16 Dec The Giving Season: A Time to be Thankful, Grateful, and Blessed
“Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.”
~Romans 12:10
Every year we thank God for the wonderful children he has entrusted to our care, and for our ability to give them the opportunity to thrive. We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for your support, generosity, and love. So, we want to take some time and reflect on some of our joyous and monumental moments for our family.
2021 Gala Highlights
Our 2021 Gala was a special one. Not only were we able to gather in person after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, but we were blessed to raise enough money to purchase new vans for our children in both homes. The committee worked hard to bring in sponsors and delightful auction items that you so graciously bid on, and our auctioneer, Reggie Rivers, created an atmosphere of energy and fun at the event. Our gala was a success and we have you to thank for that. We’re humbled to achieve this for our children together.
New Vans
Our new vans are ready and will be delivered to both homes by 16th December. This is a big moment for our children, and they are beyond excited. Since our existing vans are approximately 20 years old, they have endured the challenging conditions of the Kenyan roads for too long. We really needed a replacement, and our children can’t wait to take their first trip in our new vans. What makes it even more special for them is that we will be using our new vans this Christmas to celebrate with our children.
At our Kitalale and Kikuyu homes, vans are the main form of transportation for our children and staff. We use them to take our children to school, for medical visits and for running errands. Our vans are our main utility vehicle, which our homes would not be able to function efficiently without, especially during the rainy season.
In Kitatale, the rainy season between the months of June and August makes commuting a real challenge. Since the main roads aren’t tarmacked or paved properly, they get very muddy and messy, preventing our bus from operating safely.
During this time, we use the sturdy four-wheel drive to make the journey to-and-from school. It requires several trips to ensure that all our children make it to their classrooms. So, as you can imagine, our old vans had been through a lot and we needed new ones to make sure they continue to do these important jobs for us. We are eternally grateful to you for helping us make that happen for our children.
There’s a funny quote that our Kitatale children love saying, “when rains pound heavy, everybody parks except Children of Hope.”
Giving Tuesday & End-Of-Year Gifts For Our Children
We have a lot to celebrate this giving season. Your constant support in helping us reach our target of a $50,000 matching gift.
With a matching gift of $50,000, we will be able to cover the education costs of ALL of our children for an entire year. To put that into perspective, the expenses of tuition, school uniforms and supplies, special tutoring classes, and extracurricular activities will be covered for all our children.
With our faith in God and love from our caring community, we are certain we will reach our goal and help double the impact made on our children.
If you haven’t already, please take a moment to make your end-of-year donation here, and help transform the lives of our children.
We’re delighted to let you know that a total of eight children will be attending college next year, at the same time. This is the first time we’ve had so many children pursuing higher studies at a given time. While we are grateful for everything our children have accomplished, we need to work together to ensure our matching gift of $50,000 is met this year. With our increased costs of education, your continued support can help us make a difference.
Together, we can make a change.
You’ll also be happy to hear that three of our children are eagerly waiting to start college next year. We feel blessed to be able to share this wonderful news with you.
I’m sure you’re excited to learn more about the children and what their dreams are in college. Read on below to see how you’ve helped transform their lives.
Three Of Our Children Are Entering College Next Year
We’re so excited to let you know that 3 of our children, Serah Mariah from Kikuyu, and Grace Chelang’at and Alex Kwemoi from Kitalale, will be joining college in 2022. Our children have been taking great strides, and we’re so happy for them.
Here’s a little bit about them and their education plans…
Serah Maria
Serah is a straight ‘A’ student with a passion for math and science. Courageous and adventurous, Serah is intrigued by space and technology. She can see herself learning more about these subjects in college and taking them up as a potential career path. For now, Serah is continuing to focus on her studies and is working hard preparing for her final National High School exam early next March. We have full faith in Serah and will pray for her final exams to go well.
Grace Chelang’at
Grace is a natural leader with a very warm and likable personality. Highly organized and goal-oriented, Grace dreams of pursuing medical-related studies at college. She wants to learn more about Neurosurgery but is open to other medical fields as well. We are here with her through our prayers and blessings, and can’t wait to see Grace achieve her dreams.
Alex Kwemoi
Alex is a soft-spoken boy who enjoys music and art. He has always been fascinated by performing arts and dreams of a career in theatre or music one day. Alex can’t wait to start college next year and discover more about his love for music and art. We are so proud of him for knowing what he wants and for going after it.
Your love and support for our children continue to create wonderful opportunities for them, and we are forever thankful for that.
From our family to yours, we wish you a joyous holiday season filled with hope and God’s blessings.