A Young Artist in Kenya Gets Her Canvas

I went to visit one of our scholarship students in Kenya, Martha, at her home. When I knocked at the gate, she opened it with a smile. The first thing I noticed was the walls around her, all dressed in artwork. “Who made this artwork?” I asked, pointing at the wall. She smiled with pride.

While other thirteen-year-olds were outside playing, Martha was bent over a board with a brush in her hand. I asked what drives her to spend her afternoons this way instead of running around with friends.

“Just passion,” she said.

Martha with her canvas and paints at home.

Martha with her paints and canvas at her home in Kenya.

When the Dumpsite Becomes an Art Supply Store

Around her sat old tins crusted with paint in every color, and brushes worn down to different sizes, all waiting for their turn. None of it came from a shop.

Martha’s mother works as a waste picker at the dumpsite, collecting recyclables to sell to support her family. As her mother sieves through the trash each day, she keeps an eye out for paints and brushes, gathering whatever she finds to proudly bring home to Martha.

What is trash to everyone else becomes treasure the moment it reaches Martha’s hands.

Martha doesn’t work from references or copy other artists. Her ideas come to her as she goes about her day, on the walk to school, sitting at home, simply looking at the world around her, and by the time an idea reaches the board, it’s already hers. Some pieces take a single day. Others take two.

Martha with a work of art created in her home, using art supplies collected from the city dumpsite.

The Canvas Her Art Deserved

For a long time, what Martha lacked most was exposure, and the freedom to choose better materials instead of collecting whatever the dumpsite happened to offer.

That changed when we started the Samaritan Art Club, and Martha joined without hesitation. There, she found herself among other talented young scholars just like her, each one pouring their heart out through art.

Through the club, she finally has access to quality oil paints and canvases, materials that let her talent show up on the page the way it always deserved to.

Thanks to generous donations, sports and arts programs are being started in every community we serve, enriching the lives of our students and their families. If you have questions or would like to help, please reply to this email.

Mercy Gichu, Program Officer, Kenya

Mercy holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and a Master’s in Strategic Management. With experience in youth mentorship and women’s economic empowerment, she drives initiatives promoting dignity, resilience, and sustainable change for vulnerable communities. A dedicated professional, Mercy delivers tailored economic empowerment programs and entrepreneurship training, with expertise in forming savings and loan groups to create alternative livelihoods. Her passion fuels impactful solutions, advancing communities’ agency and resilience.

Be A Samaritan

We all need someone who will stop and help: just as the Good Samaritan did in the biblical parable. Through the support of generous people, we’re able to offer scholarships that provide tuition, school supplies, mentorship, and basic health and wellness services. This support provides a path out of poverty for children and their families.

Be A Samaritan today: set up a recurring gift and help support life-changing scholarships every month.