Peter: Food That Fuels Study

Before the sun rises over Nakuru, Peter is already awake. It’s 5:15 a.m. The house is quiet. There’s no breakfast waiting, not even a bite of bread. He slips out the door in the dim light and walks briskly toward a nearby farm.

By 5:45 a.m. he begins his task—clearing a rectangle of weeds roughly 25 by 50 feet. He measures the space by pacing it off, then bends down to work quickly and tirelessly. 

Older laborers might take several hours to finish such a section but Peter moves fast. If he finishes in time, he earns 250 Kenyan shillings—about two U.S. dollars. That small amount helps feed his mother, three brothers, and sister.

If the morning work ends quickly, he runs home to change into his school uniform. If not, he

carries a change of clothes and switches at school before classes begin.

At 7:00 a.m., the school day starts. Peter focuses intently. He is in his final year of high

school, determined to make the most of every lesson despite his exhaustion.

By 12:30 p.m., hunger gnaws fiercely. The small lunch provided by his school barely takes the

edge off. So Peter, and a few other Hope for Life students, dash down the hill to the Hope for Life Center, where a warm, nourishing meal awaits. It’s the first real food he’s had all day and it provides the strength he needs to keep learning.

When the school day ends at 5:30, Peter doesn’t rest. If his weeding wasn’t finished that

morning, he heads back to the farm to complete his section and collect his pay. Then it’s home to check whether there’s firewood for cooking. If not, he searches for sticks or charcoal before his sister begins preparing supper—usually ugali and vegetables, eaten around 9:00 p.m.

Only after dinner does he open his books. Some nights, there’s no kerosene for the lantern, so he and his brothers walk to the Hope for Life center, where Josephine welcomes them to study under the glow of electric lights. Around midnight, he finally sleeps—his mind filled with lessons and dreams of a better future.

For Peter, every day is a test of endurance yet he presses on with determination, gratitude, and faith. Hope for Life stands beside him, making sure hunger and poverty don’t steal his education or his future.

Your gift to Books and Bowls ensures that students like Peter have both the meals that

sustain them and the books that equip them.

Give today to Hope for Life Books and Bowls because no child should have to choose between working for food and studying for their future.