Matanya’s Hope – Tis the Season
There is so much catching up to do with so many of you, but with the Holiday Season upon us, it is my deepest desire to share a recap of this very successful year at Matanya’s Hope. We could not do this without you!
First and foremost, I am grateful for every one of you, our donors and sponsors, who make our work possible in Kenya. I am attaching some Mission 2017 pictures so that you can see the miracles that you helped us to deliver through Matanya’s Hope and the mission team.
Students at Matanya Primary School are excited to thank their donors for the daily porridge and safe drinking water.
We distributed more rain water storage tanks than ever before! (23 ten-thousand liter tanks to be exact) Imagine the thrill of providing safe, clean drinking water for hundreds of students, orphans and families who have been forced to depend upon contaminated, bacteria infested river water.
This student is at a local river gathering unclean, bacteria laden water for his family to drink. Many suffer from typhoid and cholera due to drinking such contaminated water.
Students from CCM primary school in Nanyuki gather around the rainwater tank donated by Matanya’s Hope
We delivered over 3 tons of school supplies, shoes, backpacks, clothing, blankets and medical/hygiene supplies to literally thousands of impoverished school children and to remote clinics which serve them.
School children receiving book bags donated by the Dawn Brancheau Foundation in loving memory of Dawn.
This before and after photo shows the ongoing need for shoes that our children face. Your donations helped us deliver thousands of pairs of shoes to needy recipients.
“We were able to hand out more than a ton of blankets and clothes to those in need.”
A boy receiving clothing and boots at Kagaani Primary School.
Thanks to Jennifer Oliak and the many donors from Manhattan Beach, California, we added a deeply impoverished remote primary school to our porridge program and are now serving freshly made hot, nutritious porridge to an approximate total of 2,000 students attending 4 schools – daily! Prior, many of these students would go an average of 2 to 4 days without food.
Thanks to Oz of Salt, The Bertram Family, Verde Events, The Gail Scott Family, Stephanie Kazuba and Lucyna Czuba… Matanya’s Hope was able to deliver approximately 2,000 cups of hot, nutritious porridge daily this year alone! This is sometimes the only meal a child will have for an entire day.
We bring Hope and Education through our sponsorship program to hundreds of children and older students in need. Currently through your generosity, we have approximately 250 students enrolled in boarding schools, ranging from primary school through university, across Kenya. Matanya’s Hope is building a future for these students which will impact their families for generations to come. Accountants, nurses, pharmacists, aeronautical…civil and architectural engineers, chefs, teachers and lawyers make up some of our already graduated students.
Wafula was sponsored at the end of last year’s mission. Although he was the brightest student of his 8th grade class, he had no way of proceeding to high school. Today, Wafula attends one of Kenya’s leading boarding high schools and holds much promise for a bright future. As he puts it, “I am a future star, not a scar”.
Our work continues and needs your support as much as ever. When you celebrate the closure of 2017 and the beginning of the New Year, please think of the students we have not reached who need access to clean water, a bed and warm blankets, a jacket to keep warm, a pair of shoes to walk miles to school in, education, or even just a daily meal. These gifts convey the message of love and hope.
With much love from our precious student, Michelle Wangechi and all of those we humbly serve through Matanya’s Hope.
As you plan your end of year giving, please give generously; we are already gearing up for Mission 2018. There are many ways to help. Plan a bake sale, have a penny war at school, donate your proceeds from a garage sale, a read-a-thon, a church or synagogue project, or write a check.
Matanya’s Hope PO Box 562, Homewood, Il. 60430
