Feelings of excitement and fear filled John. He never thought he, a 22-year-old orphan from rural Kenya, would fly in an airplane. Now, he found himself 10,000 feet in the air, staring out at the clouds from his window seat on the way to Malawi. Next to him sat his friend Pamela and Mercy, a Zoe Empowers Kenya facilitator.<\/p>\n
Pamela, like John, never imagined she would own a passport, much less get the opportunity to use it, especially at the young age of 29. She pictured her friends\u2019 reactions when she returned with stories from her experience. John and Pamela both graduated from Zoe Empowers Kenya.<\/p>\n
John graduated in 2018 and operates a spare parts shop and taxi service, while Pamela, a 2012 graduate, runs a tailoring shop specializing in wedding fashion. With the help of their employees, they were able to take four days away from their respective businesses to join Mercy in Malawi, a trip gifted to them for their leadership.<\/p>\n
Last fall, while hundreds of Zoe Empowers children in Kenya fundraised to give back to the program, Pamela donated $100 USD and John donated $50 USD to the effort. As representatives chosen by their peers from Zoe Empowers, they were gifted a trip to Malawi to visit the empowerment group the Kenyan children helped to fund.<\/p>\n