By Christy Russell | Director of Outreach and Sponsorship Development
You have transformed lives! In addition to providing vital tuition for 5 students whose families were devastated by Covid, your support in March enabled Kenya Keys to initiate Hope Springs - a program aimed at helping the most vulnerable girls in 5-8th grades and run by Kenyan women who understand the local challenges. Here are just five of the miraculous stories you made happen. Grab a tissue because your heart will be touched.
“My silence made me to fall in a dark pit, but Hope Spring came to lift me out of it” these strong words are from Sharlet, a sixteen-year-old girl selected to join the Hope Springs project after becoming pregnant. “I could not speak and even defending myself was a problem. This led to the boys taking advantage of me. Through the Hope Spring, my courage and self-esteem was boosted and I used to come to school even during the last trimester of my pregnancy. I did not care anymore; I knew I did a mistake and I learned from it. Plus, I had support from Hope Spring so my hell life in school turned to heaven. I am so happy and back in school. I stay with my baby in the evenings until morning where I leave her with my mother. Thank you, Kenya Keys, for your support, through the Hope Spring Project. May God bless you abundantly and may you continue rescuing other girls who cannot communicate, hence falling into a pit like me. Thank you very much.”
Rose, a girl from Fuleye Primary School, says “My self-esteem was very low because the uniform I wore was torn badly so I had to put on a sweater throughout the day even though it’s usually very hot.... I lived a lonely life because I was despised and excluded by other students... Since Hope Spring came to our school and in my life, a lot has changed. It has transformed me to a girl whom each and every student wants to befriend. I am very clean because I got a new pair of school uniform, I am provided with soap, which I use to wash my school uniform and other cloths, I am also provided with sanitary towels, therefore I don’t need to stay home during my menstruation days. I was also taught on menstruation hygiene under the topic; REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH. This has helped me and I can now take care of myself and even assist other girls who are in need. Thank you, Kenya Keys. I love you all!”
Mwaka was selected by the teachers to be President of the school, but when she refused to give her friends a pass on cleaning assignments, she was ostracized. She writes, “I lost hope, my performance dropped, I started to feel lonely and even at one point, I started to think that life had no meaning. That is the time that it dawned on me that it is easy for one to commit suicide. One day, during the Hope Springs session, I started to see light at the end of the tunnel. From the discussion I was enlightened to put more effort in creating a conducive environment for myself and that I should believe and focus on the goal of doing the right thing. Believe me, it worked and I currently have made a new friend."
“Hope spring has done wonders to my life” these words are from a girl named Mariam who found herself in a dangerous situation far from home after a series of poor decisions. “That night, I thought to myself of what I did and what the Hope Spring facilitators have been teaching us, especially on self-control and self-awareness and decided to change my ways." Too afraid to phone her parents, she called her Hope Springs mentor, who arranged for her rescue. Mariam concludes, "I am now a transformed girl, even the friends who were misleading me are no longer my friends. I now have new friends who have helped me to improve on my performance. Through Hope spring, I have also learned to help other people and I am so proud that my personality has changed a great deal. Even teachers are now congratulating me. My dream is to work hard and become a doctor. What I believe is through the fighting spirit instilled in me and the support that I now have in the Hope Spring family I will definitely make it. Thank you, Hope Spring, for transforming my life. You are now a family. Thank you, Kenya Keys”.
Thank you for your support. These girls will be forever changed by the experience they have had with Hope Springs. We thank our wonderful Kenyan staff and Hope Springs facilitators for their vision and caring, and for your generosity which gave them the opportunity. Together we have made miracles happen.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
