New Dawn Communities

African director leads effort to house, educate high-school age orphans

By Alex Murashko
Special to ASSIST News Service

Raised in an impoverished Kenyan village, James Kariuki already knew at an early age that his life was going to be about helping others, he said.

At 14 years old, Kariuki helped local tribes people learn the Bible by preaching the word of God. At the same time, he knew that in order to best serve those suffering from poverty and illness he would need money. So, he said he pursued and received what is a treasured commodity in much of Africa — an education.

African Director James Kariuki has dedicated his life to helping children. (Photo: WCO)

With a high school diploma, Kariuki was able to land a job with the Kenyan government, get a college degree in Agricultural Economy, and become a Senior Agricultural Officer. After doing his best to serve the farmers of Kenya for 39 years, Kariuki said he thought he knew poverty and pain well…that is until he began working for of a non-profit group that takes high-school age orphans and provides them with food, housing and education.

As the African director of New Dawn Communities, a group that is presently providing shelter and education for 100 orphans, Kariuki said he now knows about suffering at a more personal level.

“Many people in Africa live from hand to mouth,” Kariuki, 59, said recently during an interview in between speaking engagements in Southern California. “Because of this, if parents die, they don’t leave anything for their kids, so they leave the kids to survive with the help of any merciful person that may come to them.”

In order to take an orphan into the residential high school in Laikipia, Kenya, there is an interview process which includes hearing from the children’s school director, local pastor, and government official. Many of the young teenagers are referred to New Dawn Orphan High School by church leaders, who are familiar with the tragic ways the children lost their parents.

Starvation, abandonment, and AIDS are often the causes of parental loss. Many of the teens suffer mental, emotional, and physical trauma as a result. The stories can be heartbreaking, Kariuki said.

“Sometimes we (momentarily) excuse ourselves from the interview and go out to cry when we hear the stories,” he said. “I used to work with people with problems, but actually I did not know what problems really were. This has changed my life in that now I am dealing with individuals that are completely helpless. It has moved me to have a more merciful soul.”

Kariuki is retired from his government job, but the connections and knowledge he obtained has helped him with such tasks as securing the five acres of land now used not only for the high school and dorms, but a conference center.

The Laikipia facility began with a vision to first establish a community that helps people in need, not necessarily a residential high school for orphans, Kariuki said. The first priority for the area was water, especially after an intense drought to East Africa in 1999.

Kariuki said he asked God if there was water to be found within the five acres. “God showed me a place. He convinced me that there was water there, but the area was very dry and I could not imagine that there could be water there,” he said.

Later, after a trip to the U.S. sponsored by World Christian Outreach (WCO) to tell others of his vision, a hydro geologist confirmed that water could be found underground. With the help of WCO, drilling equipment was brought to the spot Kariuki said God had appointed, and a flowing supply of water was struck at a depth of 525 feet.

New Dawn Communities is under the umbrella of WCO, which is based in Southern California. WCO founder and president, Stan Herpick, helps groups from U.S. churches participate in the development of New Dawn through mission trips and funding. Herpick said Kariuki’s responsibilities go far beyond directing the Laikipia facility.

“James has overseen the construction of the whole New Dawn Community. He also sets up the itinerary for the short term mission trips. He does research for anything we need,” Herpick said. “This man is a giver.”

James Kariuki (left) helps dedicate a dormitory at New Dawn Orphans High School. (Photo: WCO)

Still, it is obvious that Kariuki’s heart deeply belongs to the facility for orphans. Although the high school has a staff that includes chapel directors, eight teachers, and a principal, Kariuki and his wife, Eunice, are sometimes called upon for specific and more intense problems with the children.

The couple considers themselves as “super parents,” often sitting and talking with an entire class of students to identify and solve problems. “We tell them ‘we are your parents, now tell us what is going on’,” Kariuki said.

The school’s first class of 24 students, 12 boys and 12 girls, are scheduled to graduate in November. Every year, since 2006, the school and orphanage has been accepting 24 9th-graders with the same ratio of girls to boys. The education is accredited by the Kenyan government.

“These kids get up at 4:30 every morning. They go to chapel at 6 (am). They’re grounded in the Bible and worship,” Herpick said. “Most of these kids are really centered strongly in the Lord.”

Although Herpick said there are still facilities and projects to be completed within the Laikipia high school community, he is ambitiously looking forward.

“The needs are unlimited. We just bought 56 acres in Tanzania. We’d like to put a New Dawn in every country of Africa,” he said.

Story originally published at ASSIST News Service.