Veronica Gets a Benefactor

Judy had an opportunity to sponsor this girl for school while she was in Africa. Here is her short report about Veronica.

When we were going to the school I told Alex the head PI to get me the top performing girl in the eight grade and that's how I got Veronica. Then I thot maybe her parents wouldn't let her go but her father turned out to be a good guy...in the jeans and vest in the pictures. He gave a speech to the villagers to send their children to school and "don't forget the girls".He said God sent me to Wamba to help his daughter and I wanted to tell him "no it was British Airways " but since he only knew Samburu and it was all being translated for me....He just kept saying how happy he was and it was the greatest gift Wamba had ever received so I knew I had done the right thing. I told the gathering I had no children but now I had a daughter in Kenya.

Hank continues with more about Veronica and her life without Judy's intervention.

This is the girl who has the best academic performance at Ntepes Primary School, one of six in Wamba town. Of course we were all appalled to realize that circumcision still goes on, and young girls are married off to old human goats, and can only look forward to hauling water, having babies, building the huts and do everything else that the ex-Morans don't do--which is everything. So Judy transformed her outrage into something positive.

So it is that Veronica will be leaving Wamba for the first time in her life. It's about 150 kilometres to Meru. Forget the kilometerage, it takes about five hours by road, 90 via tarmac, 20 under construction and the rest "untarred." Of course this is contingent on her doing well on her national exams. The result come in around December 28.

So it is that, after the Goat Ceremony, Judy presents her Letter of Intent (written by her traveling lawyer, but heavily edited by his client) to the Headmaster and Veronica's father. We were to have met him prior to the ceremony, but we were so tied up with the media and the cultural event that the first meeting was at the presentation.

Veronica was born during the second rains (in September) in 1990. We don't know the exact date, but we decided it would be the 13th--Judy's birthday. When first we met her I had no idea why she was there and didn't know what best girl meant. She is extremely shy and I don't know what her language skills are--I don't remember her having spoken. She wants to be a doctor--hello Judy !!

Her father is the local butcher. She has two brothers and a two sisters (I think), all younger. They live at a gully near the school and the water pipe. I was concerned because he might have objected. The guy is super. He was so grateful and enthusiastic. He speaks no English (not sure about Swahili), and he made a impassioned speech to the crowd.

He urged them to send their children to school, and "not to forget the girls." Truly a renaissance man in Nowhere. Didn't see the children, but Veronica's mother was there. He could not get his brain around the idea that Judy, a woman, was doing this herself!!

We could get the idea that this is what Judy would do as she's a Johanson! Maybe Judy will bring her to our next reunion.