Lives Impacted

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 NIV

We come alongside community members and meet them where they are. By starting with what they have and partnering with them to fill in the gaps, it is our goal to find dignity embracing solutions to their very real challenges.

SOLOMOM – COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING

We are over the moon proud of our recent graduate Solomon. He has successfully completed his three year program, graduated, and passed his licensing exam. Solomon is now a Registered Community Health Nurse. Solomon has an amazing work ethic. On school breaks he worked as a day laborer on construction sites. Prior to entering nursing school, Solomon was committed to helping the elderly in his community. Solomon and his mother recently paid a visit to Madam Jane to express their gratitude for Solomon’s scholarship. They brought a rooster with them as a thank-you gift. Now Solomon has a diploma to go along with his care for people and his work ethic. He is a wonderful asset to his community!

LIZZY – DRESSMAKING

Lizzy, a farmer and a mother of six, has been busy apprenticing with a local business in Dressmaking since September of 2022. Lizzy has an amazing heart for service! Before she started her apprenticeship she was active in promoting literacy through volunteer adult education programs in her community. Lizzy has a vision of serving the community by empowering the young generation. Her dreams for the future include managing a local uniform supply center as well as offering school uniforms to orphans in her community.

PETER – CATERING

Peter is a year and a half into his two year training in Catering. He has taken full advantage of being able to work hard without worrying about school fees. Peter tells us “Thank you so much for showing me the way to achieve my goal.” Peter is happy with his training school and inspired by his friends. He is even taking on catering events outside of school with his friends to earn some extra income. Peter’s application caught our eye with his statement that “…nothing great comes easy and with God everything is possible”. Well said Peter, those are words to live by. We believe that Peter and his peers have the potential to change their community by lifting it out of poverty.

HANNAH – EMBROIDERY

Hannah has been doing casual labor when it is available since she graduated from the eighth grade. In the mean time, she got married and had four children. Now at the young age of 44 she has decided to continue her education with vocational training. Hannah’s choice is Embroidery and she is in good hands apprenticing at a local business in a nearby town. As a busy mom, she has able to go to her apprenticeship training one or two days a week and still make excellent progress. Hannah’s goal is to start a business, increase her income and change her living conditions. Hannah proves that you are never too old to make new goals and learn new things!

JAMES – MOTOR VEHICLE MECHANICS

James recently completed his one and a half year training in Automotive Engineering (Motor Vehicle Mechanics). James thanks God for bringing him into the Hearts of Hope International Family. Although we provided James with a scholarship for 80% of the cost of his training, a microgrant to purchase tools, and entrepreneurial training, James got so much more! James says that the course that Hearts of Hope provided to him allowed his dreams to come true. James now has confidence that if he arrives on the scene of a broken down car, he can make a correct diagnosis and repair the vehicle. James has grown in his leadership skills as he is now able to teach and encourage the youth in his community. James also has an opportunity to live out his moral values by earning an income honestly working at a trade. James is part of a growing community of youth that can now do things as a result of training that they were unable to do before Hearts of Hope came to their villages. James is proof positive that training works!

ANASTASIA – HOSPITALITY

Anastasia is 19 and after completing her secondary education last year she had a unique opportunity to work part-time in her aunt’s catering company. It was there that she developed a passion for hospitality. Thanks to a generous donor, Anastasia is currently training at a regional government school in Hospitality. She is hoping to earn a diploma and qualify to be a supervisor. Anastasia has a wonderfully positive outlook and is happy to be studying in an area of hew own choosing. Recently, Anastasia invited our Program Manger, Madam Jane, to come to her school in Nairobi for her practical exam. The menu included tomato cucumber salad, sweet and sour pork, mashed potatoes, julienne of carrots and french beans, pancake with chocolate sauce and coffee. She did a great job serving Jane and seven others at her table!

JAMES – SCRUB NURSING

James is 21 years old and the youngest of 3 brothers all raised by a single mom and ailing grandmother who support their family by farming. Because the program was full, James had to wait patiently for several months to start his training for a certificate in Perioperative Theatre Technology (Scrub Nursing) . We put James on a waiting list, paid a deposit, and James persevered in waiting. As you can see in the picture, the waiting was worth it! We have a devoted sponsor for James, and this most recent school term, James is doing a practical rotation that will help him gain experience sterilizing equipment in the surgical theatre, receiving patients from the hospital ward to undergo surgery, and assisting the surgeon. He will then rotate to the Female Ward and lastly the Outpatient Department. Keep up the great work James, we are so proud of you!

ESTHER – HAIR DRESSING

Esther is married with four children and hopes to use her hairdressing training to become self-employed, contribute towards her families’ needs, and help the needy and vulnerable in her community. She says that Hearts of Hope International has given her hope for the future because now she has big dreams. Esther completed her training but wasn’t quite ready to open a business yet. We helped with a micro grant to pay for half the cost of a blow dryer so she can work out of her home. This is a great step for Esther as she builds her experience and her client base. Great job Esther, keep going one step at a time!

TERESIAH – COMMUNITY HEALTH NURSING

Teresiah is 32 and a single mom. At a very young age she took care of her ailing father. Teresiah’s dream has always been to be a nurse. She patiently waited for 13 years (since completing secondary school) for this hearts desire of hers to come true. Thanks to a generous donor, Teresiah has no fear about her tuition being paid on time and she can fully focus on her studies. Trust us, her grades reflect this peace of mind that allows her to excel in her studies. She has been training to be a Community Health Nurse for almost two years now. Her grades continue to be the very best! She rotates back and forth between the classroom and the hospital doing practicals. We are so proud of you Teresiah, keep up the great work!

SAMUEL – MEDICAL ENGINEERING

Samuel was raised by his grandmother and had a lot of struggles with his education due to lack of school fees. His dream has always been to pursue a medical related course. Samuel was our very first scholarship applicant back in 2019. After three and a half years training as a Medical Engineer, Samuel has now completed his training.His final project was a temperature monitoring and control system for a newborn unit. Congratulations Samuel, we celebrate your perseverance through a pandemic and other challenges to complete your training. We pray God will bless your resilience.

MARGARET – TEACHING

Margaret is our first scholarship recipient pursuing a diploma in teaching. Last year she completed a voluntary internship in a local primary school with the responsibility of teaching 53 second graders. We were able to divert her tuition for the internship semester to purchase a laptop as she was previously writing 30 page papers on her cell phone. The laptop not only blessed Margaret but many of her fellow classmates. Out of 80 students in her class, only 10 had laptops. Margaret was able to share her laptop with 50 other classmates during exams. Margaret exemplifies a challenge that we give to each student: Trust God, Work Hard, Be Kind. As we are able to bless Margaret, she just keeps blessing others!

HEARTS OF HOPE BAKING CLUB

After our Hearts of Hope International catering class came to a completion, two women asked if they could have a scholarship for a pastry/baking course with a commitment that they would train the other women. Jane and Beth took the course together and have been true to their word. Together they have started a baking club with other women from their catering class as well as some women from their community. Each month Jane & Beth teach the other women baking and pastry skills. They are constantly introducing new recipes and cake frosting techniques. Ovens are rare in Kenya so they practice baking over coal stoves as well as baking in ovens. The women love both learning and coming together in fellowship. Jane and Beth are great role models and we love how they have been a blessing to others in their community.

WINFRED – KNITTING

Winfred is a wife, mother of two, and a farmer who took her maize, cabbages, carrots and beans to the market at 4AM to be able to come back at 8AM to attend her knitting apprenticeship. First she learned knitting with thin yarn, then she learned knitting with thick yarn. She next learned to make her own patterns for the knitting machine. She also took advantage of out Microenterprise training for budding entrepreneurs. Winfred is a very hard working woman who is building her business one step at a time knitting school sweaters and baby hats.

PENNINAH – BRAILLE AND BRAILLE KNITTING

Penninah is a woman of persistent prayer. In 2007 she started having eye problems and eventually the treatments stopped working and she lost her eyesight. That’s when her husband left her with her daughter to raise alone. After she lost her eyesight, she prayed for 10 years for an opportunity to receive training to be able to support herself and her daughter. We were able to enroll Penninah in a school for the blind to learn Braille first and then learn to use a Braille knitting machine. Penninah worked hard for three years to complete her training. We were able to help Penninah further with the purchase of a Braille knitting machine and she is now able to work from her home knitting sweaters and making some income to support her daughter with.