Men & Women of Faith: Edwin from Kenya

For February, I decided to share another Compassion graduate's story! You can read Edwin's story, as published by Compassion, here.

Here is a visual of the letter that I sent to each child:

Here is the text of the letter I sent:

Dear Name,

This month I'd like to share another story of a Compassion graduate with you. This graduate, name Edwin, is from Kenya and works with elephants. Kenya is a country in eastern Africa and its highest mountain is called Mount Kenya! There are many large wild animals in Kenya such as lions, buffalos, giraffes, zebras, rhinoceros and elephants. Also, Kenya has won many Olympic medals in running! I included two photos of Edwin with elephants, the flag of Kenya and a map showing where Kenya is located.

"Hi! I’m Edwin. When I was a little boy, I was in the Compassion program. I lived in a small village in Kenya, but now I live in the big city of Nairobi. I am the head elephant keeper at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. It’s a place where orphaned elephants are cared for.
At the Wildlife Trust, Kenyans call us when they find an orphaned elephant. An orphaned elephant has lost its mother. Sometimes people kill elephant mothers to take their ivory tusks, and sometimes a flood or drought separates baby elephants from their mothers.
Just like human babies, elephant calves depend on their mothers to care for them. The mama elephants protect them, feed them, keep them warm, and give them love. So when baby elephants are orphaned, elephant keepers become their family.
When people are sad and hopeless, they need God and their friends and family to come around them and remind them to keep going, too. That’s what Compassion did for me. The workers helped take care of me when I was young. And now that’s one of my most important jobs with the baby elephants. Have you ever heard that an elephant never forgets? That’s true! Many orphans at Sheldrick are sad because they remember when their mothers died. Some elephants even die from a broken heart.
That’s why the elephant keepers stay with the sad baby elephants 24 hours a day. We make sure they travel together as a group, and we sleep with them so they’re never alone. We hug them and speak kindly to them.
I always remind the elephants that I believe in them, just as people at my Compassion center believed in me. I tell them, “Don’t give up. Keep fighting. You can make it!” When you treasure people or animals, they can tell that you love them, and it will help them grow strong!""

Have you ever seen an elephant?

I am praying for you and I love you dearly. I look forward to seeing how you spend your life helping others and caring for God's creation.

Much love,
Hannah

The photos are from Compassion's page sharing Edwin's story. And I googled Kenya to find the flag and map!

Feel free to copy and paste this letter to your kids also!