Pastor Carlos W. Winterle - St. Thomas Lutheran Church

(A) VISITS:
Dr. Gert Heizer, his daughter Nina (Martina) and their friend Michael visited the work of Heart to Heart Orphan Children Center – HHOCC on 5th March with Rev. Carlos and Lídia.

In Kibera, Sally explained them the work that she and others are doing with the People Living With HIV/AIDS – PLWHA. Sally is the Ambassador of Hope

The Principal of Spring of Life Academy explained them how the school grows after it was burned down during the post-election violence in January 2008.

They saw the kitchen were the food is prepared for the children of the school.

They visited Kibera slum as well.

In Kawangware, they met with the Homeless Boys (Street Boys) and with the youth who are in charge of that program.

They saw the ongoing Orphans Feeding program.

Mosa Lisaliza explained to them how they are serving the different needs of the people, and how The Conquerors are doing their outreach through music and drama (read about The Conquerors in the previous BLOG/February 2010).

Dr. Gert is married to Martha Winterle – maybe a relative of us from very far; we didn’t find the family connection… They live in Austria and they came to Kenya on a mission among the Maasais in the Maasai area.

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Our friends Paulo and Elisa Luguesi came from Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil to visit with us from March 6th to 13th. Paulo is the former Chairman of our former CONCÓRDIA congregation; and Elisa is a Sunday School Teacher and the former Chairlady of the Women’s League.

They visited the Elephant Orphanage and other tourist sites in Kenya.

They visited the work in Kibera and Kawangware as well.

At the HHOCC Feeding Program, they saw the older siblings bringing their little ones to share the plate of food.

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(B) SCHOOL FEES + FEEDING PROGRAM

Besides the Orphans Feeding Program (5 days a week), HHOCC has also a School Fees program and gives support to People Living with HIV/AIDS – PLWHA. The children and their families enrolled in that program receive some food every three months. (HHOCC volunteers ready to distribute the food).

16th March was the day: The volunteers bought maize flour, rice, milk, cooking oil, bread, sugar, tea leaves, and some hygienic products.

15 families receive the packages of food this month (an average of US$ 12.00 per family).

They received also the Spiritual Food as the Evangelist Emmanuel shares the Word of God with them.

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On 19th March, HHOCC Board visited Chief Samson Malombe in Kawangware. He is organizing a school and he wants to work in partnership with HHOCC. He already put the name of the school as HEART TO HEART EDUCATION CENTER.

HHOCC Board is studying the best way to do this partnership.

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(C) HOMELESS BOYS

About 30 to 40 homeless boys (street boys) are enrolled in a program run by the youths in Kawangware, with the support of the Congregation, of HHOCC and other friends of FIKISHA KENYA (To reach Kenya). This program has the goal to give the boys a HOPE IN CHRIST, taking them from the streets, reconciling them with their families and putting them back to the school.

Douglas explained how the program is running, now that they have a small room to accommodate some of the boys for a month before sending them to a boarding school.

Moses Aboka is one of the leaders of that program. He wrote:” Before joining schools they have to undergo preparation period for one month. . During that time the boys attend tuition classes, besides we mentor them to drop out off drugs and live responsible lives.” – Moses sent me some stories and pictures that I will share with you now:

The first 5 boys that were prepared to go back to school

VOICE FROM THE STREET
"I was born in a loving family, with caring mum and dad on my side. But when I was 7, my dad was shot dead on the streets. My mum didn’t have a job at that time and with no source of income, she went into depression. Once in a while she would be called to do laundry work and earn Kshs. 200 (2$) per week.

Then when I was 9, my mum got re-married to a man who started to beat us and calling us bad names. He threatened mum by telling her that if she continued supporting us then he would abandon her. The wounds from the beatings couldn’t allow me to attend school regularly, besides I was absent from school on several days because of lack of school fees. But whenever I attended classes most of my classmates would laugh at me because I wore torn uniform.

When I was 11 years old I ran to the streets for comfort and companionship. I have great friends who love me in the streets. We share almost everything. But when it rains, we are usually so sick with no one to take care of us. My skin is full of lumps from the mosquito and lice bites. Sometimes it’s cold outside at night, I wish that I could be at home, but my mum doesn’t want to see me. When I lay my head on the stone to sleep I pray that the sun will rise early. But before it raises the policemen comes and beats me up, or even arrest me. I have been taken to police cells more than 10 times. The other day I was lucky they didn’t arrest me but they left me with a broken hand. If the policeman doesn’t show up then the bigger boys might sodomize me. They have done so to several of my younger friends. I’m now more terrified of the dark. God protect me one more night.

Just before the sunlight, I pick my bottle of glue and sniff it. I have sniffed jet fuel, smoked cigarettes, bhang and soon may start on pills. I also work as a luggage carrier, at times I ferry the illicit brew and the hard drugs.

When we meet with you, you call me chokora (scavenger). I lift my weak hands to greet you but you slap it away and hurl insults at me. Do you do this because of my tattered and stinking clothes or is it because I eat from the leftovers you throw from your house?

Why does nobody wants to think about me, not even my mother? I don’t know where my siblings are. I want to go back to school but I don’t know how. I want to stop taking drugs but no one trusts me. I don’t want to stay on the streets because someone might hurt me.

I’m alone in my world. Unless you come to rescue me, I may be shot soon by the policemen as I try to rob someone. Please help me because I’m not a street boy, am a child calling for help.

One boy with his grandmother and uncle. One of the goals is to reconnect the boys to their families.

Four boys at Fikisha Room

Morning devotion

RECOVERED HOPE

“I had already loosed hope with my life” said Kabue who had spent almost 9yrs of his 18 yrs as a street boy. After his parents separated when he was 3yrs, Kavue felt so bad and angry. His dad got remarried to a step mother who didn’t like him; she mistreated him on every single occasion. Despite Elvis not being a street boy, his father decided to enroll him into a Streets Children Rehabilitation School in order to reduce the pressure that he was facing from her ‘wife’. While in the centre, Elvis met several street boys who were being rehabilitated. They bullied him so much, by taking his food and beating him every moment. A friend of him from the centre introduced him to glue sniffing by persuading him that it will assist him in forgetting the rough life that he was facing.

When he couldn’t take the torments anymore, he run away into the city centre and became a street boy. His dad kept searching for him, while he kept evading him. One day he was arrested and remanded in a police cell for a week. He spent nights and days at the police cell, being beaten and forced to do hard labors. Later on his dad found him and took him back home. Unfortunately, her step mother was still hostile with him, and he decided to run back to the streets.

In December 25th 2008, Elvis followed other street boys to Kawangware Lutheran Church for the Christmas celebrations. “I was jumping and singing and this made me to be so happy” He commented. After receiving a few Christmas clothes, he was surprised to realize that there was a place in this world where he was appreciated and loved.

When the lesson of forgiveness was covered in November 2009, he remembered how desperately he needed to forgive his stepmother. Before he joined the preparation room, we had to visit his parents, and his dad shade tears (not quite normal for an African man) when he realized that his only child had decided to go back to school. Elvis forgave his step mother and said that he’ll be praying for her to prosper in life.

Right now, he doesn’t take drugs. Instead he encourages the younger Miracle Boys to be out of drugs. Sometimes he’s even sent to the shop with excess money and he always brings back the change. He’s catching up well in class despite his absence of 9 years. “For me being old doesn’t matter” he added “what matters is living a good life, and I can only live a good life when I’m educated”.

Laundry in the new showers block

Before going to sleep, he confessed that he didn’t remember the last time that he had slept on a mattress.

DANIEL THIONGO
Life for Daniel Thiongo had always been to wait until there is no man walking on the road so that he could lay his head on the stone to take a quick nap at night. Every time that he slept on the roadside, he kept wondering if it’s the policeman who will harass him or the older boys will molest him. The idea of the older boys molesting him, made him to join other small boys in a rather dangerous roadside as his place of sleep.
On the other hand, the thought of going back at home couldn’t cross his mind; he’d better sleep in the chilling night that live with mistreating and abusing step father. His real father left one day and never came back. Wherever he asked his mother, she beat him while telling him that the father went to abroad and will never come back. When he couldn’t take the beatings and abuses any longer he decided to drop out of school and seek refuge in the streets.
One day he followed his friends to Kawangware Lutheran Church for the special Sunday service, and what made him to be coming back is the love that he was shown and the warm cup of tea that he drunk. After attending the rehabilitation program (Tuesday & Thursday), he showed improvements from reducing the intake of inhalants; participation in group activities and willingness to go back to school. That’s when he was picked by the mentorship team to be amongst the first kids in the back to school list.
During his first night at the preparation house, Daniel confessed. “I can’t remember the last time that I slept on a mattress”. The next day he was very jovial to be drinking warm tea before joining the rest in the tuition program.
Since then, he’s showing great signs of improvements both emotionally and in classroom. His favorite subject is Science and he’d like to be a pilot. His first word to write on the Fikisha wall was “Nampenda Mungu-I love God”
PLEASE, READ AND SEE MORE AT
http://picasaweb.google.com/moseabo/FikishaKenyaPreparationDepartment02?feat=email#
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(D) HANDCRAFTS

HEART TO HEART (HHOCC) has a program to enable the People Living with HIV/AIDS – (PLWHA) to do some handcrafts.

These handcrafts are sold by HHOCC and the income helps the PLWHA to have some money to their needs.

The women come together to learn how to do it; and those who know it better teach the others.

Alison Dumas is our contact in the USA. She wrote:

"The easiest and least expensive way for Americans to send money to HHOCC through me is to write a check to Hope for Living and mail it to:
Hope for Living
PO Box 2117
Shingle Springs, CA 95682

If they want to send the money for a specific project, they should include a note that explains that. You might want to explain that Hope for Living is the name of the American "branch" of HHOCC, and all funds they send will go directly to HHOCC. You might also include that Hope for Living is a tax-exempt non-profit corporation in the USA. If they want more information about Hope for Living and HHOCC, they can check out the website www.hope4living.org.
We can also accept donations through that website, either by credit card or PayPal. Both of those options include the vender charging about 3% of the contribution amount as their fee.
People can also do a bank transfer to Hope for Living, but that's an expensive way to send money. As long as the people live in Canada or America, mailing a check is the easiest and least expensive way to send money. Then all the funds can to go HHOCC.
If people have questions or want more information, they can contact me at alison@hope4living.org.