Educate HIV Orphans in Kenya

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Last week the president of Kenya announced that all primary and secondary schools will remain closed until January 2021. Fortunately, we have been allowed to keep our students living with us in a safe environment. Our only focus in this period of COVID 19 has been to donate food and face masks to as many vulnerable and needy people in the county as possible. Most of the residents in the outer lying area are casual laborers who are paid after working. With the current pandemic, the residents are unable to get employment and feed their families. Some of the families have been going to the area chief to beg for food and a lot have been foregoing meals. Springs of Hope Foundation's sole purpose since the arrival of Covid 19 last March has been donating food and face-masks to vulnerable families. Our target families are the elderly, terminally ill patients, persons with disabilities, and child-headed households, all of these cases are identified with the assistance of the area chief together with house cluster leaders. So that we can maintain order and be assured our donations go to the neediest, we will continue to do the food distributions at the chief's camp. Some of the cases that we have recently come across that touched our hearts included;

Child headed families- There were several families in these categories but the most vulnerable of all was a family of six. The firstborn being a form two student at a nearby secondary school. Their mother went to Saudi Arabia to work as a maid in January 2020, but she has never sent a penny home to meet her family’s needs. This therefore left, Irene, a fourteen-year-old girl, to step into her mother's shoes. Irene together with her five siblings lives in a tiny one-roomed, mud-walled house. They pay Kshs. 300 (US $3.00) rent which they can barely afford. Irene juggles between school and menial work to support her siblings. It's long since they talked with their mother thus they don't know how she is fairing in the Gulf and this clearly is distressing to them. 

Vulnerable families- The area chief also identified a case of a woman who is approximately 80 years, a widow who is ailing from asthma, and high blood pressure. The case is vulnerable in that, the elderly woman is the sole breadwinner to her six grandchildren. With her advanced age and sickness, she has been left at the mercy of neighbors and well-wishers to stay alive. The family lives in a rented mud-walled house in Mang’u area paying rent of Kshs. 500 ( US $5.00) per month.  The elderly grandmother could not manage to come to the pick-up location to collect her food hamper. This prompted the team to visit her home. She could not hold back tears when her grandchildren brought the food hamper to her. 

Kenya has continued to experience enhanced rainfall resulting in massive flooding. The government of Kenya recently announced that 203 Kenyans have died in floods and 100,000 households have been destroyed. In Nakuru County, families have been displaced following floods caused by heavy downpours since the 3rd week of April. The flooding in these communities has been blamed on poor drainage and sanitation with most drainage systems being clogged. Communities close to Lake Nakuru have been forced to relocate after overflow from the lake sparked fears of a humanitarian crisis.

 

 

We urgently need your support to keep life-saving food flowing to the most vulnerable in our community.
Borders have closed and supply chains are affected in areas most at risk. Please help us ensure that hungry children, the elderly, and vulnerable do not suffer the brunt of this pandemic.

If you’re able, please make a donation to our community outreach efforts. If you’re unable to donate at this time, there are many other ways you can support us! You can advocate for us by sharing our mission with a family member or friend. Even a quick mention on your social media would mean the world to us.
https://www.facebook.com/kijijimission/
In times like this, we’re reminded of how interconnected we all are. Thank you for being part of our community. Without you, none of it is possible.

Stay safe and well,

Jennifer Hughes-Bystrom
Founder/CEO
Springs of Hope Foundation

Links:

• SPRINGS OF HOPE FOUNDATION'S COVID 19 FOOD APPEAL
• WEB PAGE
• FACEBOOK

Dear *|FNAME|*,

I hope and trust that this finds you and your loved ones healthy and well in these unprecedented times. We stand alongside you in supporting our fearless frontline workers and first responders globally. They give us hope and inspire us daily with their courage. 
As trusted allies and supporters of our work at Springs of Hope Foundation I wanted to share how we are pivoting our efforts to protect our education programs, and most importantly, the women, girls, and families we serve in our community in Nakuru, Kenya during these rapidly changing times. As you know, many African countries are currently being devastated by the exponential rise of COVID-19 on the continent. ICUs, emergency rooms, sanitary water for hand washing and social distancing are provisional luxuries afforded to a tiny percentage of the population of Sub Sahara- Africa.
This week our area chief informed us that while traveling outside their homes, everyone must wear a face mask. That's a pretty daunting challenge for most people in our community. These are women who have to fetch water in 20 Liter Jerry cans daily and visit the market several times a week as they can't afford to purchase food in bulk. There simply aren’t any face masks available to the poorest, most vulnerable members of our community.
We were in the final stages of making free school uniforms for the children at Slum Hill Primary, to be delivered next month. However, with the unknown of exactly when school will begin again in Kenya, we have instantly switched gears and are now making face masks,to be given out to our community for free. In the months ahead, or maybe weeks ahead, I’m sure we’ll also be making scrubs for the health care workers, and quite frankly, anything else that will be needed in the upcoming, unknown difficult times ahead. 
In truth, I never expected this to be our challenge and focus this spring in Kenya. But our ability to pivot and answer this unexpected call to action and meet the ever-changing needs of our community is a testament to your collective support. Our work is a reflection of the inspiration you give us daily through your encouragement and outreach. Our community in Kenya has never needed us more. 
Thank you for all you do to support women's and girl’s education and empowerment globally.
Warmest regards,
Jennifer Hughes-Bystrom

• As you know, I always like to share positive, uplifting pictures of our students in my newsletters, as I share their many success stories with you. 
• However, I wanted to give you a glimpse into our neighborhood.
• It's called Free Area.
• However, for the families who live in these overcrowded rental houses there is nothing free about living here.

Links:

• Web Page
• FACEBOOK