06 Dec Moving Mountains Together: The Cottage Story
If you’ve been following along on our journey with us, you’re probably familiar with the Kitatale boys’ cottage that has been under construction over the past year. Today, we have some exciting news to share with you! Finally, after a challenging 8 months, our Kitatale boys’ cottage is ready for our children.
Cottage Celebrations
In Kenya, it is a tradition to celebrate the transition of our boys from childhood into their adulthood years. This transition prepares them to take on new roles through various practices. One such practice involves living independently in a separate house located within the same compound of the main house. This separation marks their transition into manhood and offers them a sense of privacy in their teenage years. To follow this tradition and celebration at Children of Hope, we needed to build a separate boys’ cottage in Kitalale this year to accommodate the growing number of teenagers at our home.
Made Possible By Our Donors
This wouldn’t have been possible without your support and donations made during our Children of Hope Moving Mountains Together Gala in October of 2019. Not only did the funds cover the construction of the entire cottage, but also allowed us to make some renovations to our existing main building. We upgraded the plumbing system for better sanitation, created an outdoor area, and added a basketball court for our children to play in. Although it took a little longer than expected to complete, our children couldn’t be more thrilled with these additions and it seems like we might even have some future basketball players amongst our homes. Our boys are all smiles because of your generosity.
“I love waking up in the morning for personal quiet time, prayer and studies. This new house has bigger rooms and a beautiful living area. I will really enjoy this,” said Kevin Kiplang’at, our new Kitatale boys’ cottage resident.
Cottage Construction
Due to COVID-19, we had to move our construction start date to March this year, so it took a little over 8 months to finish the whole project. Initially, our project was set to take 26 weeks (approximately 6 months) to complete, but a delay in supplies and building materials prolonged its completion to this November.
While it did cause a delay in our overall plans, it gave us more time to extensively plan and finalize the boys’ cottage. We started off by factoring in the needs, costs and functionality of the proposed project, and did several brainstorming sessions with the staff, children, architect, and contractor to settle on a concrete plan. Once the architect had conceptualized the project and started drawing out the plans, we met and consulted with him a number of times before we all agreed upon the final project design. We’re very happy to say that all the meticulous planning and hard work paid off.
To commemorate the opening of our new boys’ cottage, we opened its doors to our local community and church on celebration day. The children and staff had a hearty meal, danced, and listened to music. Although our children went back to school the following morning, they were excited to have spent their first night in the cottage, and in their new rooms.
Our completed Kitatle boys’ cottage can house up to 16 boys and one godfather. Four boys will be placed in a shared room with one bathroom, totalling four rooms and two bathrooms in the house. Each bedroom will have two sets of bunk beds. Our boys cannot contain their excitement.
“I cannot believe my eyes that we are finally moving into our new boys’ cottage. I enjoyed the initial discussions and more so seeing how wonderful and powerful ideas can be! This has been a learning experience that with prayer, focus, dedication and love anything is possible and achievable,” said James, another new resident of our Kitatale boys’ cottage.
His friend, Alex chimed in. He said, “Though I will spend fewer years than the rest since I will be joining college in about a year’s time, it is very nice to see that boys have a beautiful place to concentrate on their studies and have fun at home, I simply can’t wait to wake up in the beautiful room.”
Once again, we’re so grateful for our community and extended family for making this happen. Your love, prayers, and donations go a long way to helping provide our children with the quality of life they truly deserve.
From our family to yours, we wish you a lovely holiday season!