“I have never owned a Bible until now. We have family bibles; Holy Bible and Good news Bible. I read the bible once a day so I can remember what we have learnt in CRE. I love the book of Ephesians; it teaches me to respect my mother and father so I may live long. Now that have my own bible it will help me pass exams and to remember God’s word.” Blessing Imani, Ebuchira Primary School.

Students at Ebuchira primary school express their joy after receiving Bibles from Bible Society of Kenya

This was the joy we saw in the faces of Blessing Imani and his fellow students when we distributed Bibles at Ebuchira Primary School located in Lurambi constituency Kakamega County. The school started with a nursey school in 1988 and has since grown from less than 100 students to 778 students currently. The school is sponsored by the Church of God.

The students cannot afford Bibles because they are expensive. Additionally after introduction of free primary education, parents expect that their children will receive Bibles and other books for free which is not the case. Since students don’t have Bibles they cannot make reference during Bible readings hence they lack knowledge of God’s Word.

Another challenge is that the chaplain does not have a structured way to conduct Programmes for Pastoral Instruction (PPI) yet it is examinable in KCPE and students do not perform well in Christian Religious Education. Furthermore, most children do not go to church because their parents leave them behind to take care of the homes while they go to church. This school is a representation of many schools in the area. The children also need classrooms as some of the classrooms are overcrowded.

Bible Society of Kenya in partnership with the Netherlands Bible Society responded to the issue of lack of Bibles by distributing 811 Bibles to students in three schools in the County including; Ebuchira, Malaba and Emabole primary schools.

“I did not previously own a bible. We have a family bible; the Gideon’s. I read the bible three times a day so that God can help me when I am in need. My favourite bible story is David and Goliath. Now that I have my own bible I will go with it to church and use it when I want to pray.” Eucabeth Mtende, Ebuchira Primary.

Emabole primary school students pose for a photo after receiving their Bibles

“We want to thank you for the gifts you have extended to our school. Previously we had problems with bibles in classes because the members of the community are poverty stricken and cannot afford bibles. We have had difficulty in getting bibles for the students to study in class and it has been hard for the CRE and PPI teachers. Now that the gesture has been extended to us we want to extend our sincere gratitude and say these bibles are going to be of great benefit to us since each pupil now has his or her own bible. I want to believe it will boost the students academically and they will also grow spiritually. Thank you thank you thank you.” Mr. Stephen Chamegere, Head teacher Ebuchira Primary.