Flow of Hope

I've been hanging out with John Njane quite a bit and getting to know the area outside of Kijabe, which is quite isolated from the typical Kenyan lifestyle because of the missionary influence. For instance the Rift Valley Academy (RVA), which is a large school for missionaries children, is as nice as any school back home, with amazing ball fields, gyms, playgrounds, etc. And then the troops of baboons that hang around the perimeter are just a bonus. John is very motivated to help improve his community and has been a blessing to many people. He received some generous support from an individual when he was younger which allowed him to complete school and learn his trade in mechanical engineering. He was profoundly affected by this gift and opportunity to better his life and I suspect he will spend the rest of his life passing that blessing on to others.

Flow of Hope is his mission and is based on direct involvement from its benefactors, with the ideal that seeing and participating directly with community improvement here is the most practical for all. His mission is to instill a sense of hope in people so that they can strive to better their lives and to continue to hope for better and better things, thus the continued "flow" of Gods love and desire for us to care for each other. So, I will try to provide a brief overview of Flow of Hope here, which I have found to be very well thought out and organized.
Flow of Hope is the umbrella structure for multiple outreaches. Widows of Hope, I believe, was the first to develop and provides assistance to older ladies that are often supporting multiple grandchildren and kids in the community with little to no resources. These women have received house improvements, livestock, seeds, and assistance with school fees. As their houses are improved, it enables then to continue to care for their children and alleviate the risk of losing them to the streets (if there is not enough room at home, kids will leave to fend for themselves).

Then there are multiple trade programs targeting different groups. Thread of Hope is providing sewing machines and training for young women that often resort to prostitution as a means to support themselves. There are the street boys, which for now, John tracks down in the community to act as a role model and instill in them some pride in their appearance and demeanor, so that they may have a better chance of getting work. Currently he has organized soccer tournaments to get these kids involved. He hope to develop Wood of Hope (wood shop), Metal of Hope (metal shop) and Wire of Hope  (computer training).
With the sewing machines he plans to provide machines to individuals through a kind of micro-loan program, where they will be able to earn money and pay off the cost of the machine. The basis for all of this work is to enable people to be able to provide for themselves. The people here are very laid back, so if they are given too much, they will not be motivated to care for themselves. Another example of John's contributions are with school fees. The widow we visited yesterday owes a balance in school fees. John provided her with half of the money, a little more than $1 worth and expected her to work for the rest. When we arrived at her house, she provided a receipt showing the payment to the school that she made which was for more than he had given her. So, it is working.
Below is a picture and hopefully we will be back next week to do the work. Please pray that this will be a fruitful gift, beyond anything we can imagine in the short term. It looks like the cost for the roof will be around $500 and any contributions made to Katy's doctors account with World Medical Missions/Samaritans Purse will be  used for this project. (note, Flow of Hope is actively working on NGO status in Kenya and nonprofit status in the US, so that financial support can be direct, but for now, this is what we have come up with for interested donors. Please don't hesitate to contact Katy or myself directly with questions or interests in getting involved). Your continued prayers and thoughts are being received and very much felt in our hearts. It takes a special kind of grace and patience to be here and it is not something that we are accomplishing alone.

Peace,
Zach