Starfish Project - College Funding for Jacob Chol

A man was enjoying a quiet walk down a beach near his home.  The sky was overcast and the beach was nearly deserted, the perfect environment for thinking and contemplating life.  As he strolled along to the beat of the waves on the shore, he notice a way down the beach, a man who continuously stooped to pick something off of the sand and pitch it far out into the oncoming waves.

This unusual behavior peaked his curiosity and as he grew nearer, he realized it was an elderly man and he was picking up starfish and tossing them into the ocean.

When he was close enough, he hailed the man and asked,  "What are you doing?"

The old man replied as he bent and picked up another starfish and tossed it back into the surf, "Every day, when the tide goes out, starfish are stranded on the beach and die.  I'm simply giving them a chance to live."

"But why?  There are hundreds of them all over the beach.  How can all of this effort possibly make a difference?"

The old man smiled, picked up another starfish and tossed it out, sailing far over the waves to land with a splash and disappear below the water.  He simply said, "Made a difference for that one."

Jesus Christ indeed spoke to large groups of people, teaching them to love one another.  But he ministered more often to individuals, one at a time, healing, comforting and enlightening.  He is the example I choose to follow.  I am by no means close to becoming a perfect person, but I believe strongly that I can do some small thing every day to draw closer to that ultimate goal.

For this reason, this year, for my birthday, I don't want gifts of things.  I want to make a difference to one, with the hope that someday he might make a difference to many in his community.

Let me tell you about Jacob Chol a young friend of mine who currently lives in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa.  In his own words:

"My name is Jacob Chol ,I was born in South Sudan in the year 1998 in a village called Panyagor .We were four in our family ,mother ,father ,younger brother and I.

In the the year 2004 ,there was out break  of war because of political difference between the Dinka community where I belong and the Nuer community .the war went through for weeks and that resulted to the death of my father and other community's  warriors .

Then some some days later my mom went to the nearest bush to look for firewood to cook us supper.  She never made it home.   She was found dead by one of our village members. I think she was killed by the Nuer kidnappers .

Then ,my uncle took us together with his family to our neighbouring country (Kenya) .We were taken to refugee camp (Kakuma) where we lived for years and we grew up like any other child in the camp.   

My uncle went back to the South Sudan and he was lucky that he got a well paying  job.  He came back and took us to Nairobi for us, me and his kids, to study in a good school.

He supported me until now.  He lacks money for me money to progress with my studies because of so many issues to do in his family and the interruption in the economy due to Covid 19.   

My aunt took my younger brother and she still supporting him at this time.

I want to progress with my studies so that I can educate my society on the important of school since only 25% of our country population receive an education."

The object of this fund-raising campaign is to give Jacob the opportunity to go to college.  When he finally got to finish his high school education he got excellent marks.  (I have seen his transcript.)

However, due to Covid19 and the large refugee camp populations, all needing gainful employment, Jacob has been unable to find work to pay for his schooling.

My request for my birthday is that everyone give what they can to help him go to school.  (BTW, I have verified his story with other known community members, before making this request and all funds will go directly to his school, with no added "administrative costs".

His total costs to start school include the need for a simple laptop and a tablet (both required by the school), his books, and the cost of transportation (via bus) to get there and back.

He has already been accepted to the school based on his past marks and I have seen the document welcoming him to school.  

Please.  I know that Jacob is only one starfish, but perhaps when we all give a little, we can make a big difference in his life and the life of his family and potentially his community.

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

This will make this the best birthday I ever had.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.