Dear All,
Greetings from Holmfirth. It is a cold but sunny day with a bright blue sky! This newsletter will focus on Dominic, one of our senior young men. He is approaching the end of his High School education after which he will no longer be allowed to live at Riziki, (government policy, not ours!). We shall continue to support him if he so wishes. Dominic has been a delight to have at Riziki, always pleasant and helpful, keen to help the younger children in any way possible. He has always had one ambition for his adult life – to be a pilot! Below is a transcript of him talking to Liz about achieving that target. Dominic I am currently 17 years of age, turning 18 in December. I have been in Riziki since 2012 to 2022, which is approximately 10 years. I share with you my ambition to become a pilot, including the moment when it began. My ambition began when I was eight years old – that was when I was in class one. I got excited at flying kites and wondered at the sight of huge aircraft flying high in the sky. When an aircraft flew above our village, I would look up in amazement and wonder how it could fly. I would only stop gazing at it when it disappeared. When I saw an aircraft fly, I would get excited and share it with my friends. It truly amazed me how birds can fly and wondered why we humans cannot fly. I was so fascinated at the possibility of me flying one day; just me being in the air seemed so exciting. I wanted to know how it was possible and how it could be possible for me to fly by myself. It was then that I got to know that a person who flies an aircraft is called a pilot. So, being a pilot became a dream. One day in school I mentioned to my teacher that I wanted to become a pilot. Most of the other pupils were amazed. This encouraged me rather than discouraging me because I realized I had a dream that not many people had. The teacher called me after class and explained to me that I had to work hard to achieve my dream, so from then on, I began working hard and I will lead in exams (He does! And he has done so again this year. Ed.). The teacher came to love me and also encourage me. I never lost hope because I knew that every new day, I was nearing the achievement Dominic 2 of my dream. In 2019 when I was in class eight, almost finishing my primary course, the time came to select secondary schools that we would like to go to. I chose Mang’u High School (This is one of the top national schools. Ed.) because I knew it was one of the few schools in the country offering aviation. When the examination results came out, I was called to that school – of course it was my dream school. Since my first year in this school, I have been learning aviation. So, I am still in school, working hard, to make sure I achieve my dream. People sometimes ask, “Who or what inspired you?” The answer is that I got my inspiration from a certain person in Mweiga, (a small town near Nyeri, in the Central Highlands of Kenya. Ed.) The man is called Peter Muranga. When I was still in primary school I came across a book with a title “Lessons to fly” by Peter Muranga. I took the book and began reading it. I closed the book only when I finished the last page. The story was full of troubles but due to his undivided focus he managed to become a pilot. So, he was a village man like me and in Nyeri he would get fascinated by the aircraft of a rich man in Mweiga. From a village man to a pilot, his was the most inspiring story I know. Also, in 2021 he managed to come to our school at a Sunday service and narrate to us his story. He explained to us how, when he was in High School, he found an advertisement in the mud and he picked it up only to find that the muddy paper was to be his breakthrough. Again. I am asked “Why a pilot? Why not any other career, just a pilot?” This is my answer. For me, being a pilot is one of the things that have been in my dreams ever since I was young. I remember one night of dreaming that I was flying my own airplane. It was the best dream I ever had. Upon waking up I wished it to be true, only that it couldn’t be, so for me, I think that being a pilot stems from my desire for travelling. I would like to travel to different places in the world. Also, I imagine there are many other people in the world with the desire to travel. Maybe someone in Kenya would like to go to America to further his studies or a person in London would like to come to Kenya to see the wildebeest in the Maasai Mara. When someone in Kenya is sick and requires further treatment in India, the most suitable way is to use an aircraft. All these require a pilot! What sort of a pilot do I wish to become? I want to become an “air taxi in charter operations aircraft pilot”. These are pilots who fly light single engine aircraft for short trips on unscheduled routes. I have studied aviation from form one in High School, and since then I have learnt about the different careers in aviation and also about the different types of pilots in the industry. I have learnt about the different parts of the aircraft and their functions; I have learnt about the fuselage, the rudder, the cockpit, the flaps, the engines, the rotary wing, and many other parts. I have understood that to become a pilot I require certain certifications, such as the private piloting licence, the 3 commercial piloting licence, and the airline transport piloting licence. I have come to realize that I require certain skills such as strong communication skills, problem solving skills, good health perception, good vision, short reaction time, and an ability to operate computer and navigation systems. I have learnt of the functions of cabin crew including the flight engineer; I have learnt about the aerodrome controllers as well as their functions. I have learnt about landing gears, and the categories - that is the tricycle, the conventional, the retractable, the nonretractable, and the skids. I have learnt about the gas turbines and the different designs, that is turbo prop, the turbojet, the turbofan, and also the turbo shaft. I have come to learn about the aerodynamic forces that enable an aircraft to fly or even to remain in the air. I have also learnt about the different parts of an airport. So, my final words: I request that if anyone wishes to help me achieve my dream or offer advice, I will be more than grateful. I promise that if anyone will help me, I am going to remain focussed at all times and do my best to succeed. Dominic.
We are pleased to report that Julius is getting stronger and has been able to drive up to Riziki a few times. However, he remains very unwell and both Esther and Liz also need our prayers as they cope with the extra pressures at this time. Thank you to everyone who has been praying. Grace has come through her surgery well and is recovering. Her bandages have been removed and she has a check-up due on Tuesday. There has been some unseasonable rain at Riziki – not as much as we would like but enough for the maize to produce a reasonable crop. Sadly, most of our neighbours have not been so blessed and this is leading to thefts of maize. For security, our harvested maize had to be stored in the almost completed girls’ extra wing until it can be crushed (removed from the cob), dried and stored in our silos. We have just spoken to Liz and this has been done! There has been enough rain to replenish our storage tanks so we are no longer having to buy water, which has doubled in price. The children are at home for a long holiday from school. Four terms have been squeezed into 2022 so that the school year can return to normal (January to December 2023) following the disruption of Covid. Maize in the barn, just harvested, in the girls’ extra wing, spread outside to dry in the sun 4 On Sunday (Dec 11th) The Riziki family sang at Lindley Methodist Church via zoom. Many people expressed their delight at seeing and hearing the young people and also to hear Liz! We look forward to being able to make more use of zoom in future. Our thanks go to all who made this possible.
Prayer concerns We continue to pray for Julius and his family, Esther, Liz and Eutychus. We remember Ann, mentioned last letter, as she starts a new stage of her life. She hopes to train in hairdressing in January. We give thanks to all our Riziki friends for continued support, in any way, without whom Riziki could not continue. We thank God for the recent rain and for the harvest. Current needs and plans Many of our neighbours find it difficult to feed their children and we are hoping to be able to do more to help the local community by starting a simple program to provide some food occasionally for particularly needy children initially when we have surplus crops. We feel it would be good for the Riziki children to appreciate the needs of other children and be able to help them by sharing our resources. It has always been our vision to do more in the community but Covid has put a brake on any such activity. We need beds and mattresses – four double-decker bunks (@ approximately £150 each) and eight mattresses (@ £40 each) for the new girls wing. At present these would be available for visitors when the older girls are at boarding school.
Many blessings, Ian & Diana.