Annual Letter 2024 – Hearts Of Hope International

There is a saying that our Kenyan friends often use, “Thus far the Lord has helped us”. This saying comes from 1 Samuel and refers to a time in the history of the nation of Israel when they had committed to putting away their idols and serving the Lord wholeheartedly. Samuel was serving as the leader of Israel and the Philistines were on their way to attack. When the Lord rescued Israel, “Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’”. Ebenezer means “stone of help”, and an “Ebenezer” has come to mean a remembering of all the times and ways that the Lord has been faithful.

This year’s letter serves to me (Nancy) as an Ebenezer of all the ways the Lord has helped us in the last year. It’s truly an honor for me to think about and write to you all the ways we have seen the Lord’s hand move Hearts of Hope International forward in the last year. So, my friends, buckle up, this is going to be good!

In the fall of 2023, we launched a new program to scholarship secondary (high school) students. Our Program Manager in Kenya, Jane, was confronted first hand with what we knew from the statistics, that only 36% of students from our villages complete their secondary education largely due to lack of school fees. Jane happened to be in the field on a day that large numbers of students were sent home from school due to failure to pay tuition. As a result of this encounter, we decided to allocate part of our budget to scholarship these students in an effort to build relationships and create a feeder program for our Vocational Scholarship Program. We met with school principals during our last trip to Kenya and developed a strategic plan to identify the students with the most academic potential and also the most financial need due to the poverty level of their family. Our dream is that each of these children of God would live up to their full potential equipped with a solid foundation of education. These kids are a long-term investment and we are confident they will be a huge blessing to their communities.

In addition to the new Secondary Scholarship Program, we have launched two other new training opportunities for our scholarship students. One is our annual Entrepreneurial Training Workshop. All of our vocational students now have the opportunity once a year to attend a government certified weeklong workshop and develop a two-to-three-page business plan. Students who complete this training as well as their vocational training qualify to apply for a micro grant from us for up to 50% of the cost for equipment to start their own businesses. The final new program that we launched this past year is our annual Career Guidance and Leadership Training for our secondary students. This six-week course is for students who have completed secondary education and helps them identify their strengths and giftings and ultimately helps them determine vocational choices where they can be successful.

As we have grown, the administrative load has been a challenge so last September we started looking for administrative help on the Kenyan side. It took a while to find someone with adequate computer skills. The training via Zoom has been challenging. An 8-hour time difference coupled with frequent Kenyan power outages and internet challenges were frustrating at times. Thankfully, we have made progress little by little and as of this writing Esther is in the process of moving from a temporary worker in training to a salaried employee. With the additional employee, it was finally time to secure space for an office. Jane continues to use the truck as her office when she is in the field but now also has a nice space with an actual desk to work from.

In January of this year, Kevin and I travelled to Kenya together for the first time since 2019 (due to both Covid travel restrictions and his work schedule). His big picture thinking and business skills helped us make a difficult decision to end a relationship with one of our Vocational Schools that we found to be inferior to our standards. This discovery opened the door to new opportunities and has led us to make an investment in a school that does have high standards. We have entered into a partnership with Word of Truth Technical and Vocational Centre through making capital investments in their infrastructure in exchange for credits for future Vocational Training for our scholarship students. We find it to be a mutually beneficial partnership. Our students will receive excellent training that includes Christian Education as part of the core curriculum and Word of Truth receives a much-needed capital infusion to foster their growth. We have already broken ground to build a facility that will eventually hold both additional classrooms and have space to accommodate boarding students as well.

In November of 2023, we decided that it was time to move forward with establishing a mirror organization in Kenya by registering there as a foundation. Our first step was to identify Kenyan Board Members to advance our work on the ground. Our dearest brother and longtime partner Pastor Joseph accepted the position of Board Treasurer and Kevin will serve as Board President. I’m thrilled to have a young woman on the Board as well. Margaret, one of our stand-out scholarship recipients who has recently completed her training in Elementary Education, has accepted our invitation to be our Board Secretary. Margaret knows first-hand that a Hearts of Hope Scholarship can bring hope, change a life, and instill confidence. Her experience and insight will be invaluable as we continue to grow our ministry.

Next, we hired a lawyer to help us navigate the system to register as a Foundation in Kenya. Then we waited. And waited some more. And waited some more. And finally, in August we received our certification of registration as Hearts of Hope International Foundation in Kenya.

Thus far the Lord has helped us:

Launch a Secondary Student Scholarship Program.
Launch annual Entrepreneurial training open to all of our vocational students.
Launch Career Development and Leadership Development training for our secondary students.
Hire and train a new employee in Kenya.
Open a physical office in Kenya.
Enter into partnership with an excellent, trustworthy, Christian Vocational School.
Break ground on a school and dormitory facility.
Establish a Board in Kenya to lead us into the future.
Receive Certification as a registered foundation in Kenya.

All in one year’s time. I told you it was going to be good. Let this be our Ebenezer stone. Amen.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” ~ Romans 15:13

For His glory,

Kevin & Nancy Sell
Co-Founders
Hearts of Hope International, Inc.