A GREAT HUMANITARIAN

As he walked the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, he passed child after child begging for food.  They just wanted something to take the hunger away.  It was then that he decided to take some of them home.  He didn't have much but he could give them hope and something to take the pain away.  For years he kept quiet and never asked for money.  He sold his carvings to buy what he needed.  Now he is taking care of 98 children.

His name is Stephen Kyalo (pronounced 'cello').  He says, "My goal is to help 1,000 children before I die."
There are 1.5 million orphaned children in Nairobi. 90% of them have lost their parents to Aids. As he took in more and more children, he rented a two bedroom house and a tin shack for a school.  The name of his orphanage is 'Nazarene Orphan Center'.

 

ONLY A FEW OF THE THINGS HE MAKES
 

 He only has a few beds and so most of the children sleep on mattresses on the floor.  He has about 12 teachers that are paid. The toilet facilities there are very primitive.
In 2012 he came to Salt Lake to visit church groups and sell his products.  He is familiar to missionaries that have served in Kenya. He was interviewed on KSL and was written up in the Deseret News.  He now has others making his carvings and he sells them by word of mouth and through a website -  'www.africarver.com.'



HE IS KNOWN FOR HIS NOAH'S ARKS
 

When asked how he started carving, he said he learned as a young boy.  He lived with his grandparents and would sit and watch his grandfather carve stools.  As soon as he was alone, he would pick up a knife and start carving.




READING THE SCRIPTURES

 

I met Stephen a few weeks ago here at Dukes Court.  His story  was an inspiration to all of the missionaries that visited with him. He brought many of his carvings and it was hard deciding what to buy.