor.

A lemonade Stand in Honor of Rehema

This summer the three wonderful girls reminded us of the many individuals, companies, churches, communities and other private foundations, who have given of themselves to ensure that our scholars have resources to pursue their education. Sue Perez, one of our sustaining donors shared with us pictures of her grand daughter Ella and her two friends Kalia, and Savannah, selling lemonade to help benefit our scholars. We are incredibly grateful to Sue and the parents of Ella, Kalia, and Savannah for supporting their efforts to raise funds for Rehema. These girls remind us how every person, no matter the age, can be a force for good and move Rehema toward its mission. Read more here.

Kenyan Safari

This past spring two of our donors had the opportunity of traveling to Kenya where they met with some of our scholars and their parents

One of our donors, Marilyn Thomas (left) with two of our scholars' parents - Margaret Juma and Rose Onyango.

Sue Perez a sustaining donor, with Susan, Immaculate and their moms in Kenya this past April.

Member Spotlight - Millie Tutlam

Nancy (one of our scholars) and Millie during her visit to Kenya.

Millie Tutlam is one of Rehema’s co-founders and is the current finance director. She brings her tax expertise to Rehema. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Missouri. Millie obtained her Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky and a Master of Accounting degree from St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri.

“This hits close to home for me personally, because I grew up in a very poor family. My mom had eight children and we lived in a single room home. The single room was the living room, bedroom, and kitchen. We shared a bathroom with another family. I was driven to make it out of poverty, and I knew that the only way out was through education. My dad was a truck driver and he did not get paid much. He took out loans to educate my older siblings, and did not have a dime to his name by the time I was old enough to attend high school, as by this time he had retired and relocated to live in the countryside. Finishing high school was a miracle. I was behind on tuition and fees each semester, but the school’s principal never sent me home. You see, my cousin was the school nurse and she would plead with the school principal so that they would let me stay. Not many students were as lucky as I was; they would be sent home for outstanding unpaid tuition and this would affect their studying. Some would miss really large chunks of time, and had difficulty catching up by the time they got back to school. Education is very essential to break the cycle of poverty. It did exactly that for my siblings and me. We are now very successful members of society because we had a chance to go to school.”

Millie embodies the phrase, "to whom much is given, much is expected". She is passionate about education because she had a very difficult life growing up, when education was almost a luxury. Many people identified her potential and supported her through her high school, and eventually with her college education.

To read more about team, please click here.

Pleasant Surprise from Unlikely Angels

It takes a village to educate underprivileged Kenyan Kids and ensure that the cycle of poverty is broken.

This saying has always been our mantra. These three beautiful girls reminded us of the many individuals, companies, churches, and other private foundations, who have stood by Rehema to ensure that our scholars have resources to pursue their education beyond middle school.

We were pleasantly surprised when Sue, a die-hard Rehema supporter shared with us pictures of Ella, Kalia, and Savannah putting lemonade stand to benefit Rehema’s efforts. We are incredibly grateful to the parents of Ella, Kalia, and Savannah for supporting their efforts to raise funds for Rehema.

We cannot thank you enough for your generosity and for believing in our noble cause. We are eternally grateful for your gesture.

Rehema Education Fund Announces 2019 Scholars

Rehema Education Fund awarded a total of 14 new high school scholarships from the just concluded high school application.

All credit goes to our donors and sponsors for believing in our cause. Your donation(s) throughout the year and especially during 2018 Giving Tuesday exceeded our expectations, leading to more scholarship awards than initially anticipated. Thank you so much for your generosity.

The 2019 incoming Rehema scholars are Sandra, Jafari, Ekaru, Victor, Mwandume, Zablon, Samuel, Immaculate, Ian, Gracious, Alfred, Susan, Muthini, and Selesa.

Congratulations to our new scholars, their families, guardians, communities, and educators.

Aaron's Story

Aaron, standing outside Kenya University School of Law, where he is currently in his third year.

My dad died in 2009 when I was 12 years old and a year before I was to sit for my final primary school national exams: the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE). When I finally did my KCPE exams in 2010, I scored 380 points out of 500, and was admitted to Maranda High School. Unfortunately, I was not able to join this or any other high school due to lack of money that would have covered school fees and tuition. It was extremely frustrating for me not being able to join any high school despite having performed well. Although I was disappointed, I did not give up on my education. I took it positively and in 2011, I went back to my former primary school, and enrolled in class eight (final grade in primary school). I also registered to do the national exams again. At this time, all my former classmates had gone on to high school. What this meant was that I now had to repeat all my classes with students who had been a grade behind me the prior year. This left me feeling very demoralized but I did not let it derail my efforts, I worked hard, performed well in all my classes and prepared to sit for a second time for the KCPE exams.

…I told myself to stay focused, to draw strength from my frustrations and to believe in myself.

Unfortunately, my mother passed away a few months before I was to sit for these exams. I have to admit, at this point, life seemed so unkind and unfair to me. I felt so sad and I felt like I had nothing left to give and nobody to believe in me. But I told myself to stay focused, to draw strength from my frustrations and to believe in myself. I knew if I hoped for a better life, then I had to put extra efforts in to my studies. When I sat for the national exams, I scored even higher than the first time (405 points out of 500). I was ecstatic! I also found out about a scholarship offered by the Equity Bank through their Wings to Fly program and I applied for it and won the award. With this scholarship, I was able to join one of the top high schools in Kenya: Upper Hill School and 4 years later, I graduated with an average score of A- and was accepted into Kenyatta University School of Law.

The first year and a half of college was financially challenging. Every year I needed 100,000 Kenyan shillings (approximately $1000) to pay for my tuition and university associated fees, my accommodation, books, food and other personal needs. I qualified for the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) loan but it only covered half of my financial needs. If I had not won the university scholarship offered by Rehema Education Fund, I would have been forced to call off my studies. The Rehema scholarship has enabled me to continue uninterrupted with my studies.

After graduating from university, it is a requirement that law students go to Kenya School of Law, for a two year training period. After this, graduates are admitted to the bar as advocates to the high courts of Kenya and can start their legal practice career. Kenya School of Law is not free; I am currently trying to save as much money as I can to facilitate these future studies. After this, it has always been my dream to further my education so as to be as competitive as possible in the job market. To realize this dream I intend to graduate with first class honors and get a scholarship to do my Masters.

Giving back to the society is one thing I am always passionate about. I have been part of the Equity Leadership Program, in which we voluntarily offer mentorship to Wings to Fly scholars and other students in various high schools. After graduation I plan to be actively involved in this program and other programs like it, to share my experiences with other students to enable them to unleash their full potential and realize their own goals and dreams.

Every challenge that I have gone through thus far, has been a valuable lesson for me and a preparation for what life has to offer.

The death of both of my parents was perhaps the hardest challenge I have ever had to deal with in my life. Not only did I have to come to terms with the reality of their loss but I also had to somehow find a way to fill the void they left behind. I have had to be there for my brothers, to console them and to embolden them in their efforts to push forward with their lives. I have found myself being the parent and the brother. I have also had to be the disciplinarian whenever they have done something wrong. This role has been particularly difficult for me. I myself I am still young and in need of guidance. Over the years, my grandmother has been of tremendous help to me. She has played a central role in helping me overcome my fears. She has advised me on my new role and in spite of her old age, has sacrificed a lot for our well-being. We found a mother in her and through her advice I have been able to encourage my brothers and positively impact their lives. She has taught me to always draw positive energy from life’s challenges and hope for the best. I tell my story so that it can encourage, comfort and inspire others to be determined in everything they do. My hope is that my story helps to lift up those who are going through difficult times and encourage those who are blessed to pay it forward.