Project Stories

How the sponsorship of one student lifts up many.

The financial pressure is fierce for families in Ewaso Ngiro, Kenya. Many families struggle to get enough funding for all their necessities. This often puts education on the back burner. This was certainly the case in Frederick’s story.

In order to attend school in Kenya, you have to be able to pay the fees required by the school each year. Prior to his student sponsorship, Frederick was being kicked out of school because he did not have enough money to pay the school fees. This was a struggle that lasted for three years. Frederick even had to repeat class six after not being able to pay the fees required to take final exams, which would have allowed him to progress to the next year of schooling.

In an attempt to raise money for his family and for his school fees, Frederick helped raise and sell cattle. Frederick looked after five cows in order to help support his mom and dad, as well as his five siblings. Raising cattle was one way Frederick could help ease some of the financial tension. However, the pressure to get enough money to cover all the needs of the family was crippling.

But then everything changed for Frederick when he got connected to our partner organization, Nasha, and received a high school sponsorship.

Frederick said it felt very good to know he was a recipient of a sponsorship, because he could now be in school– without the financial stress. Fully immersed in his education, Frederick was able to leave behind all the frustration and worry of being uneducated due to school fees.

Frederick enjoys attending school at Olkiriane where he is currently in Form 4 (or 12th grade), and about to graduate. Frederick’s favorite subjects are history and Christian religious education. Not only does Frederick enjoy his classes at school, but he enjoys playing on the school football team outside of class time.

In addition, the student sponsorship has also encouraged Frederick in his faith in God. Previously, Frederick attended church with his family, but he never felt like God was with him. Through the sponsorship, Frederick also had the opportunity to go to a camp for the students in the summer. At camp, Frederick was able to clearly see that God really is always with him and provides for him. Frederick was able to learn about Abraham in the Bible, his journey into the land of Canaan, and the faith it took for Abraham to move there. From this story, Frederick learned about faith and trust in God, and how stepping out in faith can lead to God using you in unimaginable ways. Frederick says that now, his faith in God is real and firm. 

After graduation, Frederick hopes to attend university so he can pursue his dream of studying medicine to become a doctor. This dream seems more within reach to Frederick now than ever, all thanks to his student sponsorship.

Frederick says The Hope Venture is helping people reach their goals. Frederick’s own life was drastically impacted by the student sponsorship through The Hope Venture. As younger students began to be sponsored at Frederick’s school, he was excited about encouraging them in their studies. Later on, the younger students passed their exams and were able to move forward in their schooling. The accomplishment of the younger students left Frederick feeling proud and optimistic, and he was excited to be able to see even more lives change.

The impact of a student sponsorship goes beyond just one child’s life. Like in Frederick’s story, one sponsorship through the partnership of Nasha and The Hope Venture can impact others far beyond the recipient of the sponsorship themselves. Families and other students are able to be encouraged, just like Frederick encouraged the younger students with their exams. Not all things in Frederick’s life are fixed after the student sponsorship, but with the hope Frederick has found and the financial burden of school fees lifted from his family’s shoulders, the future looks brighter for Frederick and his family.

Each step brings a piece of hope.

In the southwestern corner of Kenya is a little town called Oletukat. In fact, to call it a town might be a stretch. It is more like a group of scattered homes and shops along the bumpiest of dirt roads. Oletukat is home to a people group called the Maasai: a Kenyan tribe known for their bright shukas (cloaks), intricate jewelry, and livestock. These are people who depend on the land for their resources. Their homes are built from the dirt, their livestock graze on the grass, and many try to grow food to feed themselves. Yet, for Oletukat’s entire history, it has never had access to water.

For as long as people have lived here, they have walked five kilometers away to a river to gather water and carry it back to their homes one jerry can at a time. This water was all they had for bathing, cleaning, cooking, gardening, and drinking. One can a day. And it was filthy. The river carries a heavy load of mud and other sediment, making it completely brown. Animals share the riverbank and their waste mixes into it. To make things even worse, the towns along the river dump their own waste into it upstream from Oletukat. Because of this, diseases like typhoid, dysentery, and cholera have run rampant in this community and the surrounding area. In fact, we have learned that nearly 6,000 people in this area faced the same situation. And this little region, with all its struggles, is home to a little girl named Jolyne.

Jolyne is the youngest of ten kids. She’s nine years old. Growing up, her mom would join the women of Oletukat and the surrounding area in the walk for water. Lining up by the dirty riverbank with her jerry can early in the morning, filling it with dirty water, putting it on her back, and carrying it back uphill five kilometers home. She would divvy out the five gallons she had for her and her family to drink. She’d use a little bit of it to cook with. Then they would have to choose whether to let some of the family bathe, or wash clothes. With ten older siblings, it’s likely Jolyne didn’t get much of the water. There was only enough for her to wash herself once a week. Letting the dirt just build up on her skin each day. This was life for her. And her future seemed to be the same story as her mother’s. The daily walk for water consumed life, and the hope of something different — school, a job, a new life — seemed impossible.

Then, in 2015, things started to change. This is when our partner organization, Nasha, decided to begin the effort to bring clean water to Oletukat — to kids like Jolyne — and we decided to join them. We knew from the start that bringing water would be a challenge. In fact, large organizations like World Vision had tried to drill wells here and no water was found. So through a group of African consultants, we began the process of building a pipeline. Trenches were dug, pipes were laid, and the water from the river was starting to get closer. A huge pump was installed and a water tank was built in the center of town, and for the first time, Jolyne’s mom could walk down the street for water. But it was still dirty. We wanted better for her. So we began the construction of a multi-stage filtration system. After breakdowns, photos by: Josh Petersen & Ezra Bram 4 8 4 9 delays, dump trucks tipping over in the mess of mud that fills the road after a rain, and thousands of hours of labor, the filtration system was up and running. And this summer, we got to see water flow. And to be honest with you all, it’s still not what we hoped it would be. We hoped to turn on the tap and get a nice bottle of Dasani out of it, and unfortunately, it’s not that.

The filtration hasn’t fully worked, but it is a step forward. It has made a huge difference in the lives of those who live in Oletukat, including Jolyne’s life.

Now her mom can walk down the street and get ten jerry cans of water for her family. They are drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing every day. When we met Jolyne, her skin was clean. She could feel beautiful. And although the water isn’t perfect, the health clinic in Oletukat told us that cases of typhoid, dysentery, and cholera have dropped drastically. Life is changing for the people of Oletukat.

Jolyne is now in class one at Eltomtom Primary School. Her future can look different. She won’t be spending her days walking to lug water back for her family. She can study and dream of a new world.

It can be easy to look at this project and be disappointed that the water is not perfect yet. But as a small organization, we have seen that every little step we take can make a big difference for people. For Jolyne, her life has been changed forever. We will keep fighting to make sure we do everything we can to perfect our projects, but we want you to know that every little step, each piece added to the puzzle, brings people another piece of hope. It changes the narrative one more time. So thank you to all of you who have believed in us and those we work with around the world. We want you to know we are going to continue to use the funds you generously give to keep taking more steps to chip away at the pain of oppression, poverty, and hopelessness. That’s the adventure we’re on.

The opportunity to find peace.

The journey to support his family and the relief of a goat.

George had a big grin when I met him. He spoke remarkably good English, so we talked a lot as we walked. He wore a plaid shuka around his shoulders, standard for a Massai man here. He shared of his struggles, of his hopes, and of how he and his wife Emily got a goat for the first time this year.

George’s mom got cancer a few years back, a brain tumor, and then she passed away in 2019. The loneliness of that was as fresh as if it were yesterday. He missed his mom. It was written all over him. Perhaps it was because he loved her. Perhaps it was because it was just so scary to think about what would need to happen next. George has five younger siblings, the youngest of which was 3 when his mom died, and now he needed to care for all of them. The pressure to take care of these kids was a lot for a young 24-year-old man.

He started a boda boda business, which in Kenya means he was like a taxi driver on a motorcycle. People got rides on the back of his bike to go anywhere they wanted, but when the Coronavirus hit, people could no longer ride on the back of a motorcycle with a stranger. Very quickly there was no income. How would he survive? He had so many people to take care of. And to add to everything at the time, his wife was pregnant with their first baby (they now have a 6-month-old son).

He, like so many others, had to get creative about what to do. They live near a forested area (well, not the Amazon jungle type of forest, more like the barren brier-filled type of forest) so he began collecting wood and figured out how to sell it. He’s getting by, but when he got a goat from The Hope Venture, it was a huge relief. Every little bit helps and this goat would provide milk for the family. This was especially helpful for the new baby, as the milk provides good nutrition. I could see the hope it brought him.

The grave of his mom was nearby and we went out and prayed for George and his family.

He told me that maybe now God was bringing other blessings into his life. He was touched that someone he had never met from across the globe would provide a goat for him and his family. While nothing could replace the loss of his mom, he could see that there were other people, other acts of kindness, that were reminding him God was still there, still caring for him. It was in his eyes- hope. And it was beautiful.

How a mix-up at a school is now changing lives all over Kenya.

She’s doing WHAAAT now?? She’s working for WHO??

I met Beatrice 10 years ago and had no idea back then what I would know now.

In fact, we weren’t even supposed to meet. We were looking for Eunice Kuyioni, not Beatrice Kuyioni. But when our Hope Venture team (ie, back then it was just two of us, me and Meghan) asked to meet her, the Deputy Principal of the school brought the wrong girl. Our partner found out and was embarrassed and had no idea what to say right in front of Beatrice. So after we left her, after telling her we were so excited to sponsor her, he confessed that the Principal got it wrong and asked what to do. At that time we were sponsoring only a handful of people. This was a big mistake. We didn’t have extra money; we barely could fund the others.

Beatrice grew up in a single-parent family.  Her father died when she was young. She can’t even remember her father. Her older brother and sister managed to finish high school with the help of the community. Their family had nothing except a piece of land. She was in public school for elementary school but the fees for secondary school became unmanageable. At that was the time, her older brother committed suicide due to some of the family problems. This was devastating because he had received an education and was to be the breadwinner and support them all, but now he was gone too. Beatrice could feel the hopelessness. How could both her father and older brother be gone? What were they to do?

That was right before she met Meghan and I.

We didn’t even know this whole story back then. We just couldn’t stand the thought of telling her she wasn’t sponsored… and while that’s not great reasoning for an organization to begin a sponsorship, we decided to ask God to raise up a sponsor for Beatrice. And He did.

I can say that’s the only time that’s happened. But I can’t say now that it was really a mistake. I feel so thankful to get to be a part of Beatrice’s life. You see now, ten years later, after finishing high school and college, Beatrice works for The Hope Venture as part of our Student Sponsorship Team. That’s right, she helps kids just like herself.

As we celebrate 11 years as The Hope Venture this month, I’m reminded of our humble beginnings. We worked in a basement. We didn’t do it all perfectly. But we trusted God one step at a time. And now people like Beatrice have seen God be faithful and so are turning around to spread that joy to someone else. Pretty stinkin’ awesome if you ask me.

The simple, yet essential, gift of a mama kit

In order to give birth at a hospital in Uganda, women are charged a price many can’t afford. For those in poverty, that means they are forced to give birth in unsanitary and unsafe ways. A Mama Kit is an all-in-one kit that contains everything needed to help provide a clean and safe delivery for pregnant women. This summer we visited a slum in Kampala, Uganda where we met a young woman named Leon. Thanks to a Mama Kit we also met Leon’s 5 month old daughter, who she named Lucky. Leon sat on a plastic chair outside her thatched hut while holding Lucky close. It was a simple scene, but one that may not have been possible without a $7 donation. Each one of these Mama Kits counts for something big.