KENYA EDUCATIONAL SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM (KESP)

A mission minded ministry that embraces the love of Jesus the Christ, through missionary endeavors that support, lift up and demonstrate the living word of Jesus. To provide educational opportunities and missionary endeavors that provides basic tools to allow God's children to achieve their full potential, through investing in education and other life sustaining programs. To develop a spiritual relationship with the student and their parents that will foster their educational development as well as developing new disciples for Jesus Christ. Our ministry in Kenya is deeply connected with our Africa mission work.

The Kenya Educational Sponsorship Program (KESP) was established in 2000 under the teaching and leadership of our Pastor via two of God's children, Joe and Rev. Jeanette Goodson, who led by the Holy Spirit developed the KESP and took on the awesome task of leading a group of committed souls to help in the administration of the KESP Ministry in the Isunguluni Village, Kibwezi Kenya. The main objective of KESP is to promote the Great Commission of Jesus Christ while providing the underprivileged children of Kenya with a an opportunity to improve their lives via solid education that will give them the skills they need to become a healthy, strong and successful member of our global community while instilling the importance of using education as a tool for self-reliance and independence. Our philosophy is that "All Things are Possible through Jesus Christ" knowing that "If we give a man a fish he will eat for a day; if we teach a man to fish he will eat for life."


HOW CAN YOU HELP?

The Kenya Educational Sponsorship Ministry is open to all who feel led to answer the call to Foreign Mission. A commitment to yearly sponsorship, sponsor a child and/or give generously to the Program; your support will assist in the payment of school fees and supplies, uniforms, and other associated educational costs.

A $50 USD donation can help support the Isunguluni Primary School.

A $300 USD will sponsor one student for a year at a Secondary (High) School.

A $1200 USD will support one student per year to attend University/College.

DID YOU KNOW?

In 2002, the government of Kenya abolished school fees for Primary education up to Grade 8. This allowed millions of students to receive an elementary education, unfortunately, the majority of students still cannot afford to continue their education onto the Secondary (High School) level.

Many of the children are orphaned, left to struggle for survival with having lost one or both parents via HIV-AIDS, die because of being malnourished, women dying from child bearing because of poor health conditions, or from Malaria, leaving the children subject to exploitation and exclusion.

There are young girls in Africa dropping out of school due to menstruation. Or either they will lost one week a month of their schooling simply because do not have hygiene supplies, and they're embarrassed about what might happen during their periods, so they stay home. Causing them to be left behind with their studies and eventually they drop out; simply because of a lack of a sanitary pad.

Prior to 2010 the children were forced to walk some 2.5 km each morning to a local spring in order to collect water for use during the school day. To a spring that is used for bathing, washing clothes and watering the local animals. Without boiling the water, the children did not have clean drinking water.

OUR HISTORY

In 1992, the Isunguluni Primary school started with 25 students; by 1998 it increased to 100 students. In June of 1999, after the formation of the Kenya Educational Sponsorship Program by the Fountain Baptist Church and the students' enrollment increased to 225: By 2003, there were 752 Primary students. In October 2000, a school truck was purchased to transport the children and parents to the local hospital 20 miles away. In 2000, Solar powered lights were purchased to provide electricity for increase the knowledge basis of the teachers via a TV and VCR and improve the skills of the children via educational videos. In December 2000, the ministry became to support 147 Secondary School (High school) and Two University students and the Parent's Association increased from 12 to over 75 participating parents. This Ministry encouraged the parents so, that in July of 2000, the Parents' Association built, a new Kitchen new desks, chairs, and tables for the school, increased the school buildings from three (3) to eight (8), added 4 additional lavatories, and a volleyball court. In 2001, Biblical inscribed Entrance gates were built and the Schoolyard was increased a few acres, all the floors were cemented in the classrooms.

A new School Administration building; a new office for the Head Mistress and the Library were built. The School Administration managed the School truck purchased in 2000 so well that they were able to purchase a Solar Power system for the African Brotherhood Church, now the word of God is being shared weekly at Bible Study. In 2010, 23 students are attending the University level with 5 additional students seeking enrolled for 2011, 1 student enrolled in the Masters program and 2 more seeking enrollment in 2011. There are 61 High School students enrolled in our 4 sponsored Secondary (High) schools. But this is only the beginning; there is still more to be done. Under the hardship of no electricity or running water, over 3000+ children have graduated with the minimum of primary education and 48 Graduates (2010) from the University/College/Technical level with some returning to Isunguluni to develop a Special Education program.

LITERACY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

In March 2003, working with the Fountain Baptist Church Youth and Girls Rites of Passage, the Men's Fellowship and the Global Literacy Program (www.glpinc.org) 10,000 reference and textbooks were donated to the School Library. As result of this in April 2004, Pastor J. Michael Sanders and the congregation of Fountain Baptist Church were recognized by Kenya's Ambassador to the USA, Dr. Yusuf A. Nzibo for supporting literacy and community development in Kenya.

PARTNERSHIP MISSIONS

Being lead by the Holy Spirit through the scripture of Deut. 15:11 "For the poor shall never cease out of the land; Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy…" the KESP ministry realized that there is much to do and enough mission assignments for all! The love of Jesus has been a witness to the children and their parents by the networking of churches, such as in 2005 with the joint mission trip for the Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church and Fountain. Praises to God, in 2006 for the partnership with Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church (www.mcmbcnewark.org), where cleaning drink water was provided at the school; through the sponsoring of a Water Harvesting System. The project crossed international borders with the joint efforts of engineering students from Engineers Without Borders, from Rutgers University (USA) and Jomo Kenyatta University (Kenya) who partnered with Global Literacy Program Inc. (www.glporg.inc) ran science presentations for the Isunguluni students, serving as a role model as they taught them how to use their existing resources to help themselves.

The next partnership trip was in 2007 where representatives from nine (9) New Jersey churches and one as far as Las Vegas Nevada travelled to Kibwezi to do missionary work. They ministered to the community via visitation, praying, preaching, physical labor such as ting the facility, Women Fellowship, telling the story of the African American slave and many more endeavors. All displaying the Love of Jesus!

In October of 2010 through a partnership with Clear View Baptist Church (www.clearviewbaptistnewark.org) a borehole was drilled to supply for the first time clean drinking water for a community of approximately 10,000 people! The goal and purpose is to improve the health conditions of the people by decreasing the amount of water diseases suffered while teaching and improving the hygiene of the students with 2 hand washing stations at the school. The next phase of the Community Water Project set for in 2011 is to install flushing toilets.

Our partner, the New Hope Baptist Church (www.nhbchurch.com) in November 2010 developed a partnership with a Maplewood school where the students sponsored a "Project Thirty Walk-a-thon" where they collected school supplies and revenue to ship the school supplies to the Isunguluni students. A backpack of school supplies for every student!

The members of the Outreach Ministry Christian Action Network has planned a Kenya Partnership Trip for October 22 to November 2, 2011 come and join us and let God lead you to the Mission Assignment He has for You! If you are interested, please contact the church office for additional detail.

HOW TO CONTACT US?

To sponsor a child or to donate, log in to www.fountainbaptist.org or mail your sponsorship and/or donation to Fountain Baptist Church, Kenya Ministry, 116 Glenside Avenue, Summit, NJ 07901. For additional information on how you or your church can become involved contact Rev. Jeanette Goodson at jeanettegoodson@verizon.net. There is something for every one of God's disciples to do. Let your body become a Living Sacrifice for God.