There is a very bright future for our current class and future classes of students for years to come. Our recent volunteer, Haley has shown our ladies how to make these beautiful African print headbands, with technical guidance from Martha, our very overqualified tailoring instructor. The young ladies are doing so well after just under 4 months with us that their high standard of work is already export quality.
Hailey's plan is open an online business selling these colorful and exotic headbands, along with other products she and Martha have designed during her stay with us.
We look forward to watching Haley's on line and wholesale business grow and prosper, supporting our graduates for many years ahead as she and, upon graduation our students learn and grow their business together.
Our students come from backgrounds of extreme poverty. At best their future would have been as a very low paid house girl, being forced to live away from their family and their children. They could never have dreamed that their lives could possibly take such an exciting, creative and fun turn. Their growing confidence and understanding of their own self worth is a daily joy for me to watch. This is all because of you, our sponsors who care enough to continue supporting Springs of Hope Foundation and our work in Kenya.
If you'd like to learn even more about what we do or how you can meet some of the young women you have helped, please contact me at jenniferhughes@springsofhopefoundation.org. I'd love to chat with you!
On behalf of our young women and children…
Asante Sana,
Jennifer Hughes-Bystrom
Links:
Last July a new life began for 12 very fortunate young women as our 2018/19 tailoring class took off to a fantastic start! 12 very grateful girls will receive free career training in our tailoring course, housing, food and mentoring, as well as access to English as a 2nd language and computer classes thanks to our overseas volunteers. Our dedicated staff, Martha and Joanne, along with our volunteers are working hard to ensure they have all the support they need to succeed.
MEET ONE OF OUR NEW STUDENTS. Her story is told in her own words.
Mary (I’ve changed her name for her privacy) is one of seven children, both of her parents are living. Her father is an unemployed alcoholic. Her mother, the pillar of the family, sells vegetables at the local market to support the family.
Mary was raped at school on April 25th, 2007. She was two months short of her 10th birthday. She says she remembers the day as Wednesday since it was such a traumatic event. She did not take any action, instead, she went home and kept silent out of shame. She felt afraid to tell her mum as she was so strict.
Mary continued with her studies but due to the trauma her grades began to fail; she dropped from number one to number twenty-one. People started to question her performance. Later she started feeling ill but didn’t know why. She was taken to the hospital where it was determined that she was 4 months pregnant. She was removed from school and secluded in her home until she gave birth. After her baby stopped breastfeeding she went back to school and finished her form four. Needless to say, this bright young girl now faced many challenges, school fees and supporting her baby being her biggest.
In 2016 Mary found a job as a house girl in order to raise money to help support her mother and her child. During her time working for this employer, she was not permitted any days off to visit her child. Several months would pass without receiving a paycheck, which eventually forced her to return home.
When she received a call from Kijiji Mission telling her that she had been accepted into the 2018/19 tailoring course, Mary felt that this opportunity of a lifetime was a dream come true and the answer to all of her prayers.
Your support means the world to these girls. This program would not exist without the incredible generosity of people like yourselves. On behalf of all of us, we say a big 'Thank You'!
We have another great opportunity to make all donations qualify for a matching bonus today, September 12th.
Experience a Global Bonus Day
Warmest regards,
Jennifer Hughes-Bystrom
CEO. Springs of Hope Foundation.
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After a very long 12 months of hard work, sacrifice and long periods away from their families in Samburu our ladies have graduated. There was a great deal of excitement in the week leading up to graduation but on the day of graduation many tears of joy and sadness were shed as we all came to the realization that this brave group of women and their beautiful children, who had become part of our family for the past 12 months would be leaving us for good.
As the certificates were awarded each student made a very moving speech, expressing how much their lives had changed during the time they were with us, how much they have learned and how very grateful they were to be given this life-changing opportunity...More tears...followed by beautiful singing, dancing, and celebration.
During the 12 months this group was with us they not only learned every aspect of tailoring, our volunteers also taught basic computer skills which included preparing individual resumes, creating an email account and sending an email with an attachment. I know this sounds very mundane to us, but the ladies had not sat at a computer when they first arrived. By the time they left, they were quite confident and always eager to take their turn at the laptops.
We still have 8 ladies living with us who will graduate in December. Next month a new group will also join us for 12 months. All of this is possible because of you and your very generous and continued support. Empowering one woman not only makes it possible for her to feed, support and educate her family, the trickle-down effect will continue for future generations.
If you would like to continue to help us support the ladies, please spread the word by sharing this report on your Facebook page.
Asante Sana, thank you so very much.
Jennifer Hughes-Bystrom
.
Links:
In June our 2017/18 tailoring class will graduate. Our ladies will be fully prepared for a life they would have never dreamed possible if it wasn't for you and your continued support. Our ladies will have a trade and the skills to be able to feed, support and educate their children.
I would like to share a couple of our student's stories as I know you will feel very proud and privileged to be part of the amazing opportunities our ladies have been blessed with.
Caroline
Caroline is one of 7 children. Her family depends on casual agricultural labor to feed the family. They live in mud houses which are common Samburu shelters. Access to clean water was a constant challenge while Caroline was growing up. The girls would have to walk long distances to collect water, often missing school. Often during her childhood, the family couldn't afford a daily meal, so the children went without food. (These conditions have not changed for Caroline's family) Caroline arrived in June 2017 with her 6-month-old daughter, Sharleen. Due to her poor background, Sharleen was born underweight. When Caroline arrived the first thing we did was take them both in for the first check-up Carolina and baby Sharleen had ever had. Due to her malnourished state, the baby was put on a protein supplement formula. Caroline has blossomed as a result of receiving 3 healthy meals a day and Sharleen has developed into a happy, healthy baby girl.
Agnes
Agnes was born into a family of eight children. Agnes dropped out of school in form three (primary) after her parents were not able to pay her school fees. Agnes was married at age 14 after dropping out of school and has four children. Agnes burns firewood to sell charcoal to support her family. She also does casual labor. They live in a semi-permanent mud house with no piped water and electricity. As for bedding, they use cardboard as mattresses and bed sheets. In her rural village, Agnes has to walk 3 hours to fetch 20 liters of water.
Both ladies villages are in close proximity to Maralal, the crossroad for trade in Samburu. Upon graduation, the ladies will return to their rural area. They are planning on getting a microfinance loan from
WOMEN ENTERPRISE FUND (WEF) School uniforms are mandatory in Kenya, so a steady source of income will be supplying the local schools and boarding schools in the district as well as repairs and dressmaking from their Maralal based business.
As well as tailoring our students have learned valuable business, money management, and healthy lifestyle skills from the volunteers who have visited and shared their knowledge during their training. As they approach the final quarter of their twelve-month long training with us the ladies are eager to begin the next, exciting phase of their new life.
Thank you so much for your support and making this all possible.
Warmest regards,
Jennifer Hughes-Bystrom
Links:
Dear friends,
What an amazing year it has been for Springs of Hope Foundation, thanks to YOU!
Because of YOU, Kenyan women and their children are thriving and hopeful. Because of YOU, children are healthy and will soon be excitedly returning to school for another year of learning their parents could never have dreamed of. Because of YOU, children had good food to eat this year. Because of YOU, amazing, talented women are acquiring skills with which to start their own small businesses and support their children. And because of you, children not only eat well but also go to school, dreaming of a future free of poverty. We don't have enough words to thank you for what you've done because it is huge...it is life changing.
Thank you for caring for the women and their little ones we serve and for giving them a brighter future. You are the ones who allow us to keep working for them, providing them with priceless vocational and life skills training, medicine, medical supplies, clean water, food, school fees and supplies, self-reliance and HOPE.
As you make your end of the year giving decisions, please keep us in mind so that we can continue helping women and children in 2018 and beyond.
We wish you the best year ever, full of every blessing and happiness imaginable, knowing you are a hope-giver. If you'd like to learn even more about what we do or how you can meet some of the children you have helped, please contact me at jenniferhughes@springsofhopefoundation.org. I'd love to chat with you!
On behalf of the women and children we serve, Asante Sana and wishing you and your loved ones many blessings in 2018.
Warmest regards,
Jennifer Hughes-Bystrom
Founder/CEO
Springs of Hope Foundation.
Links:
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