Project Stories

Bringing light and new beginnings at the Home of Hope.

Darkness consumed Veena’s life. She grew up without the presence of her father in the home. She lived with her mother, sister, and grandmother. They farmed a small plot of land, growing ragi, a grain crop. Veena eventually got married, had a child, and left the small farm. She really loved her husband and cherished the life they were beginning to build together. Then her husband began to get mistreated at work. This was challenging for him and it really began to take a toll on him. He turned to alcohol to cope with the challenges at work and developed cancer from his alcohol consumption. He died shortly after their son, Rameet, was born. Veena became very depressed after the passing of her husband. His death was a tragedy for her. Then, shortly after her husband’s death, her mother also passed away. The two deaths at the same time were unbearable for Veena. She felt alone and hopeless. She started wandering the streets. She was so depressed she didn’t even want to live in a house because that would mean having to come home to it each day – empty – because her family members were no longer living there. So Veena was content with living on the streets because it meant she could avoid some of the memories of what home once was.

She spent four years on the streets with her son. Veena and Rameet were covered in lice and flies. There was no bathing. They had no food. Veena did not care for herself or her son, leaving many health issues untreated. All the deaths in her family that she had experienced were painful for her, but she didn’t want to dwell on the pain. Instead, she would numb herself from feeling anything at all by blacking out, using alcohol and other substances to mask the pain she was feeling.

Veena didn’t have any hope of her circumstances getting better. She was stuck in a cycle of darkness and depression and didn’t want to do anything to get out of it. Meanwhile, her life and her son’s life were in danger and not in a healthy state.

People in the city recognized this danger, and the police intervened for Veena and Rameet. They called the Home of Hope and they came to pick up Veena and Rameet. The Home of Hope is one of The Hope Venture’s partner organizations that provides shelter and care for over 750 people who have been cast out and neglected in Bangaluru, India.

Things started to turn around for Veena and Rameet after being brought to the Home of Hope. It took a while for Veena to realize where she was and what was happening, but each day she made some improvements in all aspects of her physical and mental health. She began to enjoy her time in the Home of Hope. Medicine was provided for her and she was able to actually sleep through the night and truly rest for the first time in seven years. Her health and hygiene began to improve. She began to learn to eat, interact with others, and work again.

As she grew more comfortable there, opportunities for work around the home started to open up. She worked in healthcare for a few years before she was married, and because of her time at the Home of Hope, she was able to revisit, remember, and relearn her work as a nurse. Now Veena loves working at the Home of Hope and is proud to work there and take care of others. She serves the people there so well and gets excited to see them improve in their condition, just as she did when she was first brought to the Home of Hope.

Now Veena has only one dream – to have her son educated. Rameet was never in school previously – all he knew was living on the streets. But the Home of Hope has helped get Rameet into school. Veena’s dream is now a reality. Rameet went to school for the first time ever in fifth grade. He was able to start getting caught up in his schooling through the support of the Home of Hope, and now Rameet is heading into sixth grade.

Veena’s life has been radically changed because of the Home of Hope. The darkness that once completely consumed her life does not have a hold on her anymore. No longer is Veena on the streets. She is working a job that she sees value in, her health is in good standing, and her son is getting an education. These are all things that bring joy and light into Veena’s life, and she is sharing that light with others.

The sweet aroma of a student scholarship.

Steam rises in slow waves, swirling into the air from the plate set down in front of you. You feel the warmth from the food pressing into your face as you gaze down. You inhale the aroma of the freshly battered fried chicken. The tender meat is covered in a contrasting crunch of the batter, fried to a crisp. Shifting your eyes to the kitchen, you see a young girl, smiling and dancing as she stirs a pot of vegetables. As she plates the food and hands it to the hungry dinner guests, it’s as if the plate is screaming, “I love you” to each guest from the cook herself.

This is the message Winnie joyfully conveys each time she cooks. She tells her mother to sit down and relax – to let Winnie do the cooking instead. She fully displays her commitment and care to her mother and family each time she steps into the kitchen.

Before Winnie began cooking on her own, her mother taught her all the cooking skills she had mastered herself. They worked side by side in the kitchen, whipping up chapati and rice. Winnie’s cooking skills also expanded in school in her home science class.

Cooking is what Winnie loves to do. She is thrilled that she is able to learn more about cooking at school too. But she didn’t always have access to an education to be able to do so. She lives in a slum called Mathare in Nairobi, Kenya. Her family didn’t have enough money to provide an education for Winnie. At only 15 years old – living in the slums with no access to education – Winnie’s future seemed destined for a life in the slums.

But what a surprise it was to Winnie when a normal day of lounging on the couch in her home turned into an unforgettably joyful day. Tears of thanks streamed down her face after hearing the news that she had received a scholarship to go to school thanks to The Hope Venture and their partnership with Agape Integrated Group. Winnie never thought she would get to go to school, or even that she would be chosen as a recipient of a scholarship. But here she was, crying, dancing, and singing praise after hearing the news of her scholarship.

Now that Winnie is in school, she wants to work hard to achieve her dreams of being a chef. Winnie loves food. The process of food – from garden to table. Making food and knowing how to cook it – boiling, baking, chopping, frying. Eating food – yum! There are so many elements to food that Winnie loves. And not only does she understand that making food is a process, but she sees the process in attending school as well. She wants to be diligent in attending classes, studying, doing her best work, and experiencing the joy of it all throughout the process, keeping her eyes fixed on her goal of becoming a professional chef one day.

A deep desire to love and care well as a mother.

Hellen deeply desires to be a good mom to her three kids: a 17-year-old son, a 13-year-old daughter, and an 8-year-old daughter. She loves them immeasurably, and wants to do everything she can to take care of them, making sure they have all they need to live comfortably and happily.

One way this desire flowed out of Hellen for years was her continual commitment and effort to get milk for her kids to drink. In Oletukat, the village in Kenya where they live, getting milk was not an easy or convenient task. Hellen would frequently have to travel or send someone else to the nearest town 20 minutes away to get milk. This had to happen because in a house full of growing teenagers, food seemed to disappear almost as soon as it came into the house, and Hellen was determined to keep milk constantly supplied for her children.

Hellen and her family received a goat from The Hope Venture in January of 2022. This meant that the frequent trips into town for milk could stop! Her family could get milk directly from their own goat. This gave Hellen assurance and confidence that she was being a good mom by knowing exactly where the milk she was feeding her children was coming from. Oftentimes, the milk sold in town would have water or chemicals added to it, which decreased the nutritional benefit.

Additionally, because they didn’t have to go into town to go get milk, the family saved a lot of time. Now they can spend more time together, or spend more time focusing on their farm where they raise chickens, maize, and beans. This also provides a way for Hellen to be a good mom to her kids – teaching them to work hard. Her son, Henry, has even taken ownership of milking the goat every day.

The family’s goat milk is not only available for drinking, but also to make chai tea, cookies, and traditional veggies for the family. The nutritional benefits extend beyond just drinking the milk and also make the menu at home more exciting!

Hellen’s desire to be a good mom for her children is enough to show how much she loves them, and that makes her a good mom in itself. Receiving a goat from The Hope Venture aids her efforts and makes it easier on her, so she doesn’t have to constantly strive beyond her capacity to provide everything for them.

A legacy that empowered.

It was raining when we arrived. We wound through a few roads where there were some simple cement homes, nothing fancy. We got out and walked down an alley. Our partner took a right and I wasn’t sure exactly where, since much of it looked the same. I got about to where he had been and looked into a small doorframe of a home inquisitively, as if to say, “is this where my friend just went?” A woman giggled at me and motioned to the next house. I went there but had the same hesitation, “is this the one?” And up the steps someone motioned me forward excitedly. “Yes! This way! Come. Come.”

Up the steps and around the corner opened to a small room where some food was cooking. Past that was another room with lots of children… boys sitting on the floor on one side and girls on the other and a tutor behind them all. They stood and cheered. “Welcome ma’am, hello. Welcome. Sit, sit.”

They were excited to see us. They had a presentation prepared for us and wanted to get right to it. A handful of us had just arrived, some for the first time to India, and all of a sudden children were quickly saying all the things they had prepared.

“Hello, I am Thulasi. Welcome to Kurumbar Padi. I have two brothers and one sister.” (Or did she say one brother and one sister? And did she say something else in between there? Some people were still sitting down. Our eyes and ears and hearts were still adjusting to the setting we were in). “And what is your dream,” someone asked. “To be an artist. I want to be an artist like my father.”

The next one started. Then the next. And we got to the boys. And they said theirs. And then one boy stood up and added. “I like to draw. I would like to be an artist.”

Someone pointed back to the first girl, Thulasi. Yes they are brother and sister. They drew these photos on the wall. Wow those are beautiful.

The program went on. Each one sharing. Then a skit… turned out to be the Good Samaritan which seems to be a great skit and lesson in any language. The kids enjoyed pretending to beat up their friend, then ignore him, then help him. Giggles and mistakes and the caring ending.

Then there were dances and speeches and there was Thulasi again, the girl from the beginning, standing up strong and brave to give the longest speech yet. It was about giving dignity to both girls and boys, an appeal to educate both men and women, a reflection on the lack of opportunity women can face in India.

And she’s right. She’s only maybe 15 years old but she sees the disparity. She wants a chance, for herself and for all girls. And she was proudly declaring it in both her speech and in her demeanor. She knew her own dignity.

I wondered where her confidence came from. Many in poverty struggle, feeling less than, feeling not as valuable, feeling shame. It’s not true. We all have value and dignity, but we might not know it. That’s partly why The Hope Venture exists. In Thulasi’s village we run a feeding center and tutor the kids after school to give them some extra help. We want them to have a chance like everyone else. We want them to find hope and love. We want them to have the opportunity to rise above. Many are orphans or have been rejected by their dads and mostly can barely afford food, let alone school supplies. So life is tough and shame and heartbreak is often the norm.

But Thulasi was different. She was so strong, such a leader. And I’d like to tell you it was because of our center in her village. But our center is pretty new and she’s had this strength for awhile. She was contagiously spreading it to the kids at our center but her strength didn’t come from us. Even God, who I believe she loves, is not the only answer to her hope and strength. No, God had provided someone else to teach her this, if even for a short time. It began to make sense as soon as I saw her home.

She lived right across from the feeding center. She held my hand and urged me to come, pulling me and smiling. “Please ma’am come.” I stepped down a narrow passageway, tucked my head down to avoid what was hanging, then turned the corner. Already the garden with mangos and roses told a different story than the rainy, dreary day I was in. I took my shoes off and one more step into the house now and ahhhhh. The love. The beauty. The drawings on the wall. The fish tank- I don’t see many of those here. Then the photo frame of a man. I met her mom and brothers and sister and cousins and then was told, “yes, this was my father, he died six years ago. He was an artist.” The drawings on the wall were partly his, but partly several kids’ drawing as well.

Legacy. Love. Leadership. Thulasi had a dad that loved her, that inspired her, that was her hero. And it made all the difference in her life. She wanted to be just like him, follow in his footsteps. Draw like him. Draw for him. Carry on his honor.

It was refreshing in a village of extreme poverty to find a man who had not abandoned, not neglected, not rejected… and to find a daughter who was strong and confident, who knew who she was and who she wanted to be, who was leading her peers to do the same, and who was even advocating to the adults to hear their voices, to honor their dreams.

A moment for me that started with rain and muddy steps and narrow passageways, opened up to dreams and beauty and hope. May Thulasi have what she needs to carry her banner far and wide. May we grant her the respect she deserves. May her dad somehow even rest in peace, knowing his legacy lives on and his love mattered.

Simpler ways to water access.

Getting a glass of water to drink is simple. Grab a clean glass from the cupboard, take about three steps over to the sink (or maybe even to the fridge with its filtered water dispenser), turn on the faucet, and wait a few seconds for the glass to fill up. Voilà! A refreshing, clean glass of cold water. So simple.

But what if it wasn’t simple? It certainly isn’t for Wycliffe and his family in Oletukat, Kenya. They have no water in their home. They have to walk four kilometers (that’s roughly 5,400 steps!) to the nearest water source, and sometimes up to eight kilometers – just to get some water. This isn’t just a small inconvenience either – this means no water for drinking, cooking, washing dishes, washing clothes, showering, flushing toilets, and no water for animals or plants either. Wycliffe and his family spend so much time walking to a water source each day, and the water available to them isn’t even clean. Plus, they use containers to collect water that are used both by humans and animals, which contaminates the water even more. This leads to many water borne diseases which are constantly infecting the family, like cholera, dysentery, and amebiasis. Then, due to the nature of these diseases, the family has to make more frequent trips to the toilet. However, without access to a toilet, Wycliffe’s family often has to resort to using the bushes nearby for this purpose. Then the waste just sits there, and others can be exposed to it when they go to use the bushes, and the spread of disease multiplies. As a result, everyone in the family gets sick and they have to make frequent trips to the doctor to get medications and care, which gets very costly.

Wycliffe faces these water and sanitation issues daily, and has to try to lead his family through it. He is a husband and a father to six kids. Three kids are in elementary school, two are in preschool, and one is too young for school. Wycliffe also serves his parents by caring for them on top of caring for his own family. To earn some income and get some food for his family, Wycliffe tries to do some small scale farming. The farming operations do alright, but drought often plagues the community too.

Wycliffe was trying to serve his family well, but all these water issues couldn’t be solved by Wycliffe on his own. What a daunting task! However, Wycliffe and his family were able to take part in a project with The Hope Venture, through a connection with our partner, Nasha Ministries, Wycliffe and his family were able to move towards some solutions. Through the project with The Hope Venture, a water source has been brought nearer to their community in Oletukat. Wycliffe and his family were able to get a toilet. They also got sanitation training. The combination of these things led to diseases being far less common in their household, which also meant fewer trips to the doctor and fewer expenses because of doctor bills. The family has much more time for other things, since they don’t have to spend so much time walking to and from the water source. And now, when they collect water, they can have access to cleaner, more sanitary water.

The benefits of this project haven’t just stayed within Wycliffe’s family. They open their home and toilet to many people in their community, so they also can have a safe and sanitary experience. Not only do they open up their resources to others, but they are constantly educating others in their community about sanitation practices.

Now so many people in the community want to get toilets installed for their homes too. Overall, with more and more toilets and sanitation education happening in the community, there is less disease occurring in the community as a whole, and people are healthier. People have a lot more time on their hands too, since the water is closer to them. Kids can go to school since they don’t have to worry about fetching water each day. Wycliffe’s family, and the community as a whole, hope for continued improvements, including more toilets and more sanitation, which leads to healthier communities.

Jovial… Yeah. That’s her!!

I don’t know about you, but for me, “jovial” is not a word that is commonly used in the vocabulary of people around me. If someone asked me for the definition of jovial, I would probably have to tell them that I didn’t know. I could try to make a guess of what it means if someone used it in a sentence for me. But, basically, I’m telling you that I wouldn’t know what jovial means. But then I came across the word when reading information sent to us from our partner, Fanuel, who helps direct our student sponsorship program in Mathare, one of the poorest regions in the world, home to a collection of slums in Nairobi, Kenya. This information was about a girl in the region named Abigael.

I was reading Abigael’s bio. From the instant I read that “Abigael is a jovial girl,” I became intrigued with this word and what it meant about Abigael. I knew the word must mean something positive about her, but I didn’t know exactly what. So I did some digging. I took a visit to dictionary.com, where jovial was defined as “endowed with or characterized by a hearty, joyous humor or a spirit of good-fellowship.” Synonyms for jovial include cheery, jolly, pleasant, delightful, companionable, lighthearted, and good-natured.

This was striking to me. Jovial was the only word used to directly describe Abigael’s demeanor. Abigael, being described as jovial – cheery, pleasant and joyous – even when I knew that Abigael came from one of the most disadvantaged situations in the world was astonishing. In Mathare, where she lives, the living conditions are horrible. The sewage system is poor, with waste flowing down the streets, there’s garbage everywhere, and families live crammed into shanty houses, which are built from materials like wood and mud. Not many kids who grow up in the slums are able to get an education, because their families don’t have money to pay for school fees. This means they can’t get a good job later on in life, and they will likely also have to raise their own kids in the slums.

Abigael grew up in a family of five with a single mother taking care of all of them. Her mother had a small business selling tea, which brought in some income for the family, but not a lot. It was hard to pay for food, and especially for school fees. Her mom would often have to go borrow food from a nearby shop just so they could survive.

These circumstances are the reality of Abigael’s life.

And yet, she is still described as jovial. Jolly. Delightful. Lighthearted.

Abigael aspires to become a surgeon. She wants to save lives, especially the lives of those in her community. She hopes that VineYard, a hospital in Kenya, will start a branch location of the hospital in Mathare, so that she can work there. She wants to inspire her community and transform it through her work as a surgeon and through all she is able to accomplish. She doesn’t want her community to stay as it is. She wants improvement.

Abigael’s aspirations and her jovial personality were inspiring in and of themselves. But yet again, we are brought back to the circumstances of her life. Abigael wasn’t able to attend school because of the financial circumstances of her family. This meant there would be no way for her to even have the opportunity to work towards her goals. Without a high school education, there is no college education, and no medical school.

However, Abigael connected with our partner, Fanuel, who was able to help her get a student sponsorship. This sponsorship paid for all her school fees, and now, Abigael has access to an education. She is able to go to high school, which opens up opportunities for her to work towards going on to college, medical school, and becoming a surgeon.

After learning all of this about Abigael, I can see that “jovial” is a perfect word to describe her. I can see it in her desire to transform her community, in her incredible work ethic, and in her heart for caring for others as a surgeon someday. I can see that her hope comes from within her, rooted in her relationship with Jesus, so that not even her circumstances in life can take away her joy.

A scooter and a helping hand.

Beep beep! Watch out, Vaikunthan is coming through on his brand new scooter! He sits in splendor atop his two-wheeler, the sun reflecting off the shiny black steel, his hands gripping the handlebars that give him control of his journey. He weaves in and out of traffic as he rolls along the road in the Jawadhu Hills region in southern India. Vaikunthan is on his way to the wholesale market to buy some goods in bulk that he can turn around and sell in his small provision store that he runs in front of his home.

It’s a blessing that Vaikunthan can visit the market on his own, able to make his own business decisions about what to purchase, and then get it back to his own store on his own time. Vaikunthan hasn’t always been able to do this by himself.

A few years ago, Vaikunthan was collecting jackfruit to sell in his store. He climbed a tree to cut the fruit from the branches. While he was up in the tree, he lost his balance and fell. He endured fractures in both legs and severe nerve damage in both feet, losing all sensitivity in the lower portion of his legs. This accident resulted in a permanent handicap, leaving Vaikunthan unable to walk.

Because of this accident, Vaikunthan had to rely on others to go to the market for him so he could keep his provision store open. It was far too great of a distance for him to walk. While it was wonderful that people were helping him out, they saw it as an opportunity for their own gain as well. Vaikunthan would repeatedly get cheated during these business exchanges, with people taking advantage of his inability to watch what they may do with the product after purchasing it at the wholesale market and before delivering it (or just some of it) back to Vaikunthan for his store.

One day, Vaikunthan had a customer visit and shop at his store. Throughout his time shopping, Vaikunthan and Mr. Velu, the customer, got to talking. Mr. Velu heard about Vaikunthan’s accident, disability, and difficulties with getting goods for his store. Mr. Velu, a coordinator with The Hope Venture in Jawadhu Hills, was moved and wanted to help Vaikunthan find a solution. The Hope Venture has a project establishing community development centers in Jawadhu Hills, aiming to support the community, helping with needs that arise, and Mr. Velu takes part in aiding the community through that. Mr. Velu researched and figured out the process for getting a free vehicle through the government in their community. Mr. Velu helped Vaikunthan apply for the vehicle, and after a year, they were able to go get a two-wheeler together.

Now Vaikunthan has a way to get around efficiently on his own. He can purchase goods for his store, allowing him to stay in control of his business and maximize his income. Every time he scoots around town, he can remember the provision he received that now gives him independence in his mobility.

Mac-n-cheese, a computer, and so much more…

I met Jacqueline on my first trip to Rwanda. The Hope Venture was exploring the idea of starting some Pilot Projects in the capital city of Kigali. We were outside the offices of Acts4Rwanda, where dozens of school children were gathering for a daily meal provided by the organization. Jacqueline was serving the younger children and I hopped in next to her to scoop up some food… I think maybe she was passing out some cookies and I was scooping mac-n-cheese?😊

Anyway, Jacqueline and I got to talk. She was friendly and had dreams of going to college. She had been sponsored by Acts4Rwanda up through high school but now wasn’t sure what was going to happen since their sponsorship ends after high school. Her housing was going to be a big challenge. And she needed a computer if she was going to continue in science. And tuition was of course on her mind. It was all daunting. Meanwhile though, kids were coming up to us wanting food and, well, all this money and college-dreams stuff would have to wait.

Our team came back home and started praying more about what to do.

For the year previous, we had been revamping our project strategy. We had worked with the same partners overseas since The Hope Venture had started. If we ever started something new, it was because someone like our partner Charlie in India would get his heart wrecked by some need, share it with me (Cynci), we’d talk in the clouds and a little on paper, pray, and go for it. We tried to document things or explain our reasoning, but honestly we were growing so fast that we got behind on the paperwork. It got harder and harder to understand what we were doing. Meanwhile we wanted to replicate some of it, or stop some of it, but we couldn’t articulate why. So for a whole year the staff questioned me, wrote things down, questioned me again, wrote more down, questioned Charlie, and all our partners, and started to document clearly what we were doing, where we were going, and how we could grow.

One huge change from that year was a goal to vett 20 new partners over the next five years. Ahhh! Talk about daunting! We had trusted partners, longtime friends who we worked with. How would we grow that trust with new people?

Well we had to try.

Covid had led to extreme poverty rising around the world for the first time in twenty years. People were hurting, hungry, and hopeless. Yet God’s hand was on us and He was using us to bring hope and dignity to some of the most disadvantaged people in the world. We longed to press into that even more and watch God bring His overwhelming love rushing over more and more souls.

So we set out to explore some new partnerships. We made a new Pilot Project strategy where we would start out small, make sure reporting requirements were met, grow it bit by bit, and over time, we’d have some new trusted partners. That’s why we were in Rwanda. One of our board members had a friend of a friend, and there we were.

We told Acts4Rwanda we couldn’t do much to start. That we’d have to start small. How small? Well it turned out that one scholarship would have to do.

Jacqueline.

Yep, Jacqueline was The Hope Venture’s first ever Pilot Project recipient.

We prayed and collaborated with Acts4Rwanda. They liked how we were having success with our college scholarships in Kenya. They were sponsoring kids through high school, just like we were in Kenya, but then had no way to help them after that. We created a thorough Project Plan document and got back to signing memorandums of understanding. We articulated clear reporting requirements and reviewed the project 6 months in. Then in 2022 we were able to add four more students, and just recently, our Projects Team approved them for 15 students in 2023!

Jacqueline’s dad was in a bad accident five years ago. Her mom was in jail for a couple years. Life’s been hard. But Acts4Rwanda has come alongside her and her siblings to help and now The Hope Venture is here too. God does see and know our burdens. He can bring people together from across the globe… to bring hope, to provide a computer and housing, to feel His love, even to get some mac-n-cheese and a cookie. ❤️