A Great Year Ahead!

Expanding to Kajiado County 2023 has started in a big way for Light Up Hope. We have received funding to expand both our feeding and Woven programs while maintaining the 160 beneficiaries for our High School Program.  Given the massive expansion, the organization saw it necessary to involve both the target community and local government in the selection process of schools to benefit from the program. Indeed, by ensuring full participation, we gave the community an opportunity to own the initiative in the hopes that it will increase the impact of the program. Specifically, the organization formed a County Technical Committee, a team bringing together the Light Up Hope’s Staff and representatives of the two levels of government (National and County level) to work together in ensuring a successful implementation of our Programs in Kajiado County. The CTC consists of, The committee’s first assignment was the selection of the 2023 High School Scholarship beneficiaries where the organization benefitted hugely from the members knowledge of the area and its dynamics In the initial stages, it was the work of the CTC to receive all applications from aspirants and forward the same to LUH staff involved in the selection process. Upon the […]

Giving work to local women, tutoring for exams and fish farming

New pictures from Hope Children’s Home in Kitale Local women are hired to begin preparing the soil for planting of the 2013 maize crop.  Not only does our farm provide food for the children in our care, it also provides income for the local community. Orphanage Director, Fred Afwai, arranged for a friend from Nairobi to come to the local school where the grade 8 children attend to tutor the class and teachers on study habits and best approaches to taking the Kenyan National Exam in the Fall that will determine their secondary school placement. Having some fun on a day off from school.  Love these kids…and we see some neighbor kids have joined the fun too! Dropping nets in one of the fish ponds to check on the progress of the growing tilapia crop.

Reasons Behind Soaring Food Prices and Food Scarcity in Kenya

An assessment of the contributing factors to the increase in food scarcity and food prices in Kenya and how that effects orphans, vulnerable children and the Kenyan population as a whole by Hands with Hope Founder, Fred Afwai. August 12, 2011 Hands with Hope safe house caters to 30 children. With the rising cost of living blamed for the rising cost of energy, this scenario portends a challenging future for these children and all of us as their custodians and guardians. The causes of the current situation are wide and varied but my personal assessment can attribute it to the following: The violent protests following the disputed 2007 elections in Kenya led to the internal displacement of farming communities. To date, most of them remain in camps and in some way this has stalled grain production, leading to high demand and grain prices hitting the roof. Most counties have shifted their priorities to fixing the effects of the global recession. Humanitarian organizations, philanthropists and corporations have scaled down their activities as a result. The depreciating value of major world currencies has deepened the crisis. It can’t get worse than this. Drought and famine are on the rise courtesy of global […]