Charley’s Visit

Some gifts arrive in boxes. Others arrive in person, wrapped in nothing but love. This summer, we were given both.

The Sinclair family came all the way from Austin, Texas, to spend time with us at the Ubuntu Life Foundation Campus in Maai Mahiu. It was their very first trip abroad, together, as a family. They brought with them five Tobii Dynavox eye gaze tablets — a way for a child to speak simply by looking.

"We wanted to create an experience that would bring our family closer," they told us. "Kenya and Ubuntu definitely did that. We saw the true meaning of community, connection and compassion."

Their daughter, Charley, is nonverbal and uses a wheelchair. Her device isn't something she learned for this trip. It's how she moves through her days. It's how she tells the people she loves what's on her mind, what's in her heart. And while she was here, she offered that same gift to our children — gently showing our students and staff how to use it.

"Watching Charley share her communication device with the children, and seeing them communicate for the first time, was incredibly emotional," her family told us. "Charley knows firsthand how powerful having a voice can be. Seeing her give that gift to another child is a moment our family will remember forever."

We keep returning to that image. A girl who knows, more than most of us ever will, what it means to long for a voice — gently placing that same gift into a child's hands.

"Our hope is these tablets give them a voice," the Sinclairs said. "More independence. The ability to say what they think, what they feel, what they need. We know what communication means for Charley. We hope these devices can do the same for others."

Sinclair family — THANK YOU for choosing us for your very first International trip together. Thank you for trusting us with something as tender as Charley's own voice. And thank you for showing our Tribe what it looks like when love travels all this way, just to give.