Known as one of the world's best safari destinations, Kenya offers a scenic landscape with 50 epic national parks and reserves that are home to diverse wildlife. With a population of 54 million, more than 60 languages are spoken in Kenya.

Kisii(key-see) is about 300 kilometers west of the capital city of Nairobi and is home to the country’s first Adventist school, the Mwata Adventist school for the deaf.

This school was started by a man who became an Adventist in 2012. It was difficult for him to run the school on his own, so he gave it to the local Adventist leadership. The leaders accepted the school with a vision for the future.

“We want to have a modern school for the deaf, which will be a model school for the entire division because we want to make a modern facility, which is good, where anyone would want to bring their child.”

With this vision, church leaders took serious action to offer quality Christian education to the deaf population.

“Then the conference got some money resources, and they started to put up structures, and classrooms for them. They put that in the first two classrooms, then later they added two more. They were to become six with an office and a staff room. The two classrooms were turned into a dormitory where the learners started to live. So they are staying in two classrooms, one for the female and one for the male.”

Currently, the school has 64 students. Some are rejected by their family and hidden in their homes. Some people believe deaf children are cursed and bring shame to their families.

We fetch them from their house. We bring them to the school. We pay for their meals, we give them a uniform, and they stay with our other learners in the school.

These students often come from poor backgrounds. Some of them are HIV AIDS positive. The school is the safest place for them. It’s a place where they can develop a relationship with God.

“The institution is run by the Adventist Church. They have a Sabbath school, they have a divine service, and they have an afternoon program. They have midweek prayers, they have Friday Vespers. So it is organized in such a way that the learners are nurtured spiritually by the teachers.”

“We thank you because we are being taught very well by our teachers. They help us to know about Jesus and to learn about the Bible.”

Every school has its challenges. For this school the challenge is to complete the construction of a new dormitory that was halted due to funding.

“In school here presently we have no dorm but the dorm in school is under construction. Presently the dorm is soon about to be finished. They currently use one of the classrooms. One for girls, another for the boys, and to accommodate them for the sleep, for the nights. But the room is too small so we make much effort to make our rooms to be completed so that we can move the beds to our large dormitory.”

It can be difficult to operate a school, but even in the midst of difficulty, there is always a reason to praise the Lord.

“The Lord has been with us. If not for the Lord, we would not be able to pay teachers. We would not be able to provide for the learners. We would not be able to provide for schools to continue building the same way. So the Lord has just really shown that, that He is able.”

Part of your 13th Sabbath Offerings this quarter will help finish their dormitory and build a multipurpose hall so students can have a safe place to study.

“Thank you for supporting mission offerings for this school.”