Elijah

Born and raised in Rangwe village in Homa Bay County, Kenya, Elijah’s greatest dream was to work hard and change the future of his community. He expresses, “I knew that the only way to become someone respectable and give my family a good life was to have a quality education.” Most of his childhood was spent fishing to earn money to take care of his family. When other boys his age dropped out of school to become full time fishermen, Elijah kept pushing through school. In addition to the strain of financial hardship, Elijah lost his father when he was still a teenager and was forced to move to his elder brother's home. “Losing my father and living away from my mother filled my life with deep sadness and loneliness. I craved a father figure in my life and the love of my mother.”

During this tumultuous time, Elijah met his Young Life leader who attended the same church as he did. He shares, “Martin became a father to me! I found a friend, a mentor and a father in Martin.” Elijah gave his life to Christ at a Young Life campaigners camp. He was later trained to be a leader and serve his community in different leadership capacities. Elijah is happy he gets to nurture and be there for the young boys in his community just like his leader was there for him.

Now a Developing Global Leader, Elijah studies statistics at the University of Embu. He will be the first person in his family to acquire a university degree. Elijah dreams, “I hope to be an inspiration to many youths in my community and that one day they will realize there’s more to life than just fishing.”