Newsletter Jan to June 2022

29th May 2022
We sent out our last actual newsletter on the 16th of January and a very brief prayer update on the 14th of April so hopefully we can bring you up to date with all that is happening and has happened at Home of Peace this year.

At the end of January 5 young people who had been at Home of Peace most their lives left us to begin a new life as adults in the ‘real world’

They had turned 18 years old and had completed their training at the Technical College and passed the official government exams in their trade.
Sending the 5 new graduates off with the basic equipment they need to start a new life, to follow their new careers. 2 Electricians, 2 Hairdressers / Beauty Therapists and a Dressmaker / Tailor, plus money for food & accommodation for the first 2 months and travel expenses cost us just over £850 

The very next day the Dept of Children’s Services contacted us to urgently take in a family of 5 children whose parents have ‘vanished’ leaving them behind.

They arrived below is a photo of them (with faces blurred) as they arrived and wearing everything that they own. Also a photo of them with their new school uniforms proudly getting ready to start school.

Our Manager reported that 2 seem badly malnourished and he arranged medical checks. We discovered  that  they were indeed severely malnourished, and one had sickle cell anemia.  We naturally arranged hospital admission as needed and medical treatment. After a month  at Home of Peace they would all be covered by our health insurance but not for their first month  but we could not just let them suffer so that cost us an additional £110 to get treatment started.
 
They arrived with just the broken tatters of clothing they were wearing so we also had to provide everything that they needed. BUT. This all costs money which was over and above our normal budget.
 
We needed to provide play clothes, school clothes, underwear, pyjamas, shoes, medical care, toiletries, and everything else for the 5 new arrivals. This cost around £600 but was a one-off cost.
 
They now face a new life, in a loving environment, with clothes, accommodation, medical care, good food, and an education.
On the 4th of Feb as our younger children at Home of Peace walked to Primary School a stray dog attacked them. 2 of our Children were bitten and one of our staff was also bitten. The dog also bit a further 9 people not connected to Home of Peace before it was captured. Whose dog was it? Nobody knows.

Our staff member and the 2 children were taken to the hospital and the bites were treated. They were also started on a course of rabies injections.
We are thankful that they were not badly injured.
 
Once again our bank account was hit as rabies is not covered under the health insurance programme.
 
We thank God they all recovered.

Home of Peace Children’s Home is situated in a remote rural location. Not far from a river with hippos.
It is a legal requirement that we keep the grounds secure against human and animal intruders to protect our children and staff. The entire place is therefore fenced but the old wooden fence posts eventually rotted due to rain and age, so we have had to install a brand-new fence.  
 
This was done in March. A wonderful Christian friend of the work very graciously covered the cost of the materials, and our staff  installed the new fencing.

EASTER was a time of great blessing at Home of Peace and we posted a video of the celebration on our Facebook page. A copy can be see if you Click the Picture

The new school year in Kenya began at the end of April. Their normal school year has always been Jan to Dec but this got messed up by the Covid pandemic and the Kenyan government has worked hard to re-adjust things. They reduced school holidays and managed to squeeze in an extra year to make up for the year that was lost. As a result, this academic year will run from May to Dec and then from next year we will be back on the normal Jan to Dec programme.

Naturally this meant we had to pay an extra year’s school fees for primary school, secondary school and tech college in May plus buy new school books, uniforms as needed for those who had out grown their uniforms or moved up from Primary to either secondary or tech.

This cost thousands of pounds but after we sent out the urgent prayer request in April. God miraculously provided. However, we will have to do it all again in December as they move to their next academic year and things then thankfully return to normal.

Education is so vital for their future.
We were delighted to get a letter from the head of the secondary school saying:

……. The School Board of Management through the secretary / principal kindly take this opportunity to convey their heartfelt appreciation for prompt funding of sponsored students by your institution. We also take note that the students from your institution have been performing wonderfully and of high integrity and discipline. This would have not happened in the absence of proper management of the institution……

We are delighted that 2 of our past children have managed to go on to study at University and a third is in the process of applying for a University place and another is looking at College places. For 2 of them this has been made possible through the generosity of sponsors.

The third sent us a lovely email a few days ago. Below is an extract.
It is such a blessing to see these young people who came to Home of Peace in desperate need and who, without our intervention, may well have starved to death or ended up with major problems and are now going on to become productive members of society.

But again it costs money.

Every 3 years all of our children need to be re-assessed and re committed to Home of Peace by the Children’s Court. This is good because it protects both the children and the children’s homes but as with any government bureaucracy it involves a lot of red-tape, and it has just cost us an additional £450 to get everything done to the level required by the courts.

Inflation in Kenya is currently 6.2% so the cost of everything has increased. Food ( we provide over 7,000 meals a month) clothes, fuel, even wages as the President of Kenya recently introduced new minimum wages and as a result we have had to increase what we pay our lowest paid members of staff.
 

Twice a month we purchase food supplies for Home of Peace.

Here is a picture of the last delivery of maize and also a list of the food supplies we typically need to buy.

Note these are in addition to what we grow ourselves.

Our sincere thanks to all those who, through their generosity, make this possible.
The inflation rate in the countries where most of our supporters live is also high.

For example, we are told that in the UK it is at a 40 year high.

This sadly has meant that some of our supporters have been forced to reduce their giving. As a result, we have reduced income with increased expenses.

We believe God has exciting plans for many of the children who are at Home of Peace and that from them many leaders will emerge. Keep praying for them.

If God touches your heart and you are able to help support this ministry, please give it serious consideration. Remember 100% of all money we receive goes to the Children’s Home. None is held back for our overheads. These are covered by our UK trustees in addition to their contributions to the ministry.
To support this ministry