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…]
June Mail Call
It’s time to write your sponsored child! We will take mail to the children during the June trip. All letters and gifts must fit in a manilla envelope and must be turned in by June 1st. THANK YOU!
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.”
Wendo Retreat for the Rising High Schoolers
The transition from childhood to adulthood can be a difficult time for many young people, especially if they lack guidance and directions from trusted and wise mentors. We want our students to have every opportunity as they become adults. The graduating eighth graders will be completing important exams that will determine their future careers. Next year, the best students will be able to attend boarding school and earn freedoms and responsibilities of living on campus.
Knowing that the early teenage years- especially when joining high school- are hard, we took some of our class 8 students who will be joining high school next year for a mentorship camp dubbed ‘the Hope’s camp’ that took place at Wendo retreat center. The camp was organized by Christ Is The Answer Ministry (CITAM) Nakuru, who we are partnering with to ensure that the future leaders we are nurturing in Molo get equipped both spiritually and socially. It was a good getaway from Molo and they had an opportunity to interact with their peers from different parts of the country. Our teens enjoyed themselves very much at camp. When Dan emailed the pictures, he said, “The young people were elated and in high spirit when they returned back to Molo, and they promised to positively impact the lives of their peers going forward.” We are so thankful for community partners like CITAM who will pour love, wisdom, and truth into our teens.
The theme for the camp was: ‘Purpose to stand out’ which was derived from the book of Daniel 1:8. The five day camp was packed with empowering topics that are fundamental as they take their next big step in life. The topics delved deep on: Spiritual formation, sexuality, setting boundaries, goal setting, drug and substance abuse, self-image and self-esteem, media and peer influence and what to expect in high school. We are glad that having insight on these vital areas, they are now ready to transform their peers.
Our prayer is that these young people whom we love and care about have success in their Christian walk, education, social life and in their life careers. We are grateful for those taking their time and resources to equip the next generation. Investing in the lives of these young adults is investing in a bright future for Kenya! Join us in praying for the futures of the rising 8th graders.
“He that is equipped will equip others” – Sunday Adelaja.
PS- We will soon have exam scores of the 8th grade class. We are excited to hear how they did.
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