Sierra Leone Recovers

This has been a very challenging few months for our orphanage in Sierra Leone as we have fought to keep our children safe in the midst of the Ebola crisis. Not only have we had the primary concern of the children's health in the midst of this crisis but we have also had to deal with the food shortages and rising cost of living associated with the economic meltdown that has followed the Ebola situation.

We are happy to report to you that all of our children and staff remain healthy and free from the virus. We have an enclosed compound where the 72 children and staff reside and we have been diligent under the leadership of Pastor Francis Rogers in maintaining a secure perimeter in which the children are isolated and safe.

We are also happy to report that the crisis as a whole in the country is abating. There has been a dramatic reduction in new cases being reported and schools are set to open in March for the first time in 10 months. The economic situation is still dire as food costs and living expenses for the children remain very high however we are praying for a reduction in these costs in the days ahead. We are looking forward to the situation returning to normal in Sierra Leone and we are anticipating being able to resume our trips later in 2015.

Thank you for your prayers for our children and for continuing to stand we NHI I as we reach out to these children who have suffered so much.

Slum School No More

One of our stated goals for 2014 was to move our New Hope Kibera Academy in Nairobi, Kenya from an adequate school working in the midst of a slum to a school which develops academic and spiritual excellence as an example to the entire community. We began in January with a reorganization of our entire school, lowering class sizes and demanding academic effort from all of our students, staff, and parents. We promoted this overall effort by enhancing the physical facilities, reducing class size, providing enhanced academic supplies, and focusing on growth and development for our professional staff. We are so excited to report that our efforts have produced even greater results than we had even hoped for.

As we near the completion of the calendar and school year in Kenya we are seeing the tests scores of our children reach levels that we have never witnessed before. Not only are our top students performing off the charts, we are also seeing the median progress of each class far outpace the other schools of the area.  We've also see great improvements in attendance, discipline enhancement, and behavioral progress. We are going to continue to challenge the students and staff of New Hope Kibera to not only be a great school in the middle of the Kibera slum but to be a model school for all of Kenya.

Fighting Ebola In Sierra Leone

Few things in recent memory have been more publicized and discussed than the recent Ebola crisis. As challenging as this has been for us in the western world, it is a full blown disaster for those who live in West Africa. It will be a long time before life returns to pre-crisis levels in places like Liberia and Sierra Leone. At New Hope Initiative we have been placed in the forefront of this battle as we maintain an ongoing critical presence in rural Sierra Leone at our Moribatown orphanage. Although the Ebola crisis has not been reported in Moribatown it has been confirmed in areas less than 10 miles away.

The Ebola crisis is placing difficulty and hardship in the path of everyone in that region and our facility is no exception. Unforeseen and unimagined challenges must now be faced. If the entire region is quarantined it will be incredibly difficult to find the food to feed our 72 children everyday. Our NHI leadership recently approved 6 months emergency food funding so that supplies can be stockpiled however many bank employes in that country are staying home so it took us weeks and weeks to even get the wire to Pastor Rogers and his staff. Listen to these other dire predictions for Sierra Leone.

The World Health Organization is warning that Sierra Leone may not be able to contain the spread of the virus with the potential existing for tens of thousands of new cases in the coming months. World hunger entities are warning that over 50% of the nations food crop is rotting in the fields or remains unplanted due to fears among farmers of contracting the virus. Most experts are predicting dire food shortages and famine in the coming months. The World Bank released a study last week predicting that the GDP for Sierra Leone, already one of the poorest countries in the world, will be cut in half for 2014 and 2015 causing an economic meltdown in that country. And most challenging, as the number of Ebola deaths continue to grow, will be the pressing need to care for those huge numbers of children who have been recently orphaned.

Would you help us by praying not only for Sierra Leone in general but specifically for Pastor Rogers and the children of our orphanage as well as our NHI I leadership team as we attempt to meet this crisis head on. Also will you be ready to help us in the days ahead as we try to financially meet the needs of our children in the midst of the coming economic crisis in that region.

A Hammer and A Heart

Our medical clinic in Arusha, Tanzania is a very well equipped facility with modern equipment including a full lab, X-ray, and ultrasound. We are a model for contemporary medical practice in East Africa. However, even with all of our ability we still regularly deal with situations in which we have to rely on the considerable skill and improvisational ability of Dr. Byemba and his staff. We recently saw a young man who had suffered a head injury eight years ago. The skull grew back improperly, giving him constant headaches and the embarrassment of having a misshapen head. He first came to our New Hope Initiative clinic several months ago desperately seeking help. Dr. Byemba recognized that this was outside the realm of our ability and encouraged the young man to go to the capital of Tanzania to seek a specialist. After spending all of his meager funds in the capital, he was unable to find anyone in the entire country who would help him.

In utter despair he returned to Arusha and begged for Dr. Byemba’s help. Knowing that his tools were inadequate, but possessing a heart of compassion and a confidence in his own skill, Dr. Byemba agreed to perform this complicated procedure. After purchasing a hammer and chisel from a local hardware store, the doctor skillfully and boldly reshaped the young man’s skull in a very complex procedure. Obviously Dr. Byemba prefers to use the most modern tools available, but wherever we lack the latest tools, we more than make up for it with skill, ingenuity, and heart. I am happy to report the young man is doing well. His headaches are greatly diminished and his head is cosmetically improved.

We ask our friends and partners to help us to equip the clinic with the very best tools available to us. It is our prayer that we will find the need to improvise less and less in the future. We currently have four pressing areas where further modernization is needed:

1. A blood analyzer for hormones and biochemistry
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2. A cast cutter to remove the large number of casts we have started doing due to our new X-ray.
3. A portable digital X-ray unit for greater imaging flexibility.
4. A generator capable of running the entire clinic due to the frequent electric outages in Tanzania.

It is this ongoing partnership between our local clinic staff and our western partners that makes the Olorien Community Clinic such a success.

The Teachers of New Hope

When we see improving test scores, smiling faces in pictures, and stories of children passing their 8th grade exam and moving into high school, we must remember the individuals interacting and challenging these students on a daily basis - their teachers. This summer New Hope Initiative tried something new with many of the short-term missions teams that come for a week or two. A few teachers joined a team for dinner each evening, allowing teams to get to know more about the teachers that run our school. We also had teams come to specifically work on professional development with the teachers. After getting to know a few of the teachers, Joshua Zukowski from Detroit Michigan responded, “…what they do is more than a job. They're doing it for so much more than giving the kids an education. They're giving the kids hope. They do what they do every single day because they know that by giving these kids an education they are giving them a fighting chance.” Joshua is not alone in this observation. Another volunteer named Sarah remarked, “EVERY one of the teachers has a heart for students and a deep desire to provide these kids with opportunities that could only be afforded them through education!” Their genuine love for the students drives these teachers to see the children improve their test scores, thereby making the advancement to high school a reality for all who attend New Hope Academy. As a result, many of the teachers come in on Saturdays to give the children an opportunity to learn more than they would if a normal workweek was observed. The teachers also seek to improve themselves professionally in order to better equip their students. This summer a team of teachers from Holland, Michigan spent considerable time working with the teachers. One of the volunteers, Ingrid, observed, “they were engaged and excited about learning new ways to develop participation in their classroom through building relationships with their students…The teaching staff of New Hope Academy, including Headmaster Festus, are incredibly hardworking, dedicated and faithful educators.” The teachers were very receptive to new techniques and many are also trying to further their own education.

We are very thankful for this passionate group of teachers and staff and we ask that you keep them in your prayers. Many of the teachers have long commutes for work, live far away from their families, and are balancing the challenging task of furthering their own education while also working. Pray for their families, security, their commute, professional development, and pray for their work with the students.