Valentine's Day Letter to Supporters
Dear Friends,
This Valentine's Day we are celebrating our love for you and marveling at how your love is transforming the lives of Kenyan students with disabilities!
.png)
Because of your love we are proud to report that in a district where only 2% of children in public school advance to high school, 13 of the deaf children we serve at Gede Special School are going to be freshmen next year. That's almost the entire eighth grade class!
We could not be more proud of these students and we believe that their success is due in part to the sign language workshops that your donations have made possible over the past few years. As the teachers have increased their fluency in sign language our students' academic progress has improved substantially. Due to the passionate advocacy of the Kenyan staff that your generosity supports, the national exams now provide more accommodations for deaf students.
Because of your love I had the opportunity to join five Kupenda supporters on a mission trip this January. James Kennedy and Julianne Cargill, who have training in physical therapy, worked with our Kenyan physical therapists to provide training and ensure that our students get the best treatment possible. Lauren Blair, the chair of our board of directors, continued researching the book she's writing in order to share the love she's experienced through Kupenda and her husband Patrick used his innumerable computer skills to set up new computers for our staff and provided training for our new database system. Alan Shearer, a musician and carpenter who is hard of hearing, worked with our hard of hearing students and their families to encourage the proper use and maintenance of hearing aids. Alan also worked with our deaf students who just finished carpentry school to help prepare them for a successful career in their chosen field. Photos and descriptions can be found on in our photo album on Kupenda's Facebook page.
Because of your love our students are thriving in school, their chosen occupations and in their communities. Every time you pray for Kupenda, share your resources with our students or set aside some time to volunteer, you are touching the lives of our students and testifying that God is love.
As many of you know, the word Kupenda means "to love" in Swahili. Because of your love, we are living up to our name in Kenya! Thank you for making Valentine's Day a little more meaningful for our students and everyone at Kupenda.
With Love and Affection,
Cindy Bauer
Founder & Executive Director