Ilula turned 5!

Ilula Children’s Home celebrated their 5th anniversary on Sunday September 21st. It was a wonderful time as the children and staff members joined the community members in celebrating God’s love and goodness.

Every family had a chance to present a song and memory verses. Some of the older kids represented the rest in sharing their testimonies. The children really made people laugh through their testimonies and everyone was thankful to God for what he has done, what he is doing, and what he is yet to do in the lives of the Ilula kids.
Leonard Kiprop 13 from Kosgey family was among the children who gave their testimonies. He thanked God for what he has done to the children’s home and to himself. He made the crowd laugh when he said “I came here when I was speaking in soprano but I am now speaking in bass.” Leonard is one of the children who talks less and likes working in his small garden. He has planted beautiful vegetables and strawberries and all the other children admire his garden a lot. Leonard shared about the talents that God has given them. He said he wishes to be an electrician or technician in future because he is very good in fixing broken radios, repairing bicycles and watches. People were so amazed at what Leonard can do. He was very thankful to ELI fraternity that gave him the opportunity to explore his talent.
Kevin Serem 13 and from Kosgey family too talked a lot and made the people to laugh. There was a lot of applause when he finished sharing his testimony. He thanked God because of getting a chance to be admitted at the orphanage as he was among the last children to be enrolled. He shared how he had arrived with a deteriorating health but after getting medication, his health improved greatly. Kevin was very thankful to ELI for providing for their food, medical, education and the loving care they receive from their parents. He shared how it is very easy to be taken to hospital here when one is sick unlike back at home where it was hard for them to go to hospital when they were sick and if at all they had to go, the hospital was so far. There were problems of getting medical fees back at home which forced them to resort to herbal medicine which were so bitter and could not heal them. He mentioned the herbal medicine in Kalenjin (sakitiek) which made the people to laugh even more.
Gabriel Kiptanui 13 from Rono family said he has benefited a lot from ELI and said that it is God who has worked through ELI for him to succeed in various fields like academics that he is doing very well, health wise, spiritually and even physically. He thanked the parents for taking good care of them teaching them the word of God and that he is born again now. He thanked them for taking good care of their clothes and other emotional issues. He was very happy that he has parents to take care of him after losing his own biological parents. He gave special thanks to Babu and Gogo (Mr. and Mrs. Rono, children's home directors) for providing them with guidance and counseling. He thanked all the other staff for playing a big role in their lives.
Gideon Kiptanui from Kiprotich family thanked God for the effort ELI is doing for them to be well catered for. He appreciated the good food that they get. He commented that they cannot fit into the clothes they brought from home now and the ones they were given when they arrived. He thanked the assistant parents for ensuring that their clothes are clean all the time.

Mr. David Kosgey talked on behalf of the parents and he shared that it was very tough for them when they started. They had to do all the work from bathing the children, serving them food, cleaning their rooms and gazebo to giving attention to every child. He was thankful to God that now the work is much better with the assistance from the children who are now grown up and have been assigned some responsibilities.

Mr. Laban Rono the Director Ilula children’s home commented “This far, the Lord has provided and taken care of us.” He thanked ELI as a whole for providing finances and support to the home. He said without them, it would have been hard to care for the children. He commented on the growth of the children since they arrived to date that they have grown tall, they have added their weight and some of the boys have broken their voices. In the side of education, he extended a big thanks to Samro School for providing good education to our children. He also thanked them for their school fee which is much better compared to other schools. The director thanked the community members who have played a big role in supporting the orphanage especially during the post election skirmishes early this year. The community played a big role in providing security to the home. He advised the children to respect every person from the community because they are part of us.

Mr. Samuel Teimuge the Ilula Children’s home board chairman appreciated the entire home for their efforts all the time in taking care of the children. He commented on a lot of changes in the children physically, spiritually, emotionally and academically. He went further to thank the children for their hard work and respect they had towards their parents, teachers and the elderly and towards themselves. He appreciated the work the children are doing in their small gardens in planting vegetables and other crops. He showed the people some of the healthy vegetables the children had taken to church from their own gardens. He motivated the children on what they want to be in future. He gave a good example of John Rono who is well known and a friend to the kids that is now studying at the university to become an engineer. He urged them to pursue their careers.

The climax of the celebration was marked with the cutting of the cake which was done by Mrs. Angelina Rono with the help of the house mothers. Mrs. Rono commented on the children’s development that there is a great change!

Health
A few children were taken to the hospital last week and are now fine. The sewage at the children’s home which had polluted the environment was sucked and the children and parents especially at the western wing are now enjoying the fresh air.

Visitors
Mr. Daniel Ndungu a visitor from Eldoret town visited the children with 1 bale of wheat flour and 25kgs of rice. The children were very happy and thankful to him for his continued support. Mr. Ndungu has been visiting the children severally with different gifts. Another visitor called Sharon visited the children and brought them some clothes.

The AIC Kenya Bishop visited the orphanage. He was actually coming to meet a group of pastors who were having a meeting at the Ukweli Training Centre. It was a big surprise for him to find a large group of children singing for him at the round about. He appreciated what ELI is doing and promised to send some food to the children. He was especially encouraged by Vincent Ngunzulu’s testimony of what God had done in their lives.

School bags
The grade 2, 3, and 4 kids from the children’s home received new school bags. They were very grateful for the bags and promised to work harder at school.

Games Competition
The Ilula staff continues to prepare for the volleyball and soccer competition between them and their colleagues from Kipkaren River. They look forward to the competition early next month. The Ilula kids seem so excited about the competition and they can’t wait to see their parents play that day. They have been encouraging them and motivating them everyday to put more effort in their practice.