They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:3d (NIV)
During our recent graduation ceremony, our Chelezo High School graduating class Head Girl, Ivy Njoki made a speech. We would like to share some of her words with you. They are a testament of God’s grace at work in the hearts and minds of our students.
eduKenya is a movement that is driven by the love of Christ and the desire to glorify God. I remember when some of us joined eduKenya’s school as little children in preschool in the slums of Jangwani way back in 2006. Some of these graduating students joined in 2007 and 2008 while in primary school, and still others when we transitioned to Chelezo High School in 2018. The journey to get to this point has been long and filled with many challenges along the way.
The struggles we went through as a class were overcome because of our love for one another and the unity that we built together… Discipline leads to success. I thank our teachers for making us interrogate and understand the reason we were born, and that it is to live out our God-given purposes. As a class, we fell short many times in discipline and even in our academics, but our teachers never gave up on us. They stood strong and lifted us up from where we had fallen. When we needed a shoulder to lean on they were ready, they loved us unconditionally and supported us unfailingly. This is because they wanted us to discover who we are and bring out the hidden treasures that are within each one of us. Thank you very much to our teachers for bringing out the best in us.
My fellow graduates, we are now moving from one stage of our lives to the next. Remember that life is full of challenges and trials. For us to overcome them we must be strong. We must choose not to let a situation have control over us. Also let us remember that we must be determined and press on through the challenges in order to be successful. That calls for us to draw on God’s power, and to remain true to self. The worst any of us can do is to give up. Please do not give up. Just like we pushed ourselves beyond our perceived limits on Lenana Peak [during the senior leadership trip to Mt. Kenya], let us press on, and press on some more, until we get what we want...
We have a mission to fulfill, and that is to develop and change our communities. I would be so happy if we all accomplished this. I know we all will have different types and levels of success but it is important to work towards that success. We are a product of eduKenya, indeed some of the best products. Let us go out there and show who we really are, conquerors through Jesus Christ.
Thank you eduKenya for making us know who we are and teaching us to develop character. Your love and support has made us champions. It is my prayer that this organization will always be there to help those children in the slums of Mathare and beyond to find their destiny. On behalf of my fellow graduates, thank you for molding and shaping us. Believe me when I say that we are leaving Chelezo High School with something special because of the seeds of greatness planted in each of us. From the bottom of our hearts, we are truly grateful and we thank you again and again. God bless us all.