My Amazing Experience with philanthropy – How a letter from Belima Aluoch brought the world to my Mpesa

 

While to many, I am known as a HR professional; some also know me as a hobbyist photographer and canvas painter. Two months ago, a letter made me realize I could also be a fundraiser.

Walk with me through this story.

On 20^th June 2021,a couple of months ago while taking a rest in the village by the foot of Abom Hill in Sakwa Kamnara, Bondo; a long time friend of mine from our area came along. I had actually sent my mum to drop him a word to pass by to discuss some issues I wanted to check with him.

It turned out to be a life changing meeting for me. He had also been seeking me out but for different reasons; one was to help him establish his vegetable farming initiative by the stream near his home and another was a letter he had from his daughter.

                            The letter Belima sent his dad to bring me on 20th June 2021.

The letter was quite general in the first paragraphs until I actually realized the young gill had addressed it to me asking for support to get her secondary education. I was moved almost to a tear but then also thought since I could not be able to take her to school on such short notice, why not just say it to the parent.

I told my friend Owino Obonyo that while the letter is really moving, I was not in a very good place financially to support her schooling for four years. Especially considering the amount of money required to make the first entry in high school. However, I told him I would visit him and get to see the young girl who found it in me, the person who could make her dreams come true.

Later that afternoon, I visited the family and got to see the young girl Belima whom I started to refer to as Dr. Belima in line with her wish to be a doctor according to what she had indicated in her letter. It then dawned on me that this girl had seen hope in me and I was not going to kill it. I remembered fondly, the encouraging words from my old man would always say,”Ikia gima ng’ato oneno kuomi” (You do not know what someone sees in you) especially if one elected to pick you out in a rather large population like the young girl had done.

    When I visited the home of the young Belima Aluoch just a few minutes walk from my rural village.

In that meeting with the family. I promised her that I would get her to school. Not with my money but with money from people all over the world. I had no idea who they would be but decided it was a gamble I had to take so as to keep her hope alive.

I would then head home and share that letter in my WhatsApp status and the very first reaction was from a childhood friend of mine Dorrie Owiso whose remarks were ‘Let us send that girl to school. I will send you something even if I have no job. Continue inspiring them’ Before I could react, she sent in her contribution. Pledges followed in succession and before I realized, money was streaming into my phone via Mpesa – the Safaricom mobile money platform in Kenya in rapid succession.

At that point, I had been on a Facebook break and thought it wise to go back and launch this drive on my wall and reach more people. I did and in minutes, the pledges and contributions were more than doubled. One great buddy of mine of many years, Cliff Nudi quickly called me from USA and told me he will pay for her first year school fees once we have the school. He went on to send the money a few days later for her entire first year in secondary school.

A list of private donors who contributed to the cause in big ways from different parts of the world and Kenya.

The support was overwhelming as money kept coming in to cover incidentals, shopping and other costs that are generally quite heavy in joining the first class in secondary school. Within a few weeks, I had received a total of Kshs. 147718 (just about $1470) from 44 individual contributors. A number of these private donors who sent their monies to this cause are people I do not know in person and may never even get to meet them in life. They simply said how they identified with the cause and thought it wise to make a difference.

I got two female Facebook friends in France and USA who took over her sanitary supplies for her entire school life and actually sent some. Along with that, they took responsibility for the supply of her undergarments, night dresses and the like. They formed a web of philanthropic humans who rose to the call from a simple letter.

In the end, I was able to hand over the girl Belima Aluoch to her school of choice – Nyamira Girls High School in Bondo. With me were her parents who were happy to have seen how their daughter united people in her cause.

                We delivered the young girl to High School finally. All from the goodwill of people.

Belima is not only one Belima. I have come to see more Belimas in the area and heard of other from beyond. Bright yet needy pupils who were stuck at home for lack of fees or ability to get financial help from well wishers within and outside their communities. Even while admitting the young, I was called by her Primary School Headtecher to chip into funding yet another bright one who was not even on the way to school yet. I sent a little Mpesa his way but still felt we have to do more for our communities.

    Belima having last words with her parents before we left her alone to start her high school life.

While the government has considerably subsidized education and even provides bursaries for the needy, that cannot solely take care of all the needy students within our communities. We, as people who can influence fundraising, as agencies that can generate or set aside funds for education, as persons who can rally others on social media can help bring a change.

                  Me and my future Doctor in old age. This was the highlight of my life this year.

Belima is a name that will live on in my life as a demonstration of humanity, of the philanthropic spirit that resides in many of us. She now becomes our adopted daughter and my wife and I will see her through her education even as other private contributions will come along in the 4 year journey. I will explore making it a bigger and well structured fund to accommodate even more Belimas in the rural area I come from where many of them still remain behind. At that time, we will rise as a people and make a difference that will start here and cover the whole country in the end.

It was easy to simply say no to the young girl's letter but I elected to believe that I was surrounded by people who would help me make a difference. And we delivered.