Beatrice Kimanya
It’s the same the world over. To survive, everyone needs some capital, whether it be financial, educational or social. Like so many others in Africa, Kenyans Beatrice Kimanya and her husband, Peter, had very little of any kind of capital. They owned a small plot of land on which they grew vegetables six months out of the year, but it netted them only $13 each month. Neither had any marketable skills or the benefit of an education past primary school. They, along with their five children, were imprisoned in poverty. The family often ate just one simple meal a day. Beatrice and Peter were especially disheartened that they could not afford the nominal fees to send their oldest son, Hillary, to secondary school (primary school is free in Kenya).
But then something good happened for the Kimanyas. Touched by the love of some local Christians, Beatrice gave her life to Jesus. She thus found herself to be a member of a caring, worldwide, spiritual family. That bit of social capital opened the door for her to gain some educational capital, which in turn paved the way for financial capital. Through that “chain of capital,” Beatrice’s family is being freed from the chains of poverty. Let me tell you how it happened.
With a grant from Heaven’s Family’s Education Fund, Beatrice’s pastor opened a vocational training center to teach sewing skills. Beatrice applied and was accepted. She worked very hard to learn all she could. Motivated by her desire to send her oldest son to school, she completed the training program in record time, taking only four months to master the skills that most students acquire in six.
Armed with new educational capital and a borrowed sewing machine, Beatrice rented a booth in the heart of one of her town’s busiest markets and started her very own tailoring shop. That was three months ago. Beatrice’s income has since grown as high as $63 in a month and she is having to turn away customers. She is hoping to purchase a second sewing machine so she can employ another graduate of the Heaven’s Family sewing school. Perhaps the best news is that Beatrice’s husband, Peter, has also become a believer, and their oldest son, Hillary, is now enrolled in high school.
Left: Beatrice Kimanya at her shop sewing; Right: Students learning to sew at Heaven’s Family’s vocational school
Beatrice has learned that God is the source of all her capital, and that He will bless the work of our hands. Thank you for being part of the Lord’s pipeline of blessing in Beatrice’s chain of capital. She is one of scores of Kenyans who are benefiting through your gifts to Heaven’s Family’s Education Fund.
