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Dear Friends,
I can't express how proud I am of Antoinette and the team of volunteers who embarked on last week's trip to the West Pokot and Turkana regions of Northern Kenya. East Africa has been devastated by the worst drought in 40 years. With little rain in the past five years, rivers and watering holes have dried up and people and animals are dying from a lack of water. It was a long and exhausting trip, but in every picture, everyone on the team is beaming with the joy of being able to give to those who are so desperately in need.
Here is Antoinette's unedited report about their trip.
Thank you so much to everyone who continues to support our work, making it possible for us to immediately say YES whenever asked to provide food and assistance to those in need in times of crisis.
Warmest blessings,
Jennifer Hughes-Bystrom
Founder/CEO
Springs of Hope Foundation
It was a long and exhausting trip, but in every picture, everyone on the team is beaming with the joy of being able to give to those who are so desperately in need.
Jambo Everyone,
On 28th November 2022, as the representative of the Springs of Hope Foundation’s Kijiji Mission, I was privileged to be invited to join a one-week mission to Central Pokot and Turkana counties in northern Kenya. Mr. Nelson Kanandi, a long-time friend of mine, and his team of volunteers from Kutus organized this long and desperately needed mission trip, asking the Springs of Hope Foundation if we could offer support by providing much-needed food hampers. Our students at Kijiji Mission were not left out as they got to prepare the 300 food hampers we were donating, allowing them, for the first time in many of their young lives to share in the joy of giving back to their communities.
Early Monday morning we loaded the food hampers and started our long journey, arriving at our first overnight stop of Kapenguria very late that evening. On Tuesday, after some mechanical problems, we started our journey to Pokot Central, a journey of 140 km into the village from Kapenguria town.
The Turkana food was packed and loaded on a truck due to security, arriving in Lodwar a day ahead of the team. The food was distributed to the elderly in the first group peacefully. In the second group, a huge crowd overwhelmed our team, they all wanted a portion of the food we were distributing at whatever cost.
As the crowd grew larger we were forced to abandon the distribution and could not manage to take photos of the scene. The area has been hit with severe famine for the past five years whereby both animals and humans have succumbed due to severe drought. The food was distributed to the Turkana elders despite the shortcomings and we look forward to distributing more in the future with the help of the local peacekeepers. They were extremely grateful for the kind gesture as most had not had anything to eat for days. We arrived at Lumot center, Mosel village in the evening. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we woke up at 5 am due to the heat, for the outreach mission in the villages, walking for 8 - 10 km carrying our food hampers to distribute from homestead to homestead in the scorching Pokot sun. The area is extremely dry, without rainfall for the past 5 years.
Most homesteads we visited had nothing to eat and most of the wives were young girls between the ages of 13 to 20 years old with 2 to 7 children each. Most children do not attend school. There is no electricity, toilets, or bathrooms in the area and the bush serves all. The young mothers have to walk 5 - 8 km to the borehole to wash their clothes, bathe, and fetch water on their backs while their month-old babies are being carried on their chests. Many young girls are looking for opportunities to be sponsored to further their education due to the lack of school fees. However, the only opportunity for these girls would be a boarding school and as I have mentioned earlier, most of these young girls are promised into marriage at a very young age, often to a much older man.
We arranged to have the group of 35 elderly transported down from Turkwel under security by bus. We gathered the group at the church compound and distributed our food hampers to them. They looked frail, hungry, and unwell.
We also had the security of the Pokot warriors, always close by as the region has suffered a great deal of internal tribal warring.
As part of our mission, we counseled the adults on the illegal, devastating effects of FGM, and early marriage on their daughters, which is still commonly practiced within these communities. We counseled the youth on early marriages, FMG, and the need for education.
They were overwhelmed after receiving our food hampers, they sang and danced in appreciation.
May you all be blessed in whichever way you participated in saving a life.
Asante Sana,
Blessings,
Antoinette
Asante Sana,
Jennifer
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Hi,
At the beginning of the month, we were invited to accompany a group on a six-day mission trip into the severely drought-stricken region of West Pocot in Northern Kenya. Of course, we immediately said yes, as this region has been tragically affected by the worst drought in 40 years and is suffering from a severe food insecurity crisis.
It will take the team two days just to reach the region, so with the Springs of Hope Foundation's limited access to reliable transportation, this was an easy YES for us. Antoinette has been busy shopping for beans and maize all week, and our students have been busy preparing food hampers every evening in anticipation of Antoinette's departure on Monday, November 28th. We're all praying for a safe and blessed mission trip for Antoinette and the team.
Because of your continued support, we will be able to provide desperately needed food to hundreds of families in a region of Northern Kenya that has been severely distressed by the recent, devastating drought in this region.
Thank you so very much for making this trip happen,
Jennifer Hughes-Bystrom
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On Giving Tuesday, November 29, from 00.01 am, US East Coast Time to 11.59 pm ECT, GlobalGiving will give away $1.2 million to vetted nonprofits around the world in bonus funds as part of their #MoveAMillion campaign for Giving Tuesday. Your donation will help the Springs of Hope Foundation unlock a greater amount of those bonus funds!
For the past three years Springs of Hope Foundation has provided tens of thousands of desperately needed food hampers to the elderly, single mothers, people with disabilities, and needy families within the communities of Nakuru, Kenya, and extending further north into draught-stricken regions of Baringo and West Pokot. The need has been overwhelming, but we have managed to do this and much more with your generous support.
Please join us on Giving Tuesday, November 29th. Together, we can reach as many women, children, and elderly as possible with our free food hampers. Please mark your calendar today!
Thank you for your continued support and generosity,
Warmest regards,
Jennifer Hughes Bystrom
Founder, CEO
Springs of Hope Foundation
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As part of Springs of Hope Foundation's weekly food distribution program, last week we visited two of our favorite project partners, Malaika Initiative for People with Disabilities (Daycare center) which provides free therapy to children suffering from physical and mental disabilities due to cerebral palsy, meningitis and other birth defects. We are able to provide much-needed food hampers to the mothers, who find it very difficult to juggle earning a modest income as a daily house cleaner or field work and caring for the daily needs of their disabled child. Having a safe, reliable project such as Malaika Initiative is a true godsend to these over-extended mothers. At the request of the project manager, Lydia, our head teacher, Martha designed and taught our students how to sew reusable, washable diapers. Our reusable diapers have become a godsend to mothers as disposable diapers are an expense that is simply out of reach. On this trip, they also requested adult-sized diapers and plastic bibs. We also distributed our washable sanitary pad kits to the mothers and older girls. The donations will go a long way to help Malaika mothers as inflation has made providing one meal a day for their families very, very difficult.
The second group of (PWD) People Living with Disabilities that we have visited on a regular basis since the beginning of the Covid pandemic is at Shabaab Hall in a slum area of Nakuru. At the beginning of the pandemic, we distributed food hampers and facemasks. As we have come to learn of the many struggles this often shunned and ignored section of society has to struggle with daily, we have included washable diapers for children and adults living with disabilities and washable sanitary kits for teenage girls and adults. Most of the parents of children with disabilities are casual Labourers as they cannot hold full-time jobs due to the nature of their child’s disability. Due to their situation, most struggle to afford one decent meal a day. They also have to struggle to buy disposable diapers and medicine for their children. They are always extremely grateful to receive our food hampers along with the washable diapers and washable sanitary pad kits that will ease their struggle and now to keep their children dry and clean instead of using old rags. As for adults and the elderly living with disabilities, they have always had to rely on the kindness of family and community. The Covid 19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on this sector of the community. Our day ended with joy in our hearts knowing that we had made life a little more bearable and touched so many hearts.
Accompanying us were Regina and Susan our Kijiji Mission Project recent graduates who worked to stitch the washable diapers and pads while earning enough money to purchase their own sewing machines. They are now financially able to start their own business
During the week we were contacted by two new community groups, consisting of the elderly and disabled who need assistance with food hampers. The need is great and, despite the doubling of the cost of basics like beans and maize over the past 8 months, we always feel blessed that, with your support, we are able to say yes to the increasing number of requests.
Warmest blessings,
Antoinette Hoareau
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