Project Focus - Kenya
THE PROJECTS THAT WE WILL BE HIGHLIGHTING IN KENYA...
During your invovlement in HopeWalk Africa you will be experiencing first hand the critical needs of people living in devastating conditions, but then will be able to offer them the transforming power of hope.
Here are some examples of the opportunities that you can play a part in. Together we will make an investment in the future generations in Africa.
MATHARE CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT CENTER (MCDC)
Over 600 children from the streets of Kenya receives an education, clothing and food.
Assemblies of God World Mission in partnership with Kenya Assemblies of God and Convoy of Hope plan to strengthen the school’s academic and aids prevention programs and expand the number of children receiving help. Convoy of Hope has agreed to sponsor the MCDC feeding program, which is providing hot and nutritious meals for four hundred children each day. For many of these children attending MCDC this will be the only meal they receive.
One teacher at a school in Kenya said, “Due to the lack of food, the children are very weak. We try hard to teach them, but their concentration levels are very low,” “In the last four weeks we have had three children faint in class because of hunger. To keep the weakest children alive, we share the little food we have from our own homes.”
Convoy of Hope has donated a pair of shoes to each child, is providing uniforms, and food supplies. Next year through your participation in HopeWalk Africa, Convoy of Hope will continue to support these efforts as well as participate in building a new cafeteria that is expected to feed 1500 children each day. Even those that may not be able to attend the school will receive a meal, which is more than most would ever have the opportunity to receive. Help us complete the construction and supply MCDC with the equipment that is needed for this cafeteria. What a great addition this will be to the school that we recently visited!
In addition to the new cafeteria, MCDC is adding to their educational space! A new secondary school which will both house and educate between 800 and 1000 children is underway. They are building this in phases, 200 beds at a time, and you will see the construction in the photo below. We are thankful for all of those that are partnering with MCDC to make this possible.
CLEAN WATER SYSTEMS
HopeWalk Africa will result in clean water through newly dug wells, and water purification assistance for communities. Contaminated water is responsible for a myriad of health problems including dysentery and malaria. Women and children walk miles carrying heavy buckets and containers of water. Animals share the same water sources as humans adding to the disease. During the dry seasons, water supplies are inadequate or non-existent in many villages so that both people and cattle go thirsty.
Kenya is a land filled with wonder, beautiful scenery and wildlife. But some portions of this beautiful land are filled with poverty, desperation, and lack of hope. Convoy of Hope and its partners with HopeWalk Africa are working to change that.
Convoy of Hope is providing relief for the drought stricken region in northern and eastern Kenya. Many tribes have moved water hole to water hole trying to survive, sometimes traveling for many days in search of water. Thousands of camels and goats have died, leaving families without milk and income.
KENYA KIDS HOME ORPHANAGE AND GROUP HOME
Children rescued from the streets of Kenya find a loving home in this orphanage located on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya Kids Home provides these children with housing, food; clothing and a lot of love.
Every 14 seconds, a child in sub-Saharan Africa loses a parent to AIDS. Of the 11 million children in sub-Saharan Africa who have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Many of these children are abandoned on the streets living a nightmare of abuse and exploitation. Funds raised from the HopeWalk Africa will make it possible for these children in Kenya to be rescued a welcomed into a safe and secure home.
During our HopeWalk 2007 participants were challenged to give to the group home project. The goal was to build a homes for a family group to live together, each home housing approximately 20 children and a surrogate mother and father. We are thrilled to announce that four homes have been completed (photo below is of the Limuru home).
EAST AFRICA REGIONAL DISTRIBUTION CENTER
Convoy has established a Distribution Center in Nairobi, Kenya to serve East Africa with food, water and other emergency needs. Land was donated by the Assemblies of God and Speed the Light provided the first truck to transport emergency supplies. During the HopeWalk we will dedicate the Distribution Center and share the long term vision of expanding Convoy's work throughout Africa with this effective model. Currently, the Convoy of Hope Regional Distribution Center is assisting families that are victims of the recent violence in Kenya by providing emergency food, water and other essential supplies used to assist victims of the recent violence in Kenya.
According to World Hunger which is the United Nation's humanitarian outreach, "Successive seasons of failed rains, some three million people [535,000 of which are school children] require emergency food. As a result of drought, children's health and nutrition are deteriorating and the livestock that many families depend on for food in the arid northeastern part of the country are dying in large numbers from exhaustion and lack of water and food."