Counting Our Blessings
Although the blessings for the Rohi Organization in 2009 are countless, several of them stand out to the Rohi family. The bus, which was purchased towards the end of the year, was a great attraction, especially to the students who make up a great percentage of the Rohi family. In the beginning of 2009 the Director of Operations, Anthony Nderitu, gave four items to be prayed for during the year. They were: sustainability, a bus, a High School Boy’s Dorm and a High School Dining Hall. Apart from the bus the others are yet to come.
On December 11th at 6:30pm, the bus finally arrived. After the dedication of the bus a week later, it was used to carry forty-four members of the Rohi staff to a retreat at Lake Bogoria and Lake Baringo.
The bus will be very important for both activities in and outside the school. It will be used by the students for educational tours and field visits. In addition, it will be a sustainability project and will be rented to members in the community for private safaris.
High School Boys’ Dorm
This is a very important project that the Organization is looking forward to complete. The high school has 10 rooms; three are used as dorms, four as classrooms and three as laboratories for science and computers. With an admission of Form One (HS freshman) in January 2010, the school will need extra rooms for a dorm and classes.
A one-story High School Boy’s Dorm is under construction. The dorm was started in the beginning of December by faith with less than $10,000 out of the projected cost of $100,000. When the dorm is completed, the boys will have a spacious place to spend their nights. The Rohi Organization is making a special appeal to our esteemed well-wishers to pray and/or donate for the on-going construction.
DECEMBER UPDATES:
Staff Retreat
As the children were having a good time with their guardians, the staff took the month of December to re-energize. They visited Lake Bogoria which is termed a ‘Jewel of the Rift valley’ and fresh water Lake Baringo. They visited the hot springs in Lake Bogoria where they played games, and watched the crocodiles and hippos. At Lake Baringo the staff enjoyed touring the lake in boats. This was a fun day and a time to interact with each other.
The male staff in the Organization hiked Mount Kenya. It took 11 of them three days to hike the highest mountain in Kenya with an altitude of 5199 meters (15,597 ft) above sea level.
Rite Of Passage
In the beginning of the month Rohi hosted the Fourth Rite of Passage (circumcision) for the Anglican Church. A total of sixty-six boys attended the two week event. One boy from Rohi High School and fourteen boys from the Primary School were among the candidates. During the event, the boys were counseled and taught life skills. This was an important event for the Rohi boys because it was Christian in nature as opposed to the traditional approach which includes some practices inconsistent with Biblical teaching.
Guardian Outreach
Ben Vose, an intern, Henry, Mr. Njenga and Kamotho visited western Kenya as part of our Guardian Outreach program. The guardians of high school students Benard Gesora, Bakari Adongo and Charles Kamau were given funds to start small businesses. The guardians started tomato, corn and grain selling businesses respectively. Also, the guardians of Philip Kimotho (HS) and Emanuel Noel (Primary) were visited to decide how to further assist their families.
Letters to Children
This year we will not have a team going to Rohi until the end of April so we will be mailing letters only to all sponsored children on March 1st. Letters can be emailed to Linda Mahoney at lmahoney@cornerstoneweb.org, dropped off at the Missions counter or mailed to: Cornerstone Fellowship at 348 North Canyons Parkway, Livermore, CA 94551. You will be receiving a letter from the child(ren) you sponsor at the beginning of February. Please be sure that I have your letter no later that February 28th. Bibles and photo albums will be taken in April and letters again in June. Please contact Linda if you have any questions.
Huebner Coffee
Please join us on Sunday, January 17th, at 10:30am to welcome the Huebner’s back from Kenya. We will meet in U1 for a time of fellowship and hear from Denny and Susan about their experiences at Rohi.
New Sponsors Needed
We are happy to welcome thirty new Class 1 boys and girls to Rohi to start the new school year. We are in need of new sponsors for these precious children. If you are interested or know someone that might be please contact Linda Mahoney at lmahoney@cornerstoneweb.org or 925-579-5428.
Rohi June Trip
Applications are due on February 7th for the June Rohi trip to Kenya. This team, led by Pastor Dave and Kimberly Shields, will be more focused on community outreach including a guardian project and a water project at Poket (a village in the bush), but will also include a work project at the school. Cost is approximately $2800. For more information contact Linda Mahoney at lmahoney@cornerstoneweb.org. Applications can be found online or at the Missions counter.
Prayer Requests
Praise God for the new Bus!
Praise God for the successful 2009 year.
Pray for the provision for the on-going construction of the High School Boys’ Dorm.
Pray for God’s guidance in 2010.
Many times I have seen Rohi grow from a humble root to emerge not just as a school, but as a place I can dub a centre. This organization has widely grown through the prayers that the students have offered to God. And that is majorly the reason why, we cannot be able to count our blessings. They aren’t underestimated.
May the Lord bless us all