Our History

Grace Ministries first initiative was Grace School, which began in 1997 as an effort to give children a place to spend the day and learn elementary literacy and Christian values. The Rev. Samuel and Monica Wambugu of Limuru, a mountainous village 30 miles west of Nairobi, own and run the Grace Presbyterian School, which educates, feeds and clothes 60 children aged 3-14.

Nicholas Okeya, a friend of the Wambugus and an Anglican lay official, said God had laid a burden for such a school on the shoulders of the Wambugus. “This was as a result of having witnessed many children, especially from poor families, moving about hopelessly without going to school. Most of them had turned into street urchins.”

He said the beginning was not easy. “For a start, it was located in an area that was equally horrible and the municipal council almost closed it.” The Wambugus, who are accustomed to getting by with very little, persisted. Hence the school’s name: Grace.

“The name of the school has never changed. It has always been Grace,” said the Rev. Wambugu. “This is in reference to the divine grace which makes it accomplish far beyond what our minds can understand. Truly, no human ability can take the credit of what we are seeing happening at Grace.”

In the autumn of 1999 the Wambugus moved to Knoxville, TN, for one year. Samuel had obtained a fellowship in Clinical Pastoral Education with the Department of Pastoral Counseling at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. He arrived in September and Monica followed him in November. The two lived in Knoxville while he finished his studies and they cultivated strong ties with several Knoxville area Presbyterian churches. Many of these have sent support for Grace School, including Bethel Presbyterian in Kingston and the First Presbyterian, Korean Presbyterian, Second Presbyterian and Fairmont churches in Knoxville.

The Wambugus returned to Nairobi in September of 2000. The Rev. Wambugu continues to use his pastoral counseling skills as he performs HIV/AIDS counseling through a program licensed by the Kenyan government. He speaks to community groups, churches and schools on HIV/AIDS . He also uses funerals, which he often conducts, as opportunities to let people know about HIV/AIDS.

The couple resumed their work at the Grace School. Children usually arrived at Grace School having had no breakfast and carrying no lunch. With no food, they would just sleep at lunchtime. Often, the children wore no shoes, and their clothes were dirty and smelled bad. They often had skin diseases and parasites. (Kenyan Minister for Home Affairs William Ruto declared in 2002 that 3 million Kenyan children who should be in school were not and 8.6 million more did not have access to basic needs. The legally mandated universal schooling also did not occur in practice because of a shortage of schools).

The Wambugus began taking advantage of donations from the Tennessee churches. In 2001 the school began serving hot lunch each day. The school gradually added staff and services. On land donated by the City of Limuru, it built a 50 ft. by 18 ft. building and bathrooms for girls and boys. It purchased blue uniforms that included shoes, socks and warm sweaters.

Enrollment expanded from 28 to 60, and the Wambugus were having to turn parents away. Many of these were prosperous enough to pay some tuition and fees. At that time, Kenya offered public education, but it cost the equivalent of 150 US dollars per year. Parents preferred sending their children to Grace School, which charged a fraction of that amount (initially, $10 per three-month term) and gave a better education.

Mrs. Wambugu and the other teachers placed the children in groups according to age and ability. The day, which began at 8 a.m., proceeded like this: Check students for cleanness; Morning Worship; mathematics; literacy and language skills; science; Christian religious education; geography, history and civics; singing, stories and poems; Lunch; personal time for reading, finishing assignments, and teachers visiting with parents. The school day ended at 3 p.m.

The demand for places at the school increased. Monica explained to one mother that her child couldn't enroll in the school because there were not enough seats. The next day, the mother brought her child – and a chair – to school. The child was enrolled.

In 2003, the Wambugus poured a foundation for a second building that would house nine more classrooms in three narrow floors. By now, the school had 120 pupils, about half of whom paid $15 per three-month term.

On Dec. 27, 2002, Kenyan voters elected Mwai Kibaki their third president. He was sworn in on December 30. One of Kibaki’s first actions was to institute free public education, which began in January, 2003. With the advent of state schools, half the Grace School students left for free education.

“Their parents were financially able,” said the Rev. Wambugu. “The group that was left is the very poor. These are the children that we educate, clothe and feed.”

Difficulties have plagued the state-run schools. With inadequate buildings and teaching staffs, class sizes have ballooned to as much as 100 pupils per teacher. The Kenya Union of Teachers and Parents Associations have bitterly protested to the government, but no immediate relief is in sight.

Grace School children attend school 8 a.m.- 3 p.m. Monday through Friday with special classes and activities for older students extending until 5 p.m., and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday. The Wambugus say this is possible largely because of the sacrificial spirit of the teachers, who earn the equivalent of $100 per month.