Search Results

< Back Community Development An important aspect of the work of Voice of Hope has been to fund clean water wells and facilitating piped water access. We have also focused on proper sanitation with new latrine and wash house facilities, improvements to existing homes or as needed the construction of new homes. We have also been able to facilitate adding some classrooms to an existing school. Four water wells have been funded though Voice of Hope in the Kakamega district. Safe clean drinking water is a luxury in rural Kenya. Women and children often bear the burden of walking miles each day to find water in streams and ponds, full of water-borne diseases that is are making them and their families sick. Illness and the time lost fetching water is significant. With safe water, clean hands, healthy bodies; time lost is dramatically reduced. Good functional latrines (outhouses) and a private bathing space is such a blessing for our women. It was not uncommon for our women to share that before she they received their latrines, they were taunted because they did not have bathroom facilities and were forced to use the neighbouring bushes to relieve themselves. Taking a ‘bath’ was also very difficult. Many of our women would wash outdoors in the dark of night, hoping that no one would walk in on them. All of our ladies have a wash ‘stall’ beside their latrine where they can wash themselves with privacy. Home improvements are on the ‘to do’ list for every widow that joins our program. Sometimes her home will be so dramatically dilapidated that a new home will be constructed for her. Our goal is to be sure they are comfortable and secure; that each family can proudly feel like their house is their ‘home sweet home’. Donate Project Gallery

< Back Education and School Tuition It was apparent when other members of the widow’s family were expected to pay school fees, there were often gaps in support, which would result in the children missing school and falling behind. Over the past few years, we have become more intentional in supporting the education of our women’s children. Our field partners, Aggrey and Everlyne, conduct regular check ups with the schools to ensure attendance and progress. We are taking steps to transition struggling high schoolers into polytechnic schools to learn a trade. We have developed protocols for this assistance and have also extended assistance to several post-secondary students. Esnas is an example of an elderly grandma struggling with school fees. She is 71 years old and has 6 grandkids that she feeds and tries to send to school. Some of these grandkids have lost their mothers to illness and some of their mothers may be working in cities like Nairobi, trying to send money home. Tuition payments were made inconsistently, but with assistance from Voice of Hope, Esnas now sends her grandchildren to school regularly, without the burden of scraping together funds. Security in education can be instrumental in breaking the cycle of poverty for many of these families. On a recent visit Helen wrote: “Esnas came to us singing as we approached her home. The little ones look well and well loved.” Arise & Shine School The Arise and Shine ECD program was started by a compassionate woman named Beatrice who noticed children in her community were not attending any ECD programs. With a desire to prepare them for school, she started a program for less fortunate children in her home. Shortly after, Beatrice built a classroom and took in 45 children between the ages of 2-6. Many of these children do not have parents but are cared for by a guardian/family member. Through the support of Voice of Hope the school is now expanded to four classes, a kitchen/dining hall, a sturdy playground, clean latrines and wash houses, a fresh water well, stipends for teachers and cook and up to date curriculum. Westbow Gives Back Donate Project Gallery

< Back Secure Housing It was common for our women to live in homes that had no security or protection from the elements. Many lived in homes that were falling apart. Personal hygiene was nearly impossible with no latrines or wash houses in which to bathe. Voice of Hope has taken it upon themselves to build new homes for all our women in the program or make the necessary repairs to allow them to sleep in a safe, dry, and secure home. Cooking customarily would be done inside the home, which compromises their living environment by causing respiratory issues over the years of breathing in smoke daily and damaging the tin roofs. This is why outside kitchens were built, as wood/fire is the main source of cooking. Prior to our women having latrines and wash houses, they would find a bush to relieve themselves, hoping nobody was around. If they had to bathe, it was a quick scrub outside the home, in the dark of night, frightful that there may be others watching and lurking in the bushes. Having a wash house with a lock provides a great source of comfort and security. All of our widows receive a latrine and wash house for bathing. All of our women live in a modest mud home, that is in keeping with the community of homes in their area. Our partners on the ground continually assess the homes and repair when needed. Doors and windows are reinforced, and locks are now being provided. All of our women are by themselves and to have a home that is safe and secure from intruders when they lay their heads down at night is a huge comfort to them and their children/grandchildren. For most of our families, sleeping on a mud floor with no bedding was their norm. We wanted to change this, knowing the positive impacts a comfortable sleep can provide; therefore, we provide beds, mattresses, and blankets. We believe a secure, safe, and comfortable home will bless our women immensely. Donate Project Gallery

< Back Food Support Based on careful ongoing assessments and on the advice of our field partners Aggrey and Everlyne, monthly supplemental food support is distributed. We supply three different sized food packs each month. The size of the food pack depends on the family and how many mouths are to be fed. Our food packs do not supply all the necessary food for an entire month. Some of our widows have graduated out of the Widow Care Program and are now self sustaining. We continue to stay in contact with them, and if our field partners feel there is a need, we address that and provide help. Our goal is to have all of our widows and their children/grandchildren become independent and self sustaining through the education and knowledge that is provided. Our hope and prayer is that the cycle of poverty will end with more knowledge allowing them the ability to rise above the issues that keep them in this vicious and oppressive cycle. Donate Project Gallery

< Back Shiphra Centre We work with a childrens’ home called Shiphra Centre in Nairobi. Thanks to your compassionate and generous donations, this little home has been receiving help with student tuition for many years. Martha Njeri has a generous heart, a lovely smile, infectious laugh, and a deep faith. Her home is warm and welcoming and the children are happy and well looked after. There are upwards of 90 children attached to the home, ranging in age from infancy to late adolescence. She also cares for mothers with babies who are in transition situations. Martha grew up in a nominal Christian home. She explained the troubles and problems she encountered in her family, in her marriage, and on the street; she asked the Lord to speak to her and reveal Himself. Her 'test' was that she needed a word from the Lord to not go back to an abusive man who had fathered her children. He spoke through Psalm 57. At that time, she realized she wanted the power of faith, and not just the form of it; she wanted the faith and perseverance of Daniel, and anyone who knows her, sees that she has found it. Martha knows what it is like to be a neglected child, to grow up poor and to have no food or education. Now that she had become an adult and had a strong relationship with the Lord she wanted to find a place in her community. She felt led to help children who were in situations like she had been. At first, Martha would just look after children where they were on the street, providing food and love, but she began to see that the next day they were in the same place with the same problems; in 2006, she began to take them into her home. Shiphra was a midwife in the book of Exodus, who refused to follow Pharaoh's genocidal instructions. It is said that Shiphra was one of the earliest, and in some ways the most powerful examples of resistance to an evil regime. This is an appropriate name for this home, as Martha is a powerful example of love and resistance to the status quo of child neglect in her community. She has earned a strong reputation in the community, with government workers, doctors, and police officers. The home has a board of community members that are passionate about caring for her and the children and helping her in her work. Martha feels so accomplished when she helps her children. Her heart’s desire is to see them succeed, to know God, and to grow to be caring and loving adults in their communities. She also sees the limitations of her work; her dream is to one day train others to care for more children so that all children in Kenya will have a safe and loving home. Donate Project Gallery