Have you ever tried to NOT read a word or NOT recognize a letter of the alphabet?
Have you ever looked at apples on a table and NOT know the number that were there; three or four?
Try to imagine what it would be like to not be able to decode the world around you. Though we live in a world that is uses pictures to guide us while we travel in a specific area, being able to read signs and count distance is essential to our being able to wholly function.
The opening of a world that was formerly unknown is accessible because of an education system through which we were taught the basics of reading, math and writing. While sitting in a chair with a book, a person can travel to a foreign land, outer space or the core of the earth. We learned to hold a wooden enclosed piece of lead correctly and master moving it across a surface into coherent shapes (writing). Every child, world wide, no matter their circumstances is deserving of and entitled to a basic education.
Kenyan Orthodox primary schools for children from age 3 to 11 establish this good foundation. They are also given the opportunity to learn about the Orthodox Christian Faith, establishing a foundation on which they can stand as they encounter what the winds of life bring them. As adolescents, children will encounter messages that are opposite of the Orthodox Faith, messages that seek to draw them away from the One True Church. The nurturing of a secondary school would continue to solidify that foundation. This secondary school will give the children ages 12 to 18, more educational knowledge to further encourage them in life. This is the importance of fulfilling the dream of establishing the Saint John Maximovitch Secondary School.