Hope For The Nations

A tribute to PERSEVERANCE

Laz & Liz

To me, Laz and Liz are an amazing couple. They live their lives dedicated to the children of the Sinai Slum in Nairobi, Kenya. A small slum of 250,000 inhabitants.

They are tireless in their pursuit of serving Children at Risk in this dirty, dangerous and desperate slum. The have built a school and daily oversee teachers who teach over 100 students in a hot, humid and challenging environment.

Supplies are limited, parents cannot pay fees, the feeding program is under financed and yet they serve with a passion and love in their hearts.

These are two 'treasures' hidden in the rubble and alley ways of Sinai Slum. We honor you!

Serving the Community - Jigger's Campaign

Jiggers Campaign

There are many projects both large and small that take place in Ndengelwa and the 15 villages which make up the local area. The Health department supplied 2 mosquito nets to every family in the area and head teachers of the local schools are assisting in the Jiggers campaign by supplying the names of infected families.

Jiggers are 'cruel' worms which get into the feet and under the toe nails of it's victims ... mostly children and the elderly. The worms grow and multiply and soon the victim cannot even walk to school or to the local stores.

"We did go from school to school and from village to village. For 5 days we included all villages and the 5 schools. 768 people in total were treated. About 85% were children, 5% aged, 2% youth and 7% general adult people.

During the mass action my team did a comprehensive work. Apart from treatment services, the affected families were equipped with information on how to deal with jiggers on family level." Patrick Siabuta, HFTN - Director

The issue of hygiene was addressed.  Parents and guardians were advised to check their children on daily basis. HFTN was honored for leading the way in this campaign.

Land of "MILK & HONEY"

Bethlehem Gardens

The children of the Bethlehem's Children Home live in 'the Promised Land'.

The are loved, they love their school, they live in a comfortable home, they eat healthy food and they now have friends from around the world who have come to visit and encourage them.

They face a bright future.

Hard work and beautiful gardens provide fresh and healthy vegetables.

Chickens (see coop on side of picture) provide fresh eggs.

Fish ponds generate an ongoing supply of protein.

A GUEST HOUSE has been built to welcome donors, friends and future guests.

Big hearts, hard work, generous donors and lovely children have all contributed to making this a land of Milk & Honey for the children. We all thank you.

SELF-SUSTAINABILITY is our GOAL - Agricultural land

land for food

Should children's homes stay poor with their hands out for provision?.

Dalton has often been accused "taking from the Muzungu and getting rich".

The accusation is meant to discourage him and ruin his reputation but in my last conversation with him I said: "Dalton, I think this is true"

• You see, many from the West believe in helping "Children at Risk"
• Many believe that 'self-sustainability' is a worthy goal and have come to invest.
• Many have invested in land, animals and buildings to reach this goal.
• The result: Value of properties have gone up, buildings increase the asset base of the 'home' and products sold generate income to purchase food and supplies.

Dalton no longer holds out his hands for money. However, he does invite those who believe in 'self-sustainability' to come and invest.

Why? It costs money to raise and feed 22 chldren.

SELF-SUSTAINABILITY is our GOAL - chickens

Chicken House

Our last batch died. Why? We did not invest the extra funds necessary to vaccinate the chickens. Cool weather came and the majority of the chickens died.

Failure? Yes and No ... YES in that we lost our investment, but NO in that we learned valuable lessons. To buy a breed of 'local' hens, vaccinate the flock, invest in 3 month old chickens and build a proper chicken house.

This has been done and we now have 200 chickens laying eggs.

The problem: we haven't finished the chicken house.

Our goal: $200 to build tin sheets for the roof, a door and bars for the windows.

... all in the pursuit of "Self-Sustainability"

BUY, PLANT, EAT

Land for Food

Food security is a family affair. "It takes a village to raise a child".

There is a very active 'village' working towards the love, security and education of 22 children at the Kiungani home in Kitale, Kenya.

Maccabee Financial INC, HFTN and the children and workers in the Kiungani community have all been helping to 'work the land' ... of which, 2 plots have been purchased by Macabee Financial.

We are so impressed that Dalton, the house parent, paid for 1/3 (one plot) of the land. He has worked and saved to bring his own 'shillings' to the table.

Full plot:      KSH 50,000
Half plot:     KSH 37,000

"l paid KSH 25,000 near the fish pond where there are bananas and sweet potatoes the owner asked me to pay 37,000 for the 1/2 plot so the total balance is 62,000 ($775 CDN) to clear the debt of the land. l have also planted trees all round" ... Dalton - House Parent

Preparing "Tomorrow's Leaders"

Top Student

CONGRATULATIONS

Thanks to the commitment of sponsors HFTN UK has been able to pay the Secondary School Fees of 37 children from Katilu village in Turkana for the past two years. Without these funds the children would not be in school because their families are extremely poor.

In December 6 children took their Standard 8 exams and 2 boys did particularly well.

Isaac Logeila gained an A- grade and Sammy Logeila (no relation) gained a B. Both boys will now have the opportunity to attend University and their lives will be changed!

Congratulations boys on doing so well and Thank You sponsors. You are indeed Champions.

We believe that this is just the beginning of seeing the difference we can make in giving children a Hope and a Future!

Norma Slaughter ... Director, HFTN - Kenya

Mud, Money and Men

Brick Boys

Young men in Mali Saba, Kenya need work. However, work is often difficult to find for these youth living in poverty with little education and few marketable skills.

This is where the power of 'enterprise' and the spirit of 'cooperation' blend together to bring a measure of success to an empoverished community.

For the daily wage of $1,25 or KSH 100, a young man comes to work in the 'mud pit'. He and 5 other youth workers carry the water, mix the clay and place the mud in brick moulds and carry the mould to a drying location. The work may appear tedious, but to these young men, the work is well worth it.

They are all friends from a poor commuinity, they were presently all unemployed and they all love to work. With their meager wages, they all earn money to help their families and gain dignity from hard work. They are contributing to the collective good of their community.

Let's look at the big picture: their work produces bricks, their wages puts food on the family table, the bricks are sold and the profits used to help the Bethlhem Children's Home expenses.

Each worker becomes a vital link in building a healthy community ... their community!

Investing in FOOD SUSTAINABILITY

New Land

Dalton runs the Kiungani Children's Home in Kitale, Kenya which has 22 beautiful children. His challenge is feeding the children.

In order to do so, Dalton has just leased 3 acres of good land and has added it to the 1/2 acre plot he just purchased. He has presented a budget for planting BEANS & MAISE which will provide sufficient food to get them through most of the next year.

CURRENT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT has provided funds for the following:

Ploughing 1  acre and reploughing for 3 acres  will be Kshs 18,000/=. $215

Every acre will need 100kg of fertilizers so total amount will be 300 kg of  fertilizer price is  3,600 per 50kg , so 300kg = 22,000/=, $260

Seed maize   we need 45kgs  which costs  kshs.7,000/= $80

Beans  we need 50kg   costs  4,000/=.$50
 

Plowing + Sewing + Harvesting = FOOD ON THE TABLE for 22 children and staff !!

SO ... what do you do with all of those BRICKS?

CHICKEN HOUSE

CURRENT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT underwrote the costs of starting a brick-making business in Kitale, Kenya (see story below).

So, what happens to these bricks?

Well, the first batch of bricks was used to buidl a CHICKEN HOUSE. Linet, the house mother and owner of the brick business, sold each brick for KSH 7 (which is 9 cents) and put the profits back into her interest-free loan.

Doing the math:

- Sale of bricks:            2,000 brick x KSH 7 = KSH 14,000 ($175)

- Costs to make bricks: 2,000 x KSH 4         = KSH 8,000 ($100)

Profit: $75

What did Joseph & Linet do with the profit?

1. $10 USD was sent to HFTN to sponsor a child in the Dominican Republic

2. $65 USD was used to repay their loan to CURRENT FINANCIAL

Now that's good stewardship!