Waycross First Methodist, 410 Williams Street, will host Bonaface Simani, Pastor of Bread of Life Ministries and Director of COMIDO School in Eldoret, Kenya, Sunday, June 15.
Simani, a native of Kenya, will speak about his journey in faith and education for others, at First Methodist’s 10:30 a.m. service Sunday.
Simani attended Bible training in Nairobi, Kenya, and began his ministry in the country’s central region at Eldoret. It was there he met his future wife, Nancy, who was a teacher in the city’s public school system. Simani started the “Bread of Life” church, and after discovering an anomaly of the education system, started the school. He wondered why there were so many school-age children on the streets of the city during school hours.
He was told families must pay for their children to go to school, and many can’t afford it. Add to that the great number of children without a family, essentially homeless with no governmental social network for aid, and Simani saw the focus of his future.
With his wife’s help, the school was opened for the “street children” and those of families without the means to pay for public education.
Today, the school of 12 teachers educates nearly 200 children through eighth grade.
The teachers, who like Nancy Simani could be earning much more in a public school, work for the equivalent of $100 a month, a poverty sum even in Kenya.
Simani, his wife and staff hope to be able to educate — and feed — the children through high school in the future.
A number of the COMIDO students already have gone on to high school and even attend college.
The Simanis are the parents of three children.
