Sustainable Food Project for Children in Kenya

Restoring Hopes is still committed in our effort in ensuring that families affected/infected by HIV/AIDs are becoming self-sufficient.  We are not stopping our work until we see that they can stand on their own.  In our journey towards our vision we want to give a BIG thank you for supporting us through our various projects (sisal, garden, orphanage, tailoring, pigs and school). With your support we are seeing a great impact in families directly benefiting from our program.

I wanted to share with you more specifically about Barb who is an employee in our sisal project.  She does twining work in producing good quality sisal twining rope that are being sold in hardware shops and supermarkets. She is a 38 years old widowed for now 7 years. She is HIV positive and has accepted her status with 6 children of her own.  The sisal project has been a “backbone” and a provider to her family. Before this project she was jobless and was working on people’s farm to earn an income, this being seasonal work she did not have a secure job of her own to depend upon. Because of the sisal project she now has a secure decent job and she is able to comfortably take care of her family through the provision of food, medication and paying school fees for her children. She loves her work and is proud to be associated with the project. And on behalf of Restoring Hopes, we are proud to spark hope to many families, and we thank you for working side by side with us to see that we achieve our goal.

Everyone here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, and our partners in Africa, thank you for your continued support of this important project.  If you would like to learn even more about this project and others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org. 

It's been an unusual year in all parts of the world, and we are not an exception with the devestating effect of Covid-19 affecting our operations.  Though we feel the effects of the virus, we've had some great strides and success in our work and I'm excited to share it with you.

Our organization was started with a vision to see NO hunger amongst the families affected/infected by HIV/AIDS within our region of Miwani.  We work with women in our projects as agents of positive change in the lives of the families.

Our garden project creates jobs to 12 women working three days a week earning a livable wage so that they can take care of their families while also ensuring that the project is growing to be self-sustaining.  Lila is one of the women who is affected by HIV/AIDS, having lost her husband 10 years ago, and is working in our garden project.  She is 42 years old and was raising 6 children with no job.  Life was so hard for her that at some point she ended up in prostitution to make ends meet for her family.  Thanks to your support and generosity, she can now earn a decent daily wage from a job she is currently working three days a week at our community garden.  Lila can now smile that things are not all bad with her life.  She can comfortably provide enough food for her family, pay the school fees for her children and pay for medication for herself and her children when needed.

On behalf of every woman employed in our project, we send a BIG THANK YOU!  

Everyone here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, and our partners in Africa, thank you for your continued support of this important project.  If you would like to learn even more about this project and others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org. 

I would like to tell you about Ama.  She is one of the grannies earning a living through our sisal project by making sisal rope.  She is raising five grandchildren and it overwhelms us with happiness that she is soon graduating from poverty.  How?  With the savings from her sisal earnings, she has been able to plough the piece of land that her husband left her with.  She bought seeds that will be enough to plant in her land, and now she is just waiting for the rains so she can plant.  I asked Ama how she got enough money to plough and buy seeds.  She responded, "I used to save money in a small pot inside the house and when I opened the lid, I was surpised to have saved enough money."  Ama went on to tell me how is she is self-sufficient now.  Meals are not a problem and she can comfortably pay the subsidized school fees and medication needed for herself and her grandchildren.  She finished by saying, "I can not imagine how my life would be without the sisal project.  I am praying for AFCA who has made my life good now and decent.  May God provide for all that AFCA needs so they can help many more like me."

Our garden project is transforming lives and giving many families hope for smiles, as now women working in our garden project are earning a fair daily wage.  They are happy to be able to provide food, pay school fees and start their own income generating activity.  Penny was able to start her small business project of cooking and selling food to school kids.  She is able to manage her time for garden work and her business so well that she can earn even more to keep herself self-sufficient.  Penny will also soon be graduating from poverty!

All our programs are geared towards transforming the lives of those affected or infected by HIV/AIDS and we are looking forward to the day that HIV/AIDS will not be present in our community.  Until then, nothing will stop us from our work.  A big shout out to the donors and friends who have made it possible for us to bring hope and transform lives in this part of the continent.  We say THANK YOU!

Everyone here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, and our partners in Africa, thank you for your continued support of this important project.  If you would like to learn even more about this project and others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org. 

I have a lot to share with you.  First of all, you are our hero!  It is because of your support that families working in our projects are now able to sustain their families and there is a BIG difference in their lives now!  Some can now start their small business, buy food, take their kids to school and live a decent life.  

I'm including a photo of one granny, who has been working in the sisal project for the five years, and she is a widow and one of our prayer warriors. This project means everything to her life and the lives of her children. She is raising 5 children and it is because of this project that now she can feed her family.  Yesterday she showed me a dress that she bought with the money from her work. 

There is a sense in which this project has been an icon of hope to many families directly and indirectly benefiting from it. Our garden and sisal project participants can now start there small business like cooking and selling bajia (fried potatoes) when they are in their homes and they are able to have a bit of savings.  WHAT AN IMPACT!!!

We thank you for your support and for walking with us together in saving families and children affected/infected by HIV/AIDs.

Everyone here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, and our partners in Africa, thank you for your continued support of this important project.  If you would like to learn even more about this project and others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org. 

To our friends at AFCA, I wanted to share with you yet another impact story about our project impacting the lives of AIDs affected families.  As you know, the locust invasion in our area was terrible.  THANK YOU a million times for helping save our garden with nets.  We keep on harvesting and selling our vegetables more than ever.  Now we harvest and sell almost every day at our local market!

Meet Lydia, a mother of three children.  She is one of the women working in the garden project since February of last year.  After her work in the garden, she goes to the market with the vegetables in the afternoon to sell in our new stall.  She is able to take care of herself and her kids.  As I was interviewing her yesterday, she is able to provide three meals (breakfast, lunch and supper) to her family.  She is now saving to purchase a mattress for herself as she did save and was able to buy her mattresses for her kids just last month.  Lydia said that since she became one of our direct beneficiaries, her kids have not been sent away from school because of fees, and not a day has passed without having food in her house!!  Talk about a great impact!!!   She is able to put on good clean cloths and she is proud to have dignity in her community just like other women.

Everyone here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, and our partners in Africa. thank you for your continued support of this important project.  If you would like to learn even more about this project and others, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org.