A Different Kind of November

The slums, the poorest areas in Nairobi, are located in the Mathare Valley. Last January, only one Hope Center existed in the Mathare Valley, involving 200 children and their families. Thanks to churches like West Side, there are now 5 Hope Centers in the valley, serving more than 1000 people. 1000 more children will be added to two new centers in January of 2008. God is rocking the socks off of this place!

So…what’s a Hope Center, you ask? Hope Centers are community hubs in Mathare Valley neighborhoods where people are receiving holistic care and hearing the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

It starts with a school that provides children with clothing, health care, two meals a day and an exceptional education. They also receive services from a social worker who visits their homes and assesses family needs. If you currently sponsor a Kenyan child, attending this school and receiving these services is where your money is being well spent. In addition to directly helping kids, these schools employ dozens of people who’d otherwise be unemployed. Teachers, social workers, seamstresses, cooks and construction workers are all needed to make these schools run smoothly.

But the Hope Center doesn’t stop there. The Center ministers to parents as well. They provide counseling, HIV/AIDS prevention and support groups as well as employment opportunities for adults. Hope Centers are a vital part of their respective communities.

Community Health Evangelism (CHE) is also a vital part of the Hope Center’s ministry. Each center employs several health care evangelists who meet with people in the community to determine what the community needs in order to thrive. Each neighborhood has different needs- sometimes they need access to water, showers and bathrooms. Some communities need employment or economic opportunities. The community health evangelists train up local people to impact their communities.

Out of the CHE program comes micro-financing. When people show initiative to help themselves and their communities, the center will make small loans to those who will use the funds to build their own business. One example of this is when a seamstress from one of the Hope Schools shows a high level of commitment, the center will lend them money to purchase the sewing machine they work on. Over time, they pay back the loan and eventually own the sewing machine, thus allowing them to build their own business.

Everything the center does either educates or produces jobs. More than anything, the center instills the belief that people can become more than they are today with God’s help. These centers are about bringing hope and breaking the cycle of poverty in Mathare.

The Hope Center in Bondeni is sponsored by West Side. We will visit there later today.