< Back Spiritual Groups Loneliness and isolation is prevalent in the day to day toil in our dear women’s lives. A sense of hopelessness and fear often prevails because life is hard. In 2019, it was decided amongst the women to create small groups in each community to study the Word of God and to encourage one another. Each week sees our women joining together in their small groups with a hunger to learn from the Word. The women developed these Spiritual groups amongst themselves, and help to keep each other accountable in their attendance. Their days can be long and lonely and the times spent with each other is refreshing and renewing to their mind, body, and soul. Each group is different, but generally consists of a time of worship, singing, and sharing. There is a designated speaker who delivers a message from God’s Word each week, with some of the women taking turns helping out. Most of the women are alone in their homes, with no other adults to converse with in the evening and so this time spent with other women who truly understands the struggles and desires of their hearts for their families is extremely comforting. These women have a deep desire to learn and an openness to share when it comes to their prayer requests and needs. The dependence on our Heavenly Father for provisions is something that they live with daily because there are times when they do not know what hardships they may face the next day. There is a real sense of community within the groups. A time of fellowship, a small snack, and a cup of tea is enjoyed after each meeting. It is encouraging to see the women develop this community and take ownership of the groups. These groups have had a larger effect in the sense that the women now know there are others looking out for them, and they are building new relationships within their own communities. Donate Project Gallery

Where We Began | Where We Are | Where We're Going About Voice of Hope Our Beginnings Voice of Hope was born in 2013 when Mary Anne Westeringh had the opportunity to accompany her husband Dick on a Hungry for Life trip to Kenya and Uganda. The objective of this trip was to familiarize board members and their guests with the various projects with which Hungry For Life was involved in. Mary Anne saw an opportunity for further outreach. And it was only a matter of time before the Voice of Hope organization was formed. The events of one particular hot and dusty afternoon became very significant in her life when they visited two women. While both women were widowed and named Margaret, their needs were different. They happened upon the senior woman lying on an thin, worn-out mattress, where they learned she spent all of her days and nights. The other was a widowed mother trying desperately to raise her 8 children amidst a home that was falling apart. Both of these women were hungry, tired, discouraged, and lonely. Both of these women lacked resources and hope. Hope was what Mary Anne wanted to offer to these women, and many others in similar circumstances. Realizing how destitute, lonely, and forgotten many of these widows were prompted Mary Anne to put together a team of women to come and offer hope and assistance. On this day, Voice of Hope was born. Our Why The stress these widows contend with does not end with being a sole provider for children or grandchildren. They face impossible situations because of crop failures, food scarcity, high unemployment rates, decrepit homes, and school fees combined with loneliness, isolation, sickness, and hunger. The weight of this burden feels impossible and there are no options for social assistance. Our Team Trips Voice of Hope made our first team trip to Kakamega in October 2014. All our team trips have been facilitated by Hungry for Life International. Throughout our first and subsequent visits to Kenya, we have met many inspiring women who are trying to make a life for themselves and their children without the protection or income that a husband traditionally provides. We developed our Widow Care Program working with our Kenyan field partners, Everlyne Imbenzi and her assistant, Aggrey Mudi. Together, they facilitate the assistance we provide for our widows and families, while also arranging and monitoring all projects. Our Expansion In 2014, we started our operations in the Kakamega and Siaya regions with twenty widows. Each year, the number of widows has steadily increased. We expanded our program to the village of Yogo in 2019, where we were able to assist an additional twenty widows. To date, we have quadrupled our numbers in these three regions. Voice of Hope currently has two groups engaged with one based in Chilliwack, BC and the other in St. Thomas, ON which was formed in 2019 and is led by Helen Van Dyk. Our Future We visualize empowered widows and orphans building healthy families and contributing to a transformed world; by improving the overall quality of their lives.

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The team have all arrived!! All our travel plans went smooth, and we were happy to see our driver in Nairobi who came to pick up our luggage and drive it to the house in Kakamega, while we boarded another flight to fly to Kisumu. We arrived Thursday evening and an amazing dinner with Sue and Mary Anne who were waiting for us. Then we hit the ground running this morning with our Ladies Day event! The women received a warm welcome by Jane, Mary Ann, and Jen as they walked through the gates. There were many shouts of excitement and loud laughter as they greeted each other! The women all received matching T-shirts, which they immediately put on as well as their name tags. After a short rest, the women had their blood pressure tested and given instructions as to who they could see if the numbers were too high. Dr Isaac also came and spoke about women’s health as well as blood pressure and diabetes. Judges 4: 18 - 21 was the story that the women shared. The leader encouraged the women to be brave and to praise God for his deliverance and faithfulness. A game of charades was fun to watch as all the women took part hoping to win a prize! After a delicious meal of Nasi served with ice cream for dessert the women visited with each other. Mary Anne then encouraged the older women to draw in the new widows that recently have joined the program. After lunch, we headed out on widow visits. The group split up and one group visited Pamela, another went to see Flora, and Mary Anne and Sue went to check in on Violet, who has been very ill. After the visits, it was decided to have her seen by Dr Isaac. Then the entire group walked over to Jennifer’s house to visit her. Once done the visit we managed to get home before the thunderstorm rolled in and spent time organizing for tomorrow. Cora and Marilyn Our team had a lovely time at Pamela’s singing and a quick game of charades. Getting the VOH shirts ready for our ladies. Maggie stirring one of the big pots of Nasi we served all the ladies. Violet with her daughter Hilda helping her find a scripture on our afternoon visit. Walking to Pamela’s Just a few of our ladies. There were 65 ladies here today for a morning of teaching, singing, and delicious food. They love seeing one another and enjoyed the morning!

Written by Jane A visit and photo with Jones we love to sit outside so we bring uncomfortable camp chairs…but it works! Homes are often too small and quite dark inside. Jane and Beatrice..and her sweet little grand girl. Our hostess gift is a bag of groceries and a special gift. We started the day by reading a devotion that Lisa shared with us on Romans 15:13. After that, we packed up for a day full of visits and hit the road! For most of the day, we split into two groups so we could visit as many of the women as possible. Our only visit as a whole team was with Robai. Her joy in the Lord was bubbling over, and we enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship with her. Cora and Lydia also spent some time singing and coloring with the many neighborhood children. Sadly, two of the women we had hoped to visit were unavailable because they were attending a neighbor’s funeral. However, this turned out to be part of God’s plan, as it opened up an opportunity for us to spend some time planning the next Voice of Hope fundraiser. It also allowed us to make an impromptu visit with another one of the women, Joyce. We ended our adventures for the day by heading into town to buy groceries for our cooking night on Monday. Afterward, we settled back into the house to enjoy another delicious dinner and plan for tomorrow. Robai’s visit

Please pray for our team as we finalize our plans to visit our dear friends in Kenya. We pray for God’s care and blessings for Sue and Mary Anne who leave the 21st, and for the remainder of the team leaving on the 27th. “The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.” Psalms‬ ‭121‬:‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬