Life is strange. In particular, it’s complicated. It’s hard to put into words the transformation that your heart can go through in a week or two, then to try to reconcile it with the life you live back home.

This was our third time in Kenya, working for eduKenya (Here is Part 1 and Part 2). Every day that we’ve gotten to spend with these wonderful people over the past 6 years has made us more grateful for life. The staff, the students and the teachers that are involved with this amazing organization all seem to realize what they have. In their school, they’ve found a bit of hope in a very, very difficult place (please see Part 1 or 2 to read some of that background).

This hope manifests itself in several ways: It comes out in the joy of the people involved, knowing that every day they bring themselves closer to leaving a cycle of poverty. Somehow even the young children seem to get this. It comes out in their work ethic as many of the children spend the entirety of their day working, learning and doing chores. It comes out in their attitude towards school, their teachers and their work.

It’s hard to leave eduKenya without a sweeping sense of hope… and a realization that if given a chance, these people are capable of great things. We’re so grateful to be part of an organization that’s trying to provide that chance. We hope these photos tell just a part of their powerful story…

This year we were honored to have Lindsay (again) and Jim join us on this journey. The photos below are a combination of images from the 4 of us. Enjoy!