Three weeks of school-break camp. Around 100 children showing up, week after week, and a community quietly stepping in alongside us.
From the Overflow team
✍️ Reporting from Koisamo Village, Nakuru County
There is a moment we keep coming back to.
We have been trying to find the right way to tell you about this camp. The honest answer is that some of it is hard to put into words.
There is a girl. She stands at the far end of the field, throws her head back, and laughs. A real, full laugh. She shouts. She runs. A year ago, that same girl barely lifted her eyes from the ground.
“She never used to be open like she is now,” one of our team members said during our recap call. “We’ve got them where God wants us to have them.”
You are part of why that girl is laughing.
Over three weeks, we welcomed around 100 children consistently – what Moses now calls our “core” group – alongside a wider circle that swells to 300 or more on the big days. The shyness is lifting, and confidence is taking its place. Week by week, on the ground we have been preparing together since November, we are watching God do something we could not have engineered on our own.
“We are no longer strangers in this area. The children know us. The community has seen the value in what we are doing.”
— Anthony Taiti, on returning for the second camp
What Your Support Made Possible
Music came to Koisamo for the first time. Our children stood in front of a real drum kit and a keyboard – instruments they had only ever glimpsed from a distance, at crusades or on a screen, never close enough to touch. Oliver and the music team carried the equipment up from Nairobi and led a worship experience that drew the whole community in.
“When they saw the instruments, they wanted to engage. How can I play this? How can I be part of this? They have never experienced that before.”
— OLIVER OCHIENG · MUSIC LEAD
Even those who could not make it to the field were moved. One community member said he spent the whole evening at home with his ear turned toward the camp, listening to the music carry across the village.
The girls stood taller. Merceline led a session that none of them will forget. Period care packages were handed out, and for many of the girls, it was their first time holding a shower glove. Most had only ever bathed using rough-cut sacks, and the simple gift of soap and something soft caught them completely by surprise.
But beyond the gifts, Merceline created something harder to package: a space where the girls could simply be girls. In a community where they are so often quieter, less invited into the room than the boys, that space was its own kind of gift.
“What touches my heart most is the girls. So often they’re the quiet ones in the room, and here they are leading worship, holding their own on the football pitch, and dreaming out loud about careers they never thought were possible. Give a girl a little encouragement and the space to grow, and watch what happens.”
— JACKIE COLLINS · GLOBAL PROGRAMS DIRECTOR, OVERFLOW GROUP
My Little Farm broke ground. With their own hands, the children prepared four plots and planted 90 kg of scallion seedlings. Songs were written, games were played, and agriculture was woven into every day. In seven to eight weeks, when the scallion matures, we hope to bring a buyer from the market so the children can witness the full cycle for themselves – effort, growth, nourishment, and the dignity of earning something.
Football got serious. By the final tournament, our children were playing with shape and intention. The ladies’ team surprised almost everyone – they are now genuinely competitive in 11-a-side play, something this community had not seen before. Moses is already planning the next level.
Devotion that children lead. Last year, the children slipped away when devotion time came. This camp, that completely flipped. Devotions became interactive and story-driven, taught in the local language – and something even more beautiful emerged: worship leaders rising from among the children themselves. The girls, especially, are stepping forward to lead.
By The Numbers
👥 100
Core children now attending consistently, with about 50 more joining sporadically.
🎉 304
On the final day, including 88 parents and community members – even with planting season limiting attendance.
🌱 90
kgOf scallion planted across 4 plots prepared by the children themselves for My Little Farm.
🌳 115
Tree seedlings donated by neighbours and community members, planted across the centre grounds.
💛 Period care for every girl
Plus corporate-quality shoes coming for the under-17 girls through donated stock.
A Visit From Moffat
Moffat, the counsellor we are partnering with on our psychosocial support program, joined the camp for two days – his first visit. He found the children emotionally stable, socially engaged, and active. The girls demonstrated real confidence. The boys carried high energy.
But he also saw what was hidden underneath.
He flagged a critical gap: the absence of a proper psychosocial support system, and the risk of pain that children have not yet felt safe enough to share. One conversation in particular stayed with us. Moffat sat with a young boy, and afterwards told Tony: this boy has been made to mature so fast. He has become an adult so fast. He is acting as a deputy parent at home, and he is losing his childhood in the process.
Moffat’s recommendation is a thorough assessment of the children, followed by a structured support program. We are committed to making that happen.
Honest Notes
Not everything went perfectly, and we want to be honest about it. The washroom we hoped to complete before camp is fully funded, thanks to the generosity of our supporters – but the build has been slowed by the rains. The foundation site has been flooding, and our team is now waiting for two consecutive dry days to pump out the water and raise the foundation higher than originally planned, so it can stand up to the wet season.
Getting music equipment up from Nairobi was harder and more expensive than we expected. For music to become a real, weekly part of life at the centre, we need a permanent setup on site – and we are working toward that.
Through it all, the community has stepped in beautifully, with neighbours donating 115 tree seedlings out of their own stock. That, more than anything, tells you what kind of place Koisamo is becoming.
The next camp will look different because of what we learned at this one. We are growing. Slowly, honestly, together.
“The heart of Koisamo is the team on the ground – Moses, Tony, Merceline, Austine, and Oliver – and a community that has opened its arms and started building this right alongside us. What they’ve begun here is only the start. With the right support behind them, there’s so much more we can build together.”
— KEVIN BIRCH · EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OVERFLOW GROUP
How You Can Help
🎤A permanent music setup
Our most urgent need – starting with a PA system, then a guitar, drums, and a keyboard. Music is already transforming these children in powerful ways.
🪑Plastic chairs for the tent
Our beautiful new branded tent needs seating that can travel with it. We are building this slowly and every contribution helps.
🧠Sponsor the psychosocial assessment
Moffat is ready. The children need it. A proper assessment is the gateway to a real, sustained counselling program at the centre.
🙏Pray with us
For the children. For the families beginning to trust us with their stories. For the team and community volunteers carrying so much, so faithfully.