Horizons Foundation newsletter – orphanages in Kenya
When you have Love . . .
A few months ago, Bishop Washington Amara (pronounced eye-you-ga) noticed that several of the oldest boys in the orphanage were coming home late from school. After watching this happen for several days, he called the boys together and asked them why they kept coming home late. They all looked down at the ground until one boy said that they had been helping an elderly widow on their way home from school. He said they had been taking water to her, washing and caring for her as she could not go get water for herself.
She lived in a mud house with dirt floor with some old tin sheeting overhead that leaked badly. She had no furniture in the home and no windows in her bedroom area at all. She had placed some old clothing on the floor for a bed and tried to avoid the water coming thru the porous roof. One side of her house was also caving in due to the serious rain washing out the mud/dung mixture used to build the home many years ago.
As Washington inquired further, he found out that the boys had also been taking part of their food to her so she would have something to eat as she has no income and is literally dependent upon the kindness of her neighbors for help. The first picture I saw of her was of her setting on a mud step leading into an open door into her house.
Washington reached out to his Australian partners and told them her story. They responded by sending some money for building supplies for a new home for her. The boys responded by building wood framing for her new house as a gift of love.
Then, they added watertight tin roofing, a door and windows. Then they completed the walls with the mud/dung mixture to make it watertight.
Then they brought in younger children to help with spreading the mud/dung on the walls. This is a photo of all who helped. The lady who now has a new house is setting in a new chair with new clothes on.
Here is a picture of the lady in front of her new house, with curtains at her windows, built entirely by the orphans.
These children have been taught to share the love of Jesus with everyone they come in contact with. And they are definitely “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you”. These children started with nothing but love. When God puts love in your heart, there is no limit what He can do thru you!
There are no limits to God’s Love.
The orphanage continues to care for 64 children.
Please pray for the safety of all the orphans and food deliveries in August 2022.
August is an especially dangerous time to be traveling on the roads in Kenya as it is election month. Five years ago, in the last Presidential election, many people were killed as the various political groups demonstrated and then later marauded thru the cities killing many people who supported the “wrong” party. Very few people traveled the highways due to fear of being beaten or killed during that time. This makes getting food delivered or picked up to be a very dangerous job and what little food is available becomes scarce and very expensive. Due to the dangerous environment, the Principal of the school sent all the children home for safety. Election day is August 8, and hopefully thereafter things will return to normal.
That, combined with rising prices on food is the number one concern of the Directors of the orphanage as it is getting more and more expensive to feed the children. Compared to January of 2022, the cost to feed the children is about 40% more, here in July 2022.
The plans to make the orphanage Financially Self Sufficient are currently paused as negotiations to purchase the 2 acres adjacent to the orphanage are currently at a standstill. The owners of the property say they have located a buyer for the property who is willing to pay 60% more than the price they have offered the property to us. Washington, the Kenyan orphanage Director feels that this is just a ploy to try to get more money from the Americans. As a result he has refused to pay any more than the price they had previously agreed upon. He is going to see if there is a real buyer or just a ploy to try to get more money for the property.
If you know of others who want to know more about this project, please get me their email addresses.
Some call me Al, some call me Dad
636.634.5805
Donations may be sent to Horizons Foundation, PO Box 596, St. Peters MO 63376 –
100% of your donation is passed onto the Directors of the orphanage.