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Projects Widow Care Many women living in sub-Sahara Africa are subject to a wide range of plights and deplorable conditions. This is intensified immensely following the death of a spouse. Voice of Hope provides assistance to 80 women and their children or grandchildren in rural Kenya who find themselves in these conditions. Read More 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. Read More 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. Read More 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. Read More Medical Support Access to medical care has been a game changer for our women. Living such hard lives, often performing heavy, manual labour in the fields, brings with it a toll on their physical bodies. Read More Food Support Based on careful ongoing assessments and on the advice of our field partners Aggrey and Everlyne, monthly supplemental food support is distributed. Read More Adult Education Receiving education is a rare privilege for most of our widowed women. Some of our ladies were able to receive a primary education. Few were given the opportunity to graduate from high school. Many in our program did not have the advantage of any formal schooling. Read More 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. Read More 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. Read More

We are Voice of Hope. Since our beginning in 2013, Voice of Hope has sought to improve the quality of life for impoverished widows and orphans in Kenya. We seek to encourage women spiritually, physically, and emotionally with the Word of God and by facilitating opportunities for them to have better everyday lives and self sustainability. This is done through the building of lasting relationships with our widows. By God’s grace and abundant provision, together with our generous donor community, we have made a difference in many lives! “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble” James 1:27 Learn More What We Do We strive to be the hands and feet that show Christ-like love and compassion to the needy widows and orphans, to share a cup of water to the least of these, to be a voice of hope, to answer the cries of the hungry and helpless, to build relationships, and to encourage them in the Lord. Vision: We envision empowered widows and orphans striving for self sufficiency; building strong families and communities that contribute to a transformed world to the glory of God Mission: We bring hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ and seek to improve the lives of impoverished widows and orphans in Kenya while fostering lasting relationships. Values: Christ Centred: We bring hope based on the revealed will of the Lord Jesus Christ as taught in the Bible. Relationship focused: We nurture personal connections to better support the spiritual, physical, and mental well-being of our widows and orphans Integrity: 100% of all raised funds go to the projects Respect and Humility: We believe that every woman and child is created in God's image for His glory and deserves love and respect, regardless of their status, education, or age. Widow & Orphan Care We have invested in capital projects, improving homes and living conditions. Furthermore, we invest in food hampers, tuition, agriculture and business training for a group of families. Community Care We visit schools throughout the area with feminine hygiene packs for girls and hygiene teaching for boys, run teaching days on a variety of topics, drill wells and so much more. We seek to bless all those we encounter in Kenya.

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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Who We Work With Our Partnerships Hungry for Life Hungry for Life International works alongside churches, community groups and businesses to reach out to global communities in need and help transform lives. Hungry for Life is a non-profit based out of Chilliwack BC, facilitating and acting as the charitable liaison for our Voice of Hope group with our partners in Kenya. Jason: As Director of International Operations, Jason oversees a team of project managers and international projects working in 14 countries. He has led numerous teams to the majority of our partners since he began working with Hungry for Life in 2015. Lauri: Lauri is the Hungry for Life Project Manager for the projects in Kenya, Uganda, and Guatemala. She works closely with our Voice of Hope groups and is our liaison to our field partners in Kenya. Lauri also brings many years of experience leading and advising teams. Voice of Hope works closely with Hungry for Life staff, Jason Krul and Lauri Alward. We’ve become a strong team, working together with likeminded love and passion to bring hope and the love of Christ to those in need. Visit HFL Website Everlyne Imbenzi Everlyne Imbenzi is a Community Development Officer and works as a international partner in Kakamega and Nairobi as well as the Siaya district. Everlyne has been working with the Voice of Hope Women’s Projects in Kakamega and Yogo, and with Shiphra Centre in Nairobi. Everlyne is an amazing team player, her efficiency and excellent work ethic propels the Voice of Hope projects forward. Her job includes purchasing, sorting and distributing monthly food hampers for 76+ families and tuition needs for over 150 students. Her phone is constantly ringing and you will find Everlyne problem solving, arranging medical appointments, assisting a widow in distress and numerous other tasks. She handles each situation with respect and with loving kindness. She communicates regularly with the Hungry for Life project manager, provides reporting, and conducts regular onsite visits to monitor project activities. Aggrey Mudi Aggrey Mudi is our ‘boots on the ground’ in the Kakamega area where the majority of our widowed ladies live. Aggrey was hired in 2019 to assist and work with Everlyne, our community development officer. The Voice of Hope team has the privilege of visiting all our women and their families two or three times a year. Aggrey lives in their community. He is a just a phone call away; ready to assist in multiple tasks. Aggrey will sort and organize the many food hampers and together with Everlyne every home is visited at minimum on a monthly basis. Aggrey monitors school attendance and performance; assists in managing home repairs and is quick to attend to a medical call. Catherine Oduor Catherine Odour lives in the Yogo area of Kenya. Catherine is young, vibrant and has a beautiful relationship with the widowed ladies in the Yogo area. She visits each lady and their family on a monthly basis and reports to Everlyne Imbenzi, our community development officer. Catherine is a registered nurse and her expertise is a huge asset. She also monitors the children’s school attendance and performance.

< 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

< Back Medical Support Access to medical care has been a game changer for our women. Living such hard lives, often performing heavy, manual labour in the fields, brings with it a toll on their physical bodies. Consuming a diet low in nutrients but high in empty carbohydrates and drinking polluted water often leaves their bodies riddled with parasites and water borne diseases. Unable to fight off the many maladies like h-pylori, malaria, HIV and many other tropical diseases. Many of our women suffer from high blood pressure or other ailments, and yet they persevere through their hard labour day after day in the fields. In the Kakamega region, Voice of Hope has teamed up with a local doctor and nurses who have a heart for our women. Dr. Isaac makes home visits to assess our women. We have also hired a home care nurse, Lillian, with professional skill and a kind heart. She visits all our women who have medical issues. In the Yogo area. Catherine, our field partner, teams up with Jacob Odour. Both are very capable nurses who do an amazing job of assessing and making appropriate health care plans for all of our women in this area. Consistent medical care has had a huge positive impact for many of our widows. Take for example Helida. Helida is an elderly widow with congestive heart failure and significant problems which accompany this. Medications are just a confusing muddle for her with risks of missed dosages. Having medical guidance relieves some of the stress of this burden for her. A caring and listening ear, someone to sort out meds that often confuse our older women, and the knowledge to proceed with medical intervention has brought relief and improved health to all of our ladies. Donate Project Gallery

< 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

< Back Adult Education Receiving education is a rare privilege for most of our widowed women. Some of our ladies were able to receive a primary education. Few were given the opportunity to graduate from high school. Many in our program did not have the advantage of any formal schooling. Women in rural Kenya have many obstacles which make their desire to become adult learners difficult to sustain. They have responsibilities which range from caring for children and/or grandchildren, to management of their family farms which leave them little time for study or class attendance. At home they are confronted with a myriad of demands on their time - gathering firewood for cooking, fetching water sometimes as far away as 20 minutes walking, tilling the soil by hand, washing clothes by hand in the river. Voice of Hope Literacy and Numeracy Class This amazing and super exciting project is an incredible combination of teaching literacy, numeracy and better agricultural practises all in one classroom setting. This project can empower our adult students with skills and enable them to be self-sustainable through improved farming practises. Our ladies are excited to have this opportunity! Small Business Training We are making exciting advances in business training. There is high need for our women to supplement their farming income. In the past year we sent a delegation of leaders and business women from our Voice of Hope program and the community to a course put on by Partners Worldwide. The students who attended this training were taught good and practical business principles. They were provided with the tools to take all they learned to their communities and teach others. This has opened up another avenue for some of our women to diversify and bring in a little extra income. At a very basic level these teachings are being implemented in starting small businesses. Growing and selling vegetables, making mandazi’s (like a donut) and selling them at a roadside stand are two examples of the businesses. This is all done in conjunction with all their other daily tasks. The hope is to change their ingrained thinking of living day to day to putting a small amount of their resources aside for ongoing business. https://www.partnersworldwide.org/our-work/where-we-work/africa/ Sewing Class In 2017 two dedicated team members, Johanna and Fran, took it upon themselves to develop and implement a beginner sewing course for interested women in the community. This class has evolved to the women sewing uniforms for local schools, skirts for the VOH spiritual groups, and much needed mending in the community. It has provided a source of added income. The group meets twice a week and have added knitting and crocheting to their talents. One Acre Fund Practical Hands on Agriculture Training Voice of Hope has partnered with One Acre Fund for several years. One Acre Fund supplies smallholder farmers with everything they need to grow their way out of poverty. Simple interventions like providing access to naturally-produced hybrid seed, quality fertilizer, and training on farming best practices can have a dramatic impact. They allow the opportunity for our women to feed their families, improve their nutrition and increase their incomes. Working with family farms in rural areas, One Acre Fund focuses on last-mile delivery (the supplies are delivered to a location in close proximity to their homes) and ensures that the hardest to reach people have access to seed, fertilizer and other products. Technique goes hand-in-hand with quality supplies when it comes to success in farming. Farmers need the know-how to maximize their yields and keep their soil healthy. One Acre Fund’s team of field officers provides expert, tailored training directly to farmers throughout the year. This includes training on land preparation, planting technique (for example, seed spacing and fertilizer microdosing), weeding, top-dress fertilizer application, pest and disease management, harvesting and drying, crop storage and processing, composting, and tree planting. https://oneacrefund.org/what-we-do/areas-focus Donate Project Gallery