From a Kenyan slum to Kaitaia
Paul Omondi, once a sponsor child from a Kenyan slum, will tell his inspirational story in Kaitaia next week as part of his New Zealand tour with TEAR Fund.
Paul was born and raised in one of the largest African slums in Kibera, Kenya. Life for the 800,000 inhabitants was all but unbearable. No sanitation and no healthcare meant children and infants were constantly falling sick. Paul stood by helplessly as he watched his 3-year-old sister die and his friends turn to a life of crime, drugs and prostitution.
“As a child I still had my dream of becoming a leader, despite the glaring poverty that threatened to kill it,” he says however.
His father enrolled him in TEAR Fund’s Compassion Child Sponsorship Programme, which became the way out of extreme poverty for the 11-yearold boy. Compassion took care of his educational needs, medical care and spiritual development.
Paul believes Compassion’s support enabled him to successfully complete primary school, high school, and be accepted into university. He graduated with a degree in community develop- ment and dedicated his life to working among Kenya’s most vulnerable communities.
TEAR Fund events manager Sharon Raath said she was thrilled to bring Paul to New Zealand.
“He was a child with huge potential but born into a life of struggle. Despite the odds stacked against him, he was able to succeed and reach his goals. It doesn’t get any more inspiring than that.”
Paul will speak at the Hope Christian Centre in Commerce Street on Tuesday (June 9), starting 7pm.
He will be accompanied by Holly Arrowsmith, born in New Mexico but raised in Queenstown, whose music is described as holding an uncommon cultural and environmental blend, appealing to a widespread range of audiences. She has performed at some of New Zealand’s biggest music festivals, including Rhythm & Alps and Rhythm & Vines, and has opened for the internationally acclaimed artist Rodriguez.