Project 82 Kenya

A life well lived

The dark clouds of mourning has this week engulfed Project 82 family with the sad news of the sudden
demise of Hannah Wanjiku, one of our guardians in our Molo Community in Kenya. She died yesterday
morning at Molo district hospital, where she had been hospitalized; after being rushed there to seek
medical attention, but later succumbed after her heart failure.

She was one of the pioneers guardians in Molo, whose insghts always reflected rays of wisdom that
greatly helped to defend the cause of the orphans and vulnerable children in Molo. She was the
grandmother to Mary, Elizabeth, Josphat, Caroline, Catherine and Susan who are in our sponsorship
program. We applaud the good work she has done in bringing up her grandchildren in the ways of God.
Her dedication to serve God and humanity was exemplary.

So today let’s all take a moment of silence to mourn, honour and celebrate a life well lived. Let’s also
remember her family in prayers in this difficult time of mourning, that God may comfort them. It is in
moments like this that we come together as Project 82 family and support those who are mourning by
offering a shoulder to cry on. Let’s be the pillar of support to her family that is mourning her loss.

Though she is gone, her memories lives in our hearts.
Our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends. May our words of solace be your pillar of strength.
TILL WE MEET AGAIN HANNAH! SHINE ON YOUR WAY HOME TO GLORY!

2018 Day of the African Child

The International Day of The African Child was celebrated in an event that was characterized with pomp and colour. Some of our children at House of Hope together with our staff took part in this big celebration that was held end of last week in the beautiful town of Naivasha, Kenya.

The June 16 annual event honours the memories of students who were massacred in Soweto, South Africa, in 1976 for protesting against education injustice and inequality in the apartheid regime. It was designated as Day of the African Child in 1991 by the African Union and every year events are organized to promote children’s rights. The Day of the African Child is a great day for all children in Africa and the world; it brings to life most commitments undertaken by African countries to fulfill the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

One of the aims of the Day of the African Child is to highlight the plight of the African children that is a threat to their bright future and also put measures in place to safeguard their future. This is done each year through coming up with a theme; this year, the theme was “Leave no child behind for Africa’s Development.” For this to be realized, education remains a key pillar for African children to thrive and actively get involved in development of this great continent.

According to a recent survey: The children of African women with at least five years of schooling have a 40 percent higher chance of survival. This is why we have heavily invested in the educational needs of our children. That not withstanding, we have also equipped our children on spiritual and life skills. We believe education is key, but with dignity and having relevant skills; they have a bunch of keys that will help open many opportunity doors for them.

We also wish to take this opportunity to reflect on the contribution of our donors, partners, board, staff and other institutions that have walked with us in this journey of empowering our children with education, so that they can thrive and be actively involved in the development agenda. There is a great need to enroll more children in school in Africa and keeping them in school to safeguard not only their future, but also the future of Africa and the world at large.

We all have to uphold, advocate, and defend children’s rights. Education is one of the basic rights for children in Africa and remains to be the beacon of hope for many African children. Join us today in the cause of defending the weak and fatherless by supporting a child’s education in Kenya and be part of the change you want to see in the world.

 

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

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Molo House Fire Update

Last month, fire razed down our boy’s dormitory at House of Hope in Molo. We are grateful for the fervent prayers,
care, support, contributions and love expressed to us during this tragic period. Your unwavering support
has made it possible for us to stand firm at this weak point in life and be able to rise from the ashes. [Read more…]

Grace’s Heart

On any given Saturday Grace is surrounded by children. They love for her to come to the P82 Saturday program, giving back, working with students, teaching the little ones how to read, and encouraging those still in school. It’s not that much different from how she spends the rest of her days, either. Grace is a first year teacher at Tayari Winners Academy in Molo. To see her, you would never know the challenges she faced growing up without her parents. [Read more…]

Not a Baby Hatch…. An Infant Rescue Ministry

Baby Hatches have been set up recently in many countries to combat an overwhelming number of abandoned babies. Babies are placed inside to keep them warm and sheltered before they can be taken to a police station. However, at the Neema House, we aren’t a baby hatch. [Read more…]

Not Just Child Sponsorship… Community Empowerment

Child sponsorship is an excellent way to help a child in poverty have enough to eat, clothes, and an education. The hope is that one day they will be able to overcome a cycle of generational poverty. But at P82, we don’t want to wait for a future to begin. We know that empowering the adults in our communities means stronger families. Stronger families can overcome poverty in this generation. We aren’t a child sponsorship ministry.

Never Age Out

Some child sponsorship agencies only allow children in their program, and once those children become teens they are asked to leave, whether they are able to care for themselves- or not. The children in our program graduate higher education, such as college or trade school. They become independent, self sufficient adults, able to care for themselves and eventually their own families. But they stay part of our P82 Family and Community. The first young men to graduate higher education have returned as mentors and role models to the younger children. We are seeing generational change in the community.

 

Job Training

Independence is an important part of adulthood. We can’t serve the children in our community without caring for their families. Families in poverty have little opportunities and generational poverty kills any hope that children have. By introducing programs that teach sewing, baking, farming, and soap making to the Guardians, we are giving them the tools needed to be independent.

 

Family Support

Child sponsorship helps children have opportunities and a future, but family strengthening gives children opportunities here in the present.

Not an Orphanage … A House of Hope

My daughter was adopted at age 2 from a large orphanage in Asia. She was one of 800. She lived with 16 other children, all with the same special need. They slept in 16 cribs crammed into 4 rows of 4. They had a small playroom where they spent their days. Lastly there was a bathroom with sinks to bathe the kids and changing tables for diaper changes. Two staff members cared for the sixteen infants. She had never been outside. Although the orphanage was large and held about twice the number of children that it was built for, it was an award winning place. There were toys for the children. It was kept clean. There are far worse places.

At Project 82 Kenya, we know that large orphanages can not take the place of families. Studies have shown that children who live in large institutions can have serious side effects such as attachment disorders, low self esteem, low weight, late or no ability to talk, walk, and failure to thrive.

 

Family Strengthening

Instead of taking children out of their family unit to live in a large institution, we strive to help families before abandonment happens. For many families, this means helping pay school fees for their children. Other families need help with job skills to become self sustaining. Some families need assistance with food, shelter, or water for a short period of time.

Community Placement

Whenever possible, children are placed within a community member called a Guardian. Guardians 

 

are community members who are able to care for themselves and additional children. We provide job training and child care training. For example, Dorcus at 87 years old,  is our oldest guardian in our program. Her two foster sons have grown into nice young men and are living away at a prestigious boarding school. They come home to her on the holidays and always know that Dorcas is their loving mother. In addition to being a foster mother, Dorcus is a mentor and encourager to many of the younger guardians.

House of Hope

Children who can not live with their families and can not be placed within the community come to live at the House of Hope. They live together as a family with a House Mom who lives with them. Additional staff come to help during the day. The children eat together family style. They have chores just like a regular family. The children walk to school together and attend church together.

 

We believe that all children should be raised within a family, whether it is their birth family, an adopted family or a family specifically designed to serve orphans. These settings provide children with family members who love and care for them and will always be part of their lives. A child never ages out of his or her family. A family is forever.

We are not an orphanage. We are a home for children and we are #hereforgood.

 

Esther’s Joy

To honor great milestones made by women, March 8th has been set aside as International Women’s Day. Today, we want to honor Esther for her leadership and resilience. Before Esther joined our guardian’s empowerment program, she lived in abject poverty. She was a widow and unemployed, with two young children to take care of.

Esther joined our first Sewing Program for Guardians, begun in 2016. The goal in all our guardian programs is to empower the women of the community to become self sustaining and able to care for their families. She graduated last year and began sewing and selling her garments in the marketplace each Saturday.

Today, Esther’s and her children’s life has been totally transformed! She is able to care for her children with her new skills, but more than that, she has become a leader and an inspiration for other guardians. She sparked a revolution the day she first stepped on her sewing machine and inspired other guardians to use their sewing skills as a tool to fight abject poverty.

Esther’s life is a testament to God’s goodness. Nowadays, her face always glows with joy when she is narrating to everyone how God used Project 82 to transform her life. Esther would never have imagined that she would be able to care for herself and her family with her own business. Her agility to bounce back and having control over her life shows the importance of empowering women. When women can care for their families, they can break the cycle of poverty for themselves and for their children. Education and job training is the key. Project 82 proudly stands with woman worldwide who are fighting to change their lives, their families lives, and their children’s futures.

Lincoln Mwangi Eulogy

Lincoln was born on February 16, 2015, but he came into our lives in September of 2016. We were introduced to him in Karatina District Hospital where he had been living for almost a
year. We thought Lincoln had a treatable condition known as hydrocephalus, so we made plans to have him taken to Kijabe Hospital for surgical treatment the same day he was discharged
from Karatina. When we arrived and he had scans done, it was discovered that he had another, untreatable condition known as hydranencephaly. They advised us that his brain had been
severely damaged while he was still in his mother’s womb and there was nothing they could do to improve his condition. We returned to Nanyuki and our staff began learning how to
care for him and falling in love with him in the process. He was admitted several times in various hospitals including Mathari Nyeri, Consolata Nanyuki, and District Hospital as he struggled
with chest problems and seizures. Doctors had told us that most children with his condition die before age 1, so every time he  recovered from small illnesses we praised God and believed that
He had more people for Lincoln to bless during his time on earth.


On the evening of January 12th he was admitted at District Hospital because he was not able to keep any food in his stomach. It was the following morning, January 13th, that God rested his soul in the presence of Mama Ciku and Mama Bless. We know that he is free from pain, completely healed, and filled with joy at being with our Heavenly and Eternal Father. People who came into our house were usually drawn to Lincoln. They loved to hold him and although he could not see, he could sense when he was being held and loved and always relaxed in their arms. We know that if Kenya were a bit closer to the US or plane tickets were less expensive, many Americans would also be here to celebrate his life. He will be very missed by every volunteer, visitor, and especially staff members at Neema.

Our mothers here at Neema have spent hours holding him, feeding him, and trying to make him comfortable. They are the ones who taught him what it was like to be loved, something we
don’t think he knew before he came to Neema. We will all miss him every day and will remember the way he impacted our lives forever. We say thank you to everyone who has loved Lincoln
and welcomed him into their families, especially our staff member Lucy Njungiri who loved Lincoln like her own son.

Lincoln, we loved you so much but God loved you more.

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-57

Meet Elly

Elly is the Business Operations Manager for Project 82 Kenya. She attended the Faith into Action Conference in Washington D.C. in October. The conference was a round table discussion for several orphan care ministries worldwide. Project 82 Kenya was chosen as the ministry from Africa. We appreciate Elly and Rhoda flying in to present our ministry and engage with the other nonprofits. We look forward to putting into practice all the good ideas they discussed.

“My name is Elishiba Muthoni Kimani and I am married and the mother of one.  I am a social worker by profession with a Masters in Project management. I have been working for Project 82 since April 2012 and have served in different capacities ranging from social worker, home manager and currently I am the Business Operations Manager. I do a lot of program coordination and serve as a link between the organization and government agencies, auditors, and legal counsel. I also create and foster networks with those we work closely with.

“Our mission as servants of Christ is “to partner with local authorities and churches to respond to the needs of orphans and vulnerable children by rescuing, stabilizing and equipping them accordingly. We do this through love and care, counseling, discipleship, empowerment and mentorship in order to achieve a sustainable solution for each child.” I am honoured to be part of this and I foresee P82 being part of the champions of child protection in Kenya, East African region and the world.  We are working with the relevant authorities to see all of our children find long term family solutions, all centered on the best interest of the child.

“I can attest that since I joined P82, we have gone through different seasons of growth and great lessons learnt. As an individual and an employee, I have learnt a lot working here, it’s where my faith has been shaped and strengthened. Looking at some of our children who are thriving, despite going through the most difficult situations, gives me hope that all we do is not in vain. Whenever I do a home visit for a family that has adopted one of our babies, I am overwhelmed just to see how God works. It has been a great joy to see what God has done through P82; the transformation in the children we serve and our staff has been overwhelming. I am forever grateful to God for this opportunity to serve children and witness daily miracles of God glorifying himself.”

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.

Psalm 82:3

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