Meet Denzel Akaliche of Fortune Learners' Centre
Meet Denzel Akaliche of Fortune Learners' Centre
October 13, 2022
Kenya / Kayole Slum -Nairobi
by Charles Owino, Director of Fortune Learners’ Centre
My name is Charles Owino and I am the Director at Fortune Learners Centre (FLC), a nonprofit community-based organization dedicated to serving orphans and vulnerable children. Our school is located in Kayole, an informal settlement in Nairobi. I am excited to introduce you to one of the orphan children served by FLC in partnership with Global Orphan Relief.
Meet Denzel Akaliche, a 13-year-old orphan who sadly lost both of his parents in a span of five months. His father passed in October 2020 and his mother in March of 2021. Before his parents’ passing, Denzel had been living with his father. Denzel is the second youngest of five siblings, three boys and two girls. His youngest sister is also a pupil at our Fortune Learning Centre. When the parents split, the family broke into two; the two girls going with their mother and the three boys going with their father. While the siblings were able to visit with one another, the separation was difficult for them, compounded by the fact that neither parent had a stable job to support the family. I was made aware of the family’s misfortune when their cousin came to me, hoping that we’d be able to support the five children through our program. Unfortunately, we had a long waiting list, and with other children in more dire situations, weren’t able to give them care they needed.
Sometimes the reality, though, is not what we expect. There is a Kenyan saying, “On the ground, things are different.” For us, it rings true. Sometimes, the children with living parents are found in a much more vulnerable state than those without.
When Denzel’s father passed in October 2020, only grades four and eight were allowed in school and all other children were made to stay home until the government decided how to deal with Covid-19 in the learning institutions. Once the children were able to come back into the classroom in January 2021, we saw Denzel and his siblings for around a month, while they were still being supported by their extended family. Once February rolled around, we saw the children less and less until they stopped showing up entirely. It wasn’t until March, when their mother passed, that we realized how dire their situation had become.
Perhaps due to the tough economic situation in Kenya, the support of the children’s relatives waned, and the responsibility to care for the three younger siblings fell on the two oldest brothers, the oldest being twenty. Neither had jobs or had completed their education, and the had already begun using drugs and alcohol to cope with the loss of their parents. With few choices, the two eldest boys decided to move back to Nairobi where their mother’s old landlord had promised three-months of free rent in their old apartment. There the jobless boys would set out to rebuild their lives for the sake of their younger siblings.
To put food on the table, the boys found jobs as water assistants where they would push a water cart to a distribution site. On a good day they could bring home around one to two dollars. While the money helped somewhat, it wasn’t enough to feed all five of them, and they had to rely on the kindness of strangers. There were also nights where they were forced to go hungry. Just a few months later, in May of 2021, God provided the opportunity for Denzel and his younger sister to be recruited as the new beneficiaries of our school. After months at home, without attending school, they were given breakfast and lunch, and the ability to continue their education. This would not have been possible without the support of Global Orphan Relief.
Denzel is very grateful for the opportunity to further his education. While he misses his parents, he enjoys school and being able to play and interact with other children his age:
“I am very happy to get back to school and have a chance to realize my goal of being a mechanic. I am also happy to play football again with the fellow kids as well as getting an opportunity for spiritual growth since I had stopped going to church, because my mum had been taking us. I thank the sponsor Global Orphan Relief for helping me and my sister.”
Denzel is finally smiling again. Thanks to this scholarship giving him an opportunity to fully express his potential, we have learned that he is a very innovative and talented boy. FLC is also grateful for the partnership we have formed with GO!, as the support has been key for keeping children in school and also for supplementing nutrition needed by the children. Thanks to this program, these orphan children are able to go home with full bellies and an education!
We provide aid to 1,725 orphan children in Ethiopia, Kenya, & South Sudan through our Field Partner Network.
Global Orphan Relief (GO) has been serving orphaned children since 2005. We have accomplished this work to date through local partners in each country that provides oversight and distribution of care.
As of October 2022, we serve 5,456 vulnerable children in Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan, South Sudan, and Zambia. We provide this aid through our Field Partner & GO! Ambassador networks via our Home-Based Care, Education, Nutrition & Church Mobilization Initiatives.
We support 130 orphan children at Fortune Learners’ Centre through our Nutrition Initiative, which allows for these children to receive both breakfast and lunch at school.
You may send support or other correspondence to Global Orphan Relief, 16352 Prairie Farm Circle, Parker, CO 80134 or you may give also give electronically at Support the Global Orphan Relief Children or give on this website at the upper righthand corner under ‘Donate’.
Movement of FAITH | Voice of HOPE | Act of LOVE
Global Orphan Relief (GO!) is a Christian relief agency serving vulnerable children and is a recognized U.S. public charity, tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3). All donations to GO!, or any charitable contribution processed through Network For Good Donor Advised Fund, are tax deductible to the extent of the law. If you prefer, you may provide gifts of support by sending via mail to the address above.