Hope Kenya - WBC & AIM
Today I received a huge surprise, during our seminar on transformational development, when the speaker explained that the work they do here in Kakuro, Kenya partners with WBC. This is the same partnership I've come to know as Heart for AID and now HOPE Kenya.
I had the opportunity to accompany Barb (a WBC and AIM missionary like me) to see the very ministry I had heard about for years at WBC.
Our first stop was at the home of Esther. As we sat in her living room she shared her story. She explained that several years back her husband was diagnosed with TB. As she pondered the symptoms they both were experiencing she decided to get tested and learned what they both had was really HIV. She then had her young daughter tested and found that she too was positive for HIV. Their story did not end there because God brought Esther to Josephina and Heart for Aids.
As Esther learned about God's love for her she was able to forgive her husband for giving her HIV and herself for living in the pain and sadness. Taking medicine daily Esther is not just surviving with HIV she use the strength God has given her to find other women who are HIV positive bringing them into the knowledge she has.
Esther is also part of a group of women who have been trained through transformational development and WBC to maximize their money using an amazing loan system. As far as I understand, the women started off by giving $1 to the group, followed by $2 a month for the past three years. As the money accumulated they took turns borrowing the money from the group to invest. Each woman paid back the money with a 1% interest, all the while, the others continued to pay their monthly dues which too is loaned out as there is need. This group of women has been able to see their dreams come true and to bless many around them in the name of God's mighty hope.
What a blessing it was for me to meet one of the women I had learned about in Sunday school only 1 year ago.
Our next stop was at the home of the gentleman below. Although we were there to learn about his green house and the men's group he is a part of (similar to the women's group above but with a 10% interest return) we found that he had learned to make bouquet fillers using papyrus grown near the river by his house. I loved listening as he confessed God's gift of creativity in his life.
Leaving this place I was full of excitement for the dreams God has given those at Hope for Life and the way He has equipped them to reach out to those in need and support one another.
I had the opportunity to accompany Barb (a WBC and AIM missionary like me) to see the very ministry I had heard about for years at WBC.
Our first stop was at the home of Esther. As we sat in her living room she shared her story. She explained that several years back her husband was diagnosed with TB. As she pondered the symptoms they both were experiencing she decided to get tested and learned what they both had was really HIV. She then had her young daughter tested and found that she too was positive for HIV. Their story did not end there because God brought Esther to Josephina and Heart for Aids.
As Esther learned about God's love for her she was able to forgive her husband for giving her HIV and herself for living in the pain and sadness. Taking medicine daily Esther is not just surviving with HIV she use the strength God has given her to find other women who are HIV positive bringing them into the knowledge she has.
Esther is also part of a group of women who have been trained through transformational development and WBC to maximize their money using an amazing loan system. As far as I understand, the women started off by giving $1 to the group, followed by $2 a month for the past three years. As the money accumulated they took turns borrowing the money from the group to invest. Each woman paid back the money with a 1% interest, all the while, the others continued to pay their monthly dues which too is loaned out as there is need. This group of women has been able to see their dreams come true and to bless many around them in the name of God's mighty hope.
What a blessing it was for me to meet one of the women I had learned about in Sunday school only 1 year ago.
Our next stop was at the home of the gentleman below. Although we were there to learn about his green house and the men's group he is a part of (similar to the women's group above but with a 10% interest return) we found that he had learned to make bouquet fillers using papyrus grown near the river by his house. I loved listening as he confessed God's gift of creativity in his life.
Our final stop was at Hope for Life where several other WBC staff have come and served. I learned of the many vocations taught on the property including farming, sewing, painting, weaving, braiding, computers, and plumbing, among other things. The property was started out of a food distribution program founded by the same Joshephina who helped Esther (above). Josephina saw a need for food for hungry Sunday School children and that grew into the vocational school partnered by WBC.
The building is currently under construction as the team adds indoor bathrooms and a second floor. Below you can see the kale being grown in the field behind their main building.
There is also a clinic on campus staffed by the young lady below. It was inspiring to hear about Josephina's faith in God's plan for a clinic asking for the foundation to be dug even before there was money for the building.
I am pumped that you were able to get to Nakuru to meet the awesome people God is working through there!! Thanks for sending us this link! I know that Barb and Josephine do a fantastic job on the TD training - we are all eager to hear what you have learned.
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