Woman on mission to oversee construction of a playground in Africa
Teri Spence is leaving on a solo mission trip to Kandaria, Kenya, on Thursday.
She started doing mission trips to Africa with her church in 2012. Since then, she's been sponsoring a boy named Damanius at the House of Hope orphanage.
She calls him her son.
“We've truly become like family,” Spence said.
Damanius is 15 years old and just finished eighth grade. Spence said he will move to a boarding high school next month.Spence told Damanius she would see him before he moved. But the big church group she has gone with to Kandaria in the past isn't going this year.“I decided to go on my own,” Spence said.Spence is the bar manager at Kaufman Tavern in Zelienople. She and her husband, Shaun, live in Evans City with their children.Because she's not traveling with a group, Spence said she will get a more “natural” look at life in Kenya during her two-week trip.She is staying with a local family, which means she will share their meals and experience their daily lives.In the past, Spence has been part of missions that helped build a dorm for girls and a chapel in the orphanage where Damanius lives.
This time, she came up with a project of her own: building a playground for the House of Hope orphanage and the public school near it.“It's just me going,” Spence said. “But it doesn't mean I can't have my own project.”The playground, which is being built in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, costs $6,500. Spence said she has been able to raise that money — and more — through community donations.The more she has talked about her trip, the more people wanted to help.Spence said her trip has become a community effort, with support pouring in from her husband, friends and neighbors.“The community has just been amazing,” Spence said.One of the people who helped Spence meet her fundraising goal is Jeffrey Cuny, owner of LaserTek Solutions in Zelienople.Cuny printed, without charge, 120 shirts that Spence sold to help raise funds for the playground.Cuny also offered LaserTek's location for Zelienople's Thursday nights open-air market to Spence as a fundraising location May 13.“It was a really great night,” Cuny said.He said the event — which included a band, an auction and food — was well-attended.Last year had a lasting impact on Cuny. He said that now, more than ever, he understands the importance of trying to be a better person.For Cuny, that means sharing his resources with people who will share them with others.“The last year has really changed my perspective on a lot of things,” Cuny said. “You've got to be a little more compassionate.”
Spence said she last saw Damanius in person in 2019, although they video- chat and exchange letters.One of the hopes she has for Damanius is that he will maintain grades good enough to come to the United States for college. Then, Spence said, he will be able to live with them.In preparation, she will help him get his passport during her trip.Despite meeting her fundraising goal, Spence said the community continues to pass donations her way.Mark Marmo, CEO of Deep Well Services in Zelienople, and his colleagues covered the cost of Spence's plane tickets and donated goods for her to take with her.“It's all part of our community outreach that we do,” Marmo said. “It's the culture of our company.”Marmo said it's important for companies such as Deep Well Services to be stewards of the community.“We're part of it,” Marmo said. “You can always help someone else.”“It's just really cool how much I've felt ... embraced,” Spence said.The extra money will be put to good use, according to Spence. While in Kandaria, she's wants to take the orphanage children and workers on a field trip to a wild animal park.People sometimes ask Spence why she volunteers to help people in Kenya.“Why not?” Spence asked. “If everybody tried to make a difference, how much different would this world be?”If Spence's work sets an example for her children, she hopes it's that any one person can make a difference by looking beyond herself.“Have a heart for others,” Spence said. “Have a scope outside your own little bubble.”
