We are so thankful for the amazing generosity of all who attended Light Up Hope’s annual fundraiser, Barn Fire and the generosity of two very special girls and their birthday party fundraiser. Because of their generosity Hope Children’s Home now has a playground installed for the younger children! Our Kenyan partner, Alice Afwai shared with us the reaction of the children to having the new playground, “They have been seeing them (playgrounds) on TV, and in papers, now they have one, God is real!”
One of the children we were particularly thrilled to see enjoying the playground with a big smile on his face is Jeff. We first met Jeff in April of 2014. At the time he was living in a dire situation with his Grandmother in Nairobi. After Jeff’s mother passed away and his father abandoned him and his sister, Mary Grace, they were left in the care of their elderly grandmother. When we met with his grandmother she shared with us that she loves Jeff and Mary very much, but the burden she was bearing was too much for her. Inside a small one room home on the outskirts of Nairobi the grandmother was responsible for providing for Jeff, Mary Grace, several cousins, aunts and an uncle who is dying of AIDS. When we spoke with her she shared with us that she hadn’t been able to feed the children in a week and that they were suffering. She felt her only option was to ask for help so Jeff and Mary would have a chance at life.
Now that Jeff and Mary are living at Hope Children’s Home they are receiving high quality food, an education, shelter and care. They know they are provided for and now they have the opportunity to do what kids do best – play!
