The school, located in rural Kenya, was the fulfillment of a dream. My dear Kenyan friends had been envisioning it for years. From far away and in biannual visits, I watched the school develop from a red earth patch of land behind a church and across from stalls for local commerce, into a fully functioning boarding school. By boarding school I’m referring to the Kenyan model where kids live at school including over the weekends. And, amazed by their dedication, teachers have living quarters at the school as well. It’s a community unto itself. Bright Rose Academy provides education, devoted teachers and was established with duel passions; love for students and love for education. But it was and is more than a boarding school. Kids from the community trudged for miles on dirt roads to attend classes at Bright Rose. When one of the school’s founders shared a hope and a dream for making the local kids feel valued and special though they were not boarders, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

The dream was to purchase a bus, but not an orange/yellow boxy school bus, the kind that can  be found everywhere during the school year in the U.S., but a plush, luxury bus. The bus she had in mind to pick up the kids from remote areas where the roads were sometimes just rutted paths, was what you find with upscale tour companies. It had not just luxury seating but huge windows, head rests and lots of room. The purpose for the bus was two fold. The kids were to be given the message that they were worth the ride. Keep in mind that everyone walked everywhere and it is likely that many of these kids had never been in a car. Yet they were to be passengers in a luxury bus far more desirable than the standard yellow school bus of the U.S. The other aim was to let the kids know that the ride was heading to a wonderful destination. Education was a profound privilege, desired but not possible for everyone. The beautiful bus would take the kids to Bright Rose academy where they would learn and be cherished.