ruffiWffi
It started with one teenage girl and her baby, Melvin, being brought to New Hope by her teacher last summer and now there are eight babies being cared for in the new baby unit. Most of the girls are from the Masai tribe. they have been rescued from forced illegal marriages to old men who arranged to 'buy' them when they were born. Baby girls are favoured amongst the Masai tribe as they are seen as an investment. A quantity of cattle is offered for them when they are born which is then 'paid off while they are growing up until the full amount is settled. The mothers are aged only 13114 years. They may be one ofseveral wives but the older wives do treat the younger
in the same posirion ar one timc. There is quire a movemenr now, however for educated women in Kenya to speak up on behalfofthe abused and lor these ones well because thev have all been
New Hope) saw how babies there have their own
practices to be abolished. The girls at New
baby-size cot and each small group ofchildren had its own mother/carer. She was very impressed with this arrangement and so has brought the idea into New Hope. All this has, of course,
Hope are amongst the lirst few fortunate ones to be rescued and to be able to complete their education, knowing their babies are being well
necessitated new equipmentl Those of you who sponsored Beccy for the London Tiiathlon last year will be interested (and we hope pleased!) to
looked after.
know that we used the money raised to equip the baby unit with cots and to buy some small child-sized beds for the toddlers along with all the required bedding so that they no longer have to sleep with their older 'siblings'.
Previously the younger children at New Hope with one of the teenage girls in her bunk bed which was not ideal lor either of them. \While visiting another Project with us last year, run by friends from UK, Cecilia (the Auntie' of slept
So! Once again, thank you lor your supportl
,EGETffiS \7e were thrilled when Agnes came bounding into one of the homes we were visiting in the Village. Ve hadnt seen her for 4 years. V'e first met Agnes in 2007 when we visited New Hope and were introduced to her family. A few days previously, her mother Miriam had knocked on the door of New Hope with her three children, Boss, Agnes and Jeremiah pleading for help. She was a young widow in the depths of
despair, having been thrown out by both her own and her late husbandt families. Boss, the eldest had been born when she was
only
fourteen so she musr still only have been in her late twenties when we met her although she
looked much older. Her traumatic life had led to her having severe depression and she had
point where she had decided to kill her children before killing herself. NEW'Hope was actually her IAST hope. In the grounds of reached the
New Hope was
a wooden hut where firewood and charcoal were stored. It was dark, dirty and smelly but it was the only place of shelter Anne could offer her with her three children. tWhen
we met them a few days after their arrival at
New Hope, the family looked as miserable as the shack that was the only place on earth they could call home. 'S7hen we returned to UK we found sponsors
for the three children so they could attend school, while Anne provided food for them. Late6 when the first Village was being built nearby, we sponsored one ofthe houses for
Miriam and her children. By then Agnes and Jeremiah were doing well at school. Boss was
not so brighr but ar leasr he was getting an education and had some hope for the future. In due time Agnes and Jeremiah proved to be
we first met 8 years ago. In fact she was
reminding me of our first meeting and when we bought her a bed when they moved into
their new house.
She
told me
she is
still
gratefirl to us because, as she beamed, 'I have a bed ofmy own and I dont have to sleep on the floor'! Both she and Jeremiah are waiting for their final results from High School then hope to go to University. She would like to study to become a research Pharmacist and Jeremiah wants to do Computer Science. Agnes's great desire is to be able to provide for her mother
Miriam, who still has mental health problems.
two of the brightest children in Kenya and when it came to the time for them to go to
Boss, the eldest brother, she told me, would like to become an electrician.
High School they were offered sponsorship
'We
by the Equity Bank to go to one
ofthe top
High Schools. 'We
havent seen Agnes and Jeremiah, therefore, for the past four years although we regularly
visit Miriam and have seen Boss from time to time. Agnes is now a lovely, lively, mature teenage girl - a far cry from the pitifrrl litde girl
praise God for protecting rhis family and for leading them to New Hope where with the combined efforts of Anne, Abigail Ministries and our sponsors, these wonderful children
lifted from the brink of death to a bright, happy and fulfilling future and Miriam
have been
has a secure home where she is protected by
the love of the otherVillagers.
E** i?l
L*#$*m
Nruâ‚Źrâ‚Źâ‚Źcmrre ffir*e-$ffi5
Shena had no idea rvhat she was starting when
anffi ;lqi:
shc gave a talk about
nutrition to a group of24
previouslyll Another bonus they tell us is that
about their progress during thc year but these
their food bills have been reduced owing to the increase in home-produced vegetables - yet
It was
'Ihe other encouragement was their hunger lor
their homes and shambas, hearing their stories and helping thcm sow seeds in nursery plots
started meeting to read the Bible each week in
a
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small groups but they told Shena they didnt
nutrition
also 'blossoming'. They told Shena their
understand very much and were longing for Bible Study notes which would explain more to them. Shena was very happy to provide these
husbands are lar more inclined to come home
and spcnt an afternoon training four ladies
;::
for meals nor.r. that thcy are not served ugali, the rather t:rsteless, staplc lood made from ground n'raizc at every meal. The men are irlso taking an interest in helpinq rl-ieir t'ives in the shambas. ,All the s'omen u'ere r:rdiant telling n-ie about rhe ch:rngcs
;
?.1
Bible Study. Apparenrly the ladies have already
reaclv
for this year's planting. It seems the better has not only helped improve the hcalth of their families, but their marriages are
....
another reason ro make their husbands smilell
thrill, therefore, lor Shena to spend nearly 4 days with the ladies, visiting successful.
. :'{rf , .:i:Jl q,-:.r: r
that those husbands we know from the past
ladies last year. \We have received a lew reports
only gave brief notes about which vegetablcs each had grown and whether or nor they were
.;6;" .ra
say
were certainly looking rather plumper rhan
in rherr husbands and u'e have to
to become Bible Study group leaders. This means a further six ladies Bible Study groups rvere formed in that area this time
with more
of the Burning Hearts Bible Studies being asked for by Pastors from othcr districts who wanr to use them
in their churches.
Emmy
Priscah
Efu*
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The toilet situation amongst the poorer members of the community is still a major
one well for this particular community which for some is 2 Km away and the water is anl,thing
merrily drunk when we visited them but he showed
health concern for the Government who have said they need l.2m new toilets to be dug in rural areas. \[e r.ere ri:--.- .:-:]er -- . - '': i:],:
but pure. These families live between the well and a clinic so there has been a great deal of : -cr-, ,l:.i: rtj.::iui.: lf r!t i lr:--1:,."ioiicr laciliti:"
had tested his soil and told them to stop growing
number of new ones and Da-niei has been making enquiries for us as to who were the most at risk and therefore the most needful of a new toilet. \7e went to visit some families
the x'ater, r'hrcir is pipeo irom the
good
a
in
a remote area where there are
only ftvo or
three toilets scattered about and people have to walk several hundred yards to use them. This means a number of families use the same barely concealed hole in the ground and because ofthe distances involved in getting to them, they often prefer to just use the field! There is only
i,
us a report from the Agricultural Authorities who
I
maize because their soil was unsuitable but would be perlect lor qron'ing potaroes. This was perhaps
expensrre and
I
clinic is contaminated so we were requested to give these families their toilets as a first prioriry.
an impossibility for Paul and Peter to buy with the meagre wages they earn from the occasional
I
One of the homes we visited was that of Paul (Grandad) and Peter (Dad). Petert wife died of
we offered to buy him
*eii to
the
casual
leukaemia last year leaving the two men to care for five children under the age of 12. Relatives have taken the oldest (because shet a
girl) and
the youngest to look after but the three middle boys still live with Paul and Peter. Paul was
acir rce
bur
see<i poLaroes are
work they find. Paul was delighted when seed potatoes and
fertilizer.
!7e also arranged for food to be bought for them. Our offering seemed very insignificant compared to their needs. but ir was a srart. '\?'e
shall see how they use what they have been
given and then decide how else we might be able to help them in the future.
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TFIE, SilATE,R PROJE,CT Here is the forecast for the \7ater Project
-
"Although
it will remain cloudy for some time, this will soon pass and all will be clear later this year!" The blessings ofthe all to
see
\fater Project
for
are there
and take benefit from, even though the
water itself remains somewhat cloudy. Many families have been collecting water regularly
from the Communiry Thps and using it for cooking and washing. The SEED School "farm" land and other nearby plots have been irrigated
through the dry season and the harvest has been very good. In fact Seed School having grown tomatoes and particularly cabbages have enough
to provide food for lunches
as
well
as those
the new, small hostel fbr several monrhs!
k
in has
'While out in Kenya in February, Roger was able to fina1ly get the paperwork for the \7ater Permit
and for drinking within the school and the
to the Authorities and meet several contractors and experts about filtration. \7e could see enry
the Community
-
provided
witiout
from all the officials
as
they viewed the quality
of
Communiry It as
is
now
proposed to have two supplies for one
will
be untreated water
charge and the other
\7ater Thnk and Pump System from the London
on maintenance and elecrriciry.
Olympics that Nick Crosby and his team built
taining
on site last Marchl The bore hole also leaves many in amazement
as the
volume of water
available is over three times any other one
in the
for
treated water at a small cost to cover expenditure
of personnel on filtration and financial
management of the water supply and distribution service is part
ofthe potential contract with one
supplier. This supplier will also monitor the
region, including those drilled since this one at
progress
Seiyo. \7e know and have been greatly blessed by
the filtration system is complete.
ofthe operation for ten months after
God in His generous provision all round. \7e are considering the options lor filtration to
Join with us in both praise to God that we have been able to kick start this work and pray that
remove rhe cloudiness and excess iron contenr
the right decision will be made about the contractor
also been known for the water to have been
and some other elements from the supply that
to be appointed to complete the filtration, clean
drunk with no ill effects!
will be used for the Abigail Health Care Centre
water storage and distribution.
JANE While iife \*/orsens for sorne of our frienels, we are delighted when we see the transformatisr: in o*!ers".,a,]e is another person's story you rnay have {ollowed over the yea!'s. S}!e wa$ the ,ady who was expeeting her twelftlr baby when we first rnet her absut foun years ago. lier husband Faul was a drunkard wl-rs would only come homc an rare ilccasion$ in oc'de!- to take ttre few sticks of furniturejane had n"lanaged to aequire durlng his absâ‚Źncâ‚Ź and tllen to sell thern to buy rnore alcohol. This happened on a !-egular basis" Many times her neighbol!,'s woilld l:ave to rescue her from lris abuse before he woirld *ventuaily disappear again, lesvingJans pregnant orlee morc afld having to eope witFr trying to feed a growing flurnber of children on no income! Despite help frcrn $ome sf our sponsor$r Jane had alrnost lost thc r,vili to live and didn't have the motivatisn to put in the e{fort slre n:lght have to help herself. l!6F
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##:::,14
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Li{e has changed irnrnensely for jane, however" She joined $ur graup of 't{utrition Ladies' last year afid with the support sf these fniemds she has turned her life around. She enjayed sceing the fruits of her labours as her seeds b*gan to groy/ afid was ffble to harvest a gocd crop of vege{ables she has never tried before. Ller husband Paul has aiso taken aft intere$t in their small plot of land having seen it produce good food and as a resuNt he has eonre hame and so far has kept cff the
alechol. With her producti!,ie shamba and a csrflfortable home with *ice fr.rrnlture,Jane's self-estecffi has risen eons;derably and slie ncw snjoys h*r work as sns sf the eooks at Seed Sehool. d#ffitl*l:.,