Blog

Fire At Kibera School

It has been a FULL week for us at GOYA Ministries, both in the States and in Kenya! We had an amazing Child Sponsorship Drive at Vale Church resulting in 106 new sponsors regularly supporting GOYA and our children! We are praising God for these new supporters and the opportunity they bring for further ministry in Nairobi.

Sadly, the enemy doesn’t like it when we make huge strides for God’s Kingdom – and less than 24 hours later, we received disheartening news from our Kenyan ministry partners.

Our Kibera school, along with seven nearby homes, caught fire from an unknown cause earlier this week. We are, first and foremost, praising God for His protection, because no children or staff were caught in the fire or burnt seriously. However, to escape the building, some of the children jumped out of windows on the second floor of the school. The majority of these children sustained minor injuries (scrapes and bruises), but three children did suffer mild head injuries and will be seeing a doctor for medical scans.

Thankfully, the school did not completeley burn down, but sections of it will need to be rebuilt which can be seen in the pictures below. We are also saddened that all of the school’s Bibles, musical instruments, songbooks, baptistery, speakers, sound system, some cables and other electrical items were ruined in the fire. We are waiting on estimates for the full cost of replacing these materials, but we know that significant rebuilding will be required.

How Can YOU Help?

  • PRAY. Please join us in praying for clear medical scans for our three students who were injured in escaping the fire; for God’s timely provision of the resources to rebuild the parts of the Kibera school that were ruined; and for our Kenyan leadership as they act as beacons of peace and lead our children through this season.  
     
  • GIVE. Prayerfully consider a one-time donation to help us in rebuilding the ruined sections of our Kibera school and replacing the items that were lost by clicking the “DONATE” button below.

In the midst of this news, we are reminded of the ways God has been faithful in the past – and we fully believe that He is still faithful! We will not be discouraged. We will, through His help, rebuild, replace, and restore what is needed to continue providing high-caliber education for our Kibera students.

God, your God, will restore everything you lost; he'll have compassion on you; he'll come back and pick up the pieces from all the places where you were scattered. (Deuteronomy 30:3)

 

Photos by Mike Lockett