Another Small Beginning

Over the past few months, another hope, another dream has taken shape at New Dawn School! In August 20 girls moved into a boarding house, and in September 17 boys moved into a dormitory! Saba, International celebrates God's faithful goodness to New Dawn.

From the time of its humble formation in 2006, New Dawn has dreamed of providing housing for its students.

From small beginnings...

The hands and hearts of many people and organizations have come together to provide the beds, the bedding, the fresh paint. It was reported that on the night that the boys moved into the dorm they slept little because "joy over-filled their hearts! They spoke with each other all night in celebration of God's goodness in providing this opportunity for them!"

From small beginnings...

Mr. Vincent is a teacher of Kiswahili and History at New Dawn. He has agreed to be the dormitory master to these 17 young men. His own story is one of being graciously rescued by God from the streets of Kibera slum, so he has much to offer these young men in the way of Christ-like example and encouragement, and so we pray God's abiding grace over him.

Interestingly, his room is in the old school library (located in the same village as the school), and the dorm rooms are adjacent in the former classrooms. This building was the first building which New Dawn purchased in 2006 as it began to expand from the borrowed church space.

From small beginnings...

Meanwhile, a forty-minute walk away from New Dawn, 20 girls have moved into a boarding house, under the prayerful heart and watchful eye of Miss Chao, who is also a teacher and administrator at New Dawn. Miss Chao has taught at New Dawn from its inception, and has seen God's glory with her own eyes as He has faithfully provided for New Dawn.

From small beginnings...

Perhaps you are wondering why providing boarding is a central vision for the school.

Keep in mind the environment from which these students hail. Most live in crowded, noisy homes; their families are living on meager hand-to-mouth wages, which often leave students' stomachs empty morning and evening; they travel to school on foot, some walking many miles each way, and they encounter many forms of physical, verbal and sexual harassment. Imagine this being the foundation for learning.

Providing boarding for the students provides the following benefits:

• more consistent nutrition
• quieter, less crowded environment for sleep and study
• increased safety in traveling to and from school

which can only yield better learning.

Imagine sleeping under this scripture every night, being reminded of the new life that we have by belonging to Jesus Christ! With the help of New Dawn may these young ladies and men be preserved and prepared to serve their Master as new creations!

In the Bible, Zechariah the prophet challenged the nation Israel to rebuild the temple:

"Does anyone dare despise this day of small beginnings?" Zechariah 4:10

In partnership with New Dawn, Saba, International celebrates the small beginnings. From humility, faith , hope and prayer God has done miracles and wonders!

posted by Cathy Woller for Saba, International

Daily Bread

The cost of food and energy continues to rise all over the world. Have you felt the pinch in your budget? Have you had to shed some extravagences in order to stretch your budget?

Now imagine being responsible to feed a school of 150 teenage students and 15 staff, or a children's home with 80 growing children and babies, and another 20 staff, all on an income of donations, at a time when donors are cutting back...


The rising cost of food and energy have been problematic in Kenya since 2008, but have experienced the sharpest spike during the first quarter of 2011. The Nest and New Dawn have recently reported how challenging it is to supply the nutritional needs of their students and children. Additionally, staff members' salaries must be stretched farther to support rising costs of public transportation and food for their own households.



Have you cut out some extravagences from your diet to save on your grocery bill?

How does the Nest and New Dawn do that when their diet is so basic?

Here is a list of foods that are the Daily Bread at the Nest and New Dawn:

tea, sugar, milk

grain for porridge

fresh and ground maize

spinach, kale, onions

sweet potatoes, rice, potatoes, dried beans

tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, zucchini

salt and cooking fat

not at all extravagent, very healthy, lacking in protein


Both the Nest and New Dawn have cooks on staff. The Nest provides breakfast, morning porridge, lunch and dinner for their children. New Dawn provides lunch for their students.



Both organizations dream of being able to provide more regular intake of protein for their growing young people in the form of meat, fish, eggs and yoghurt. But how can they accomplish that when they struggle to afford the most basic diet?

New Dawn dreams of being able to provide a greater variety in their lunches, as several students have trouble digesting the maize and bean diet. They also dream of being able to offer morning tea/breakfast, since many of the students' families are unable to provide breakfast at home before coming to school.

Cooking requires fuel of some sort. For years, the Nest has used an indoor steamer/cooker whose heat is generated by burning wood.

New Dawn recent received a gift of a Bio-Digester. This apparatus quickly digests cow-manure (from the school's small herd) and transforms it into usable energy for cooking. Otherwise they depend on wood for fuel as well.

The Nest works very hard to procure firewood for cooking. Kenya has cycled through years of deforestation, and then a revival of reforestation. Therefore, firewood is very expensive to purchase, and the Nest has no internal source of firewood. It must be transported to the Nest, and with the rising cost of petrol, one can only imagine that the cost of wood has escalateded as well.

Both the Nest and New Dawn grow their own vegetables to help off-set the cost of buying food. The Nest has hens and goats, while New Dawn has cows, but neither organization has enough land to be self-sustaining.

Saba, International partners with the Nest and New Dawn in supplying grants to support their nutritional needs. We hope to do more to keep the children and students fed, growing, learning, thriving.

We call on the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, to help us find joy in giving... even sacrificially!

Please pray for both the Nest and New Dawn--staff, students, and children--that God would provide graciously, abundantly, faithfully!

posted by Cathy Woller

Success at New Dawn

In November of 2010, New Dawn School graduated its second class of 41 students. Prior to graduation the students spent several weeks taking comprehensive national exams. These exams are of greatest importance, because a student's exam scores is what qualifies one for university course-work. The results are not released until February, and New Dawn was very excited by the results of this class of students: four can join University, and two-thirds of the rest qualify for diploma coursework! Director Irene Tongoi celebrates, "The Lord heard our prayer for them and they have done better than their predecessors!"

Adding to this joy, New Dawn has been granted a "Center Number", which means that the students can now take the national exam at their own school instead of traveling to another registered school. This has been a six-year matter of prayer, and the Lord has prevailed for New Dawn! Praise Him!

Recently I read Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington, the man who founded the Tuskegee Institute in the era following the emancipation of slaves in the United States. His calling in life was to bring justice to former slaves and their children through education and technical training, just as New Dawn is seeking to bring justice through education to the underserved youth in their corner of the world. Washington's definition of success is worth considering: "I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed."

Consider the success story of a recent graduate, Steven Owounda, age 41:
Steven is one of 16 children. Upon completing primary school in 1981, his family was unable to pay for secondary school fees. Over the next 26 years, he learned the carpentry trade, became a follower of Jesus Christ, and worked as a watchman. All along his journey, Steven never let the obstacle of passing time crush his hope for achieving secondary education. In 2007, Steven entered New Dawn as a Form One student (high school freshman) at the age of 37! God has endured with him, and he graduated in November of 2010! Steven desires to join a Bible college and become a pastor as his way of giving back to the community.

We at Saba, International stand prayerfully with Steven and all the other graduates of New Dawn as they thirst for more education, with the passion of building up communities!

Pressing on to Lead and Learn

I would like to introduce you to Ben Khalonyere, headmaster of New Dawn School since its inception in 2006. As New Dawn was moving from a vision to a reality in 2005, director Irene Tongoi (shown above) sought out Ben because of his experience in starting a school from the ground up. In 2001, Ben and his brother started Shilce Secondary school in a small classroom with a two-sided blackboard. Ben taught one group of students on one side of the blackboard, and his brother taught the other group on the other side of the blackboard. So began Ben's passion for bringing educational justice to under-served youth in Kenya.

For several years Ben has been pursuing his own bachelor's degree. During the school's April, August and December holidays, Ben has traveled to Uganda to do coursework (University is much less expensive in Uganda than in Kenya), and has used weekends and evenings to study. In December 2010, Ben completed his studies, and will graduate with a bachelor's degree in April of 2011! We are amazed by his determined and faithful efforts to complete his own education for the benefit of his community.

Saba, International has a small stake in his accomplishments, as we have been able to grant him partial scholarships for the past year.

Ben always overflows with gratefulness for the chance to complete this degree. Recently he wrote:

"I must thank the Almighty God for this miracle and blessing of keeping and sustaining me and for the provision of the fees. For sure, when I decided to go back to college I had nothing. It was a very hard decision, but I knew that the Lord I serve is not short of means, and he has really blessed me at college....This is not the limit. Pray with me for a scholarship to study Governance and Ethics at a Master's level so that I can help heal our community."

While we wait on the Lord together for Ben's sake, he continues his daily responsibility of leading New Dawn School, both staff and students. Let us not forget to pray for his family (a wife and three young children) which he leads and who have sacrificed along with him daily. May God protect him daily as he spends four hours traveling to and from school on public transport and by foot. Let us stand with Ben prayerfully that he may continue to humbly follow Jesus Christ while leading many!

written by Cathy Woller for Saba, International

Merry Christmas to the Nest!

Christmas is the time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, God with us! The Nest strives to make it a special time of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ for the children.

Keep in mind that most children at the Nest are separated from their mothers due to imprisonment. Daily, but especially at Christmas, the Nest must soothe little hearts that are missing mama and longing for home.
Many "Friends of the Nest" work hard to bring good cheer to the children and staff each Christmas, in the forms of friendship, feasting, worship, songs and gifts. It's always a time of surprises and wonder!

Visitors are a wonderful blessing at Christmas-time becasue there are extra laps and hands for snuggling and holding!

and strong backs for climbing onto!

It's always a good time to dance and sing at the Nest, especially at Christmas!

The gifts bring delight!

and sometimes envy!

and more delight!

and a chance to nurture!

sometimes the gifts are mysterious...

and take a long time to assemble...

but the whole community gets to share the joy!

(after hearing all the rules)

Feasting together is fun, and the food is often something different than daily bread!

The celebrations and visitors means lots of coordination for the staff, and answering of questions and giving tours. We pray that God will bring his grace to the staff and visitors of the Nest this Christmas, as they strive to embrace the children in celebration of the birth of Jesus.

Please hold each staff member in prayer, as they each have a family of their own, with whom they desire to celebrate.

Please pray for the imprisoned moms, who are longing for their children, longing for release. Pray that by his spirit, God would be working in the hearts of each mom, bringing them to repentance and healing from the sin that brought them to prison in the first place.

Each one of us in entangled by the destructive forces of sin. Each one of us needs the repentance and healing that is only possible through Jesus Christ.

As an adult, Jesus spoke of himself, echoing the prophecy of Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Lord and king is on me.

The Lord has anointed me to tell the good news to the poor people.

He has sent me to comfort those whose hearts have been broken.

He has sent me to announce freedom for those who have been captured.

He wants me to set the prisoners free from their dark prisons.

He has sent me to announce the year when he will set his people free.

He wants me to announce the day when he will pay his enemies back.

Our God has sent me to comfort all those who are sad.

He wants me to help those in Zion who are filled with sorrow.

I will put beautiful crowns on their heads in place of ashes.

I will anoint them with oil to give them gladness instead of sorrow.

I will give them a spirit of praise in place of a spirit of sadness.

They will be like oak trees that are strong and straight.

The Lord himself will plant them in the land.

That will show how glorious he is!

Isaiah 61:1-3


Merry Christmas!

posted by Cathy Woller for Saba, International

Firm Foundation

It's time for another graduation at New Dawn School. On November 26, New Dawn will present 39 young people with diplomas. Saba, International commends them for their determination, endurance and hard work! We also commend the staff and leadership who have labored and prayed faithfully for five years to bring this day to pass. Pictured above are some of the students at last years graduation ceremony (dreaming of their own futures, perhaps?!)
Graduation is a good time to reflect back on the past, and forward to the future...

Nearly five years ago, New Dawn began operating its school in the borrowed space of this church.

Four years ago, New Dawn purchased this building in the village, and refitted it with a classroom and a library/computer lab. Three years ago they purchased another small building to house another classroom. As the school's student population grew, so did the need for space.

Two years ago, New Dawn was granted the right from a neighboring "old people's home" to build a proper school building, so that they could move toward the goal of operating on one campus. Because the village is "informal", New Dawn is not allowed to build permanent structures, and so they designed and built a school out of shipping containers! It's a remarkable feat of engineering, and truly came as a vision from God. The school now offers sufficient classroom space for its 160 students, but lacks a proper resource center, auditorium and science laboratories.

Over the past year, a vision for a second such structure has been put to paper, and the school has been working hard to acquire the additional shipping containers that it needs to build a three-story structure on the same campus.

The cost of this project is 9 million Kenyan Shillings, or about $120,000 USD. This cost is comprehensive, including the following and much more:

• fabrication work: roofing, ceiling, delivery of the containers to the site, concrete work, installation, anti-theft doors, paint, etc.
• auditorium: seating, flat-screen TV, P.A. system.
• staff work room: desks, filing cabinets and a small kitchen
• library: shelving, a circulation desk, and couches.
• science laboratories: proper fittings for chemistry/physics lab and biology lab

Recently a donor came forward with $60,000, and New Dawn is looking for $60,000 in matching funds. The school would like to build in December with the hope it being completed when the new school year starts in January 2011.

$60,000 is a lot of money! This impossibly large amount of money can be raised up by a God who promises us his faithful presence, and has proved his mighty able-ness to New Dawn again and again. Saba, International longs to be a part of this project, and we are seeking partners to help us fund this work and pray it through to completion. Would you prayerfully consider how you can be a part of this tremendous building project....and let the word of the Lord instruct our hearts:

Command those who are rich to put their hope in God. He richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Command the rich to do what is good. Tell them to be rich in doing good things. They must give freely. They must be willing to share. In that way, they will put riches away for themselves. It will provide a firm basis for the next life. Then they will take hold of the life that really is life!--1 Timothy 6:17-19

checks can be written to : Saba, International

and mailed to: Saba, International, c/o Helen Kahl

10560 Blue Rock Road,

Mount Horeb, WI 53572

include in the memo line: New Dawn building project

If you prefer to use Pay Pal, please visit our website: http://www.sabainternational.org/

and follow the "donate today" link

Thank you for your partnership with New Dawn through Saba, International!

posted by Cathy Woller

Teacher Nurture

In our partnership with New Dawn secondary school, Saba, International has come to recognize that the success of the school and its students depends largely on the teachers. Saba, International has implemented a program that we refer to as teacher nurture. The goal of this program is to support the teaching staff in a variety of ways, to nurture and encourage them as they daily commit to the hard work of teaching. So far, we have been able to help one teacher with the cost of his Bachelor's Degree, and have boosted teacher salaries with a "13th month" salary (which is like a Christmas Bonus). We would like to do more!


Shown above are four teachers which have been with New Dawn since 2006, its opening year. Thank you for your many years of dedicated, excellent service and leadership!

Meet Margaret Chao Kubo. She joined the New Dawn staff in 2006, shortly after the school opened. She has taught all four classes of students in the subjects of Kiswahili, history and religion. Currently she also functions as a student counselor and school secretary. In the picture above, Madame Chao was helping prepare the feast which followed last year's graduation.

In September, Ms. Kubo reported to me the blessing of having received a small stipend through teacher nurture. She wrote, "I want to thank Saba, International for their initiative of coming up with "teacher nurture". It has made a great impact in my life, especially during the August holidays when both my daughter and I were at home, meaning food consumption is high. The amount of money I usually allocate for my shopping from my salary is usually not enough to sustain us for the whole month. From the gift of "teacher nurture" this month's shopping has sustained us comfortably."

Ms. Kubo is an excellent example of on-going learning for the students. In 1998 she completed her O-level training, and in 2001 she took coursework for computer proficiency. She laments that she does not have more training to support her teaching, but recently, to the Praise of God's glorious grace, she has been able to return to school to achieve a diploma in Library and Information Science. She does the coursework during her three month-long term breaks, and should complete the degree by April of 2012. The total cost of the course-work is $2000. Eventually she would like to receive master's level training in the same field of study.

All of New Dawn's eleven teachers are Kenyans, striving to be positive examples as Christian leaders and educators as they respond to God's calling. They are highly devoted, but endure many hardships. Currently their wages are less than half of the national average for secondary teachers, and in the early years of the school, they often went months without receiving wages. (Many struggle to keep their own families fed and their children's school fees paid.) Very few of the teachers have the proper training to support their teaching demands, and they all desire to further their own education. The environment in the village can be very disturbing, and they are teaching students whose own home environments are not supportive of good learning. All of this makes teaching at New Dawn a daily challenge, but one that comes with great rewards too. Ms. Kubo wrote that being in the village environment, and seeing what her students endure daily has taught her greater patience, perseverance, humility and love.

Saba, International encourages you to pray for the teachers of New Dawn, that they might continue to be a blessing to the school, and be blessed by Jesus for fighting the good fight, finishing the race and keeping the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7)

The apostle Paul writes to Timothy: I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistant, whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching....As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

2 Timothy 4:2-5

posted by Cathy Woller