Flo's Story
The opportunity for change comes in many different forms. For some it is the transformation of an entire community by providing access to clean water, for many it is the gift of education, while for others it’s providing them an opportunity to begin to dream and start their own business through micro-enterprise.
Recently, Ralph Bromley, HOPE’s co-founder, visited Kenya and shared this story of HOPE with us:
“Flo is a mother of a toddler and a young child who is presently enrolled in Hope & Bright Future School located in the Soweto slum, Nairobi.
When Flo’s child recently failed to turn up for school for a few days, Mary, our HOPE director, went and knocked on her door. She found Flo curled up on the floor, a victim of a severe beating by the man living with her. Apparently, the violent beatings had gone on for a couple of days and she was immobilized laying on the floor with extreme back pain.
Mary, a ‘mother’ of so many suffering and abused women in the slum, picked her up and brought her to our Wings of HOPE building. She was placed in a humble 2-bedroom suite and provided with a mattress and some basic food needs while she recovered and received support to get back on her feet.
Hearing her story, Ralph wanted to meet Flo and her family. She opened the door, holding her toddler, and welcomed him into her barren but safe space. She smiled liberally and never offered a word of complaint. She shuffled around with her intense pain and showed Ralph the few household items that she had. One trip to the local store changed all that. What a joy it was to have ‘donor’ funds available to stock her shelves and purchase a simple phone. She cried with gratitude.
So what’s next for Flo? As I write, we are setting her up with a french fry food service business. We are building her a simple kiosk next to our school and she will soon be in production with her new charcoal burning stove. Students from our school will volunteer to peel potatoes and Flo will be ‘Master Chef’. Her profits will enable her to pay her child’s school fees and the balance will go to starting her new life.”
