In February and March ‘08, Ron Mayer very ably coordinated a visit to the Knoxville area by Samuel and Monica Wambugu, directors of Grace School, which First Presbyterian helped found a decade ago. The school educates children in grades one through eight, many of whom come from families decimated by HIV/AIDS. During this trip, the number of churches and institutions supporting Grace School grew to about fifteen. $10,200 was raised to complete windows, doors, and a roof on a dining-kitchen building of which $2400 was contributed by First Presbyterian members. An additional $2600 in pledges was received. About fifty Grace School children were fully or partially “adopted” (eleven by FPC members) at $600 each (for a total adoption) to help the operating budget. “Adopted” children have already begun to respond with letters and pictures. Grace School receives $6000 in budgeted Global Mission funds each year plus additional designated gifts.
A brief history…
Founded in 1997, Grace Ministries , Grace School is the central focus of the ministry, serves the most destitute of Limuru’s families. The goal of Grace is to give hope for life and a future to those children who are the the victims of this Kenyan town’s rampant poverty and the unrelenting march of HIV/AIDS.
In the autumn of 1999 the Samuel and Monica Wambugu moved to Knoxville, TN, for one year. Samuel had obtained a fellowship in Clinical Pastoral Education with the Department of Pastoral Counseling at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. He arrived in September and Monica followed him in November. The two lived in Knoxville while he finished his studies and they cultivated strong ties with several Knoxville area Presbyterian churches. Many of these have sent support for Grace School, including Bethel Presbyterian in Kingston and the First Presbyterian, Korean Presbyterian, Westminister Presbyterian and Lake Forest Presbyterian in Knoxville
Grace Ministries’ central mission is caring for the children from Limuru’s poorest families by providing quality education, food and clothing, and family-centric social-economic support, including basic medical care and counseling. The economic malaise and high levels of fatal disease that plague most of Africa also prevail in Limuru, resulting in high levels of alcoholism, unemployment, prostitution (including children), and death – families break down and the surviving children often go to the streets at a very early age.
Contact: Ron Mayer email: ronmayerb4@comcast.net
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