TOP 10

TOP 10 FACTS

We have developed a Top Ten list of things to know about the Missions of Hope. We pray that these facts and needs speak to interests of yours and give you concrete and practical ideas about how you can partner with us.

1. We help people mainly in the villages. Many of them are widows and orphans of the Kalenjin tribe and they live in different villages near Kericho in the Great Rift Valley. The people in this area are mainly Kalenjin and speak the Kipsigis language. More recently we've been undertaking food relief to the Pokot people in north western Kenya.

2. Basic food of the Kalenjin people is ugali made from corn.

3. Basic foodstuffs we must buy: flour, oil, rice, sugar & tea leaves.

4. Other daily food needs include: milk, green veggies, sometimes potatoes when they can be planted. It is expensive to buy all this so better to have cows and plant veggies.

5. Meat and fowl for the diet is something we do not often have. We mainly eat stewed goat and chicken when we have it.

6. Things we buy when we can: bar soap, toilet paper, toothbrush & toothpaste, blankets, shoes, school uniforms, school supplies, doctor and medicines when children get sick. Currency rates have fluctuated about 30 Kenyan Shillings on every dollar since 2008. Inflation is very high and basic costs for daily food has doubled or tripled in some cases.

7. Most of the villagers live in mud huts with tin or thatched roofs. Mud must be repaired on a regular basis as it falls off.

8. Mud huts do not have electricity or plumbing. Kerosene lamps & candles or solar lanterns which are better for the environment.

Homes in the Village

Traditional round mud hut of the Kalenjin villagers

More contemporary version of the Kalenjin mud hut

9. Basic sanitation and hygiene needs of the villagers must be met (pit latrines, fresh water for drinking & bathing, clean air (jiko stoves, solar lanterns) and other things.

10. Basic bedding must also be provided to most households: beds, mattresses and warm blankets.

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Kericho, Kenya lies in the highlands west of the Great Rift Valley. It was colonized by the British who established great tea plantations.

Tea Picking in Kericho

Now that I have told you what our list of daily needs are, I just want to share with you on personal level that it is very challenging here for us to meet our daily needs and help others in our villages. We are doing the best we can. By God's grace, we are believing for more faithful supporters to accomplish the tasks ahead so that we can bring hope to the people and glorify the Father.

We encourage you to pray about your part in these Missions of Hope.