TOMS: One for One in Action

     What a great week for the LEI team! I am really grateful I got to be on the ground this week, and I have some brilliant news to present to you.

     Yesterday I made the trip to Longonot with Simon, Sedona, and Zach. We were headed to check on the school and document quite an interesting event... as it turns out from a phone call I received on Tuesday that  each child at Longonot was granted a pair of TOMS from the Kenyan Red Cross!! 

     In case you are unfamiliar with TOMS let me fill you in briefly, TOMS is an American based company that sells simple trendy canvas shoes, however for each pair sold they have promised to donate a similar pair to a child in need. “One for One” is the TOMS slogan, but as popular as the shoes are I’ve known many people to be skeptical of the company’s follow through initiative. Who can ever really be sure that a pair of shoes is donated to a needy child in a third world country? Well now, you can.

     I will never doubt them again after seeing all the children at Longonot proudly rockin' their new kicks. Many of the children had worn down or outgrown their shoes and some were even walking to school barefoot, so as you can imagine we are very grateful for this donation. They were so precious with their tiny shoes.

     In whole TOMS donated one million pairs of shoes to the Kenyan Red Cross and it was up to specific beneficiaries to request the donation [read about another of my favorite organisations success with TOMS here.] Thankfully, our very own Teacher Jane heard of this opportunity and spent the time to fill out the application for each child in our school and was granted her request! Now all the little ones at the Longonot Education Center have at least one solid pair of shoes and no one could be happier.

     In addition to the TOMS the teacher had some  more great news to tell us. Recently the children participated in a musical competition hosted by the Education Board of Kenya in a town up the road from Longonot. Our youngsters were stunning! They took 2^nd place in Best Western Style Song and Dance, and one of our little girls took 2^nd in Best English Solo. We are so proud!

      In other news we were able to get our first of the Street Boys back into school this week. Samson is happily attending Ngong Township in Year Four. Each time I see him he is all smiles and feels very grateful to have been given this opportunity. I have spoken with his teacher several times since taking him to school on Tuesday and she says he is adjusting well. It is a situation that Joseph and I will continue to monitor as we work to rehabilitate the rest of the boys and eventually get all back on the path to a proper education.

     On a more personal note I want to welcome the beautiful Sedona Keenan back to Kenya! She has returned to stay for the next 10 weeks and we are excited to share our projects and inspiration. I also want to say thank so you much to everyone who has helped LEI get where we are today, who has helped and kept up with our projects, and who has given me the personal motivation to get here and stay strong when there are challenges. I can't say how much these projects mean to me and I am so grateful everyday to work with all of my children.

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