Pastor Martin Chamah and his wife, Edith, had operated the orphanage in Kisumu since 2001 when Sieg and Ursula Grafe retired from the ministry with Africa Inland Mission.
They had opened their personal home to this ministry in part because of their own backgrounds. Mrs. Chamah had been orphaned as a young child and Pastor Chamah had been supported as a child by World Vision. The care of orphans has been a burning passion on their hearts since their time at Bible College.
Even befroe having their own children, Mr & Mrs. Chamah starting taking in orphans. They have 3 bilogocial children – Joskey (16), Billy (14) and Jeff (11). Joskey has been our right hand man with many of our tasks and has even managed to take me out of the coupound a few times. He is always very respectful and portective of us. He is ready for Gr 10. Billy is ready to attend Gr 8. He is a very quiet and shy and gangly teen with a big smile and two puppy dogs that he loves. Jeff is the baby of the family. He is in Gr 5 and is also outgoing like Joskey. He loves to dance and admists he loves food. Imagine having so many brothers and sisters from birth. I admire the way they are all one with the orphans – truly a large family unit!
For instance, last night when Joskey had gone to bed he found that the mattress that he was sharing with Billy was already occupied by Job Moses and he didn’t want to give up his spot. So Joskey had to take the top bunk where Job had been before. They just all seem to share and there’s no problem.
I have almost finished taking all our “necessary” pictures. Today I did all the class photos. I will now sympathize with photographers as they try to get their subjects lined up and in order and then capture smiling faces. I has been fun though and I am a favorite with the kids when I’m wearing the camera around my neck! But because the internet is so EXTREMELY slow today, we will not be sending more pictures. In a couple of days, the speed with be back up so we can send more pictures. So until then, bye for now! Cathy