Like most budding organizations, the idea for Canopy Life Academy was born long before its name. However, within its name, Canopy Life holds a picture of what we dream the school will be for the children who enter our doors.
It all began with my friend David Kariuki. David, now a grown man and the Brightpoint for Children Coordinator in Kenya, was once a part of the Mully Children’s Family (MCF). MCF is located in the Yatta district, surrounded by semi-arid, bush land. When David was a boy, the land MCF occupies was the same as the surrounding land – dusty, semi-arid, the only water coming from a seasonal stream that would disappear in the dry season.
That is, until someone at MCF had a creative idea for growing vegetation in the ground and discipline in the hearts of the students who occupied the property. Years ago, when young David had been caught committing a now forgotten wrong, he was given a tree sapling and a charge to care for and water it several times a day. It was believed caring for the tree would foster responsibility where discipline was lacking.
In 2012, I visited MCF with David. He took me to see his tree, which he still knew the location of after all these years. What I saw was astonishing! David must not have been the only child needing a lesson in discipline because surrounding his tree were 100’s of other trees, watered over time by the children at MCF.
At least 50 feet above me, the grove of trees came together in a beautiful canopy. The seasonal stream from David’s childhood is now flowing with water year round, providing irrigation to the now fertile soil underneath. Mully Children’s Family has begun a small nursery of plants in the fertile soil at the base of the trees, which they sell and use the profits to fund their mission. Not only does the canopy provide economic opportunity, but it has also benefited the surrounding climate. Since the growth of the trees, the surrounding area has cooled and MCF grows and exports agriculture from this once semi-arid region to Amsterdam and Europe.
The tree tops of MCF have come together to provide a canopy, providing a place for refreshment and life. In the same way, we envision Canopy Life Academy being a place for family, shelter, and growth.
A place for family. We want the children, teachers, and supporters of Canopy Life to know they are part of a family. What makes a canopy so powerful is that it is a coming together of individual branches to create a diverse ecosystem. In Matthew 13 (and also in Luke 13), Jesus is speaking of the kingdom of heaven and says, “[It] is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches (NIV).” If just one sapling has the potential to provide so much benefit, imagine the power of many coming together, interwoven into a canopy.
A place for shelter. It is our desire that Canopy Life be a place to to dream, take risks, and experience failure in a safe place. In the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the restoration of Jerusalem through the Messiah in the word picture of a canopy: “Then The Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over everything the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.”
A place for growth. The ultimate goal of Canopy Life is to unleash imagination and cultivate character in our students. It is our hope they will grow to themselves be canopies who provide shelter and a place for others to grow and find rest in their leadership. We want them to be innovators who think and lead well, and call others to do the same. We believe God is going to use them in big ways – that they will be “called oaks of righteousness, a planting for the Lord for the display of his splendor (Isaiah 61:3, NIV).”
How else would you describe the function of a canopy? Join the conversation below and check back next week as we share about our 5 values, the acronym of which happens to be a synonym for canopy!
What's In a Name?
