Penda Project Grows

Our incredibly successful scholarship program takes young people from our Kibera Primary School and helps them to further their education into secondary school, college, and university. Here is the record of 5 years of amazing growth.

• From 14 to 121 high school students
• From 14 to 41 students yearly that pass their entrance exam
• From 1 to 15 college students
• From no sponsors to 89 sponsors from 17 different states.
• From a staff of 2 to a staff of 7
• From a yearly budget of $4,200 to a yearly budget of $70,000

This incredible record of growth in such a short period of time presents incredible challenges as well. We now have 41 brand new high school freshman who are in need of a scholarship in order to attend secondary school in 2015. We have allowed these young people to enter school in a bold step of faith and we are searching for new sponsors who will commit to $30 or $50 dollars per month to cover the cost of either day school or boarding school for one of these wonderful young people. This is one of the very best investments you could ever make, literally giving these young people a chance for a future.

If you are interested in sponsoring a specific student please visit www.kiberapendaproject.com or email Kelsey Baird at kelsey@kiberapendaproject.com

The Penda College Experience

We are very excited that the number of college and university students in our Kibera Penda Project has risen to 12. These are the very first classes to matriculate to this level and the number of Penda college students will continue to rise rapidly in the years ahead as the program matures. Although the Project pays for the tuition of the students so they can attend school, it is the responsibility of the student to find money to cover the amount of their living expenses. This is not only a financial necessity for the project but is also a healthy balance for the students so they can grow and mature in every area of life during their college years.

Some of our students are very fortunate and can live and eat at home during these challenging years. Other Penda project students must work enough hours to be able to fund their own living expenses. Several of our young men are taking college classes at night and are working construction during the day on other New Hope Initiative building projects. We have a group of students who are being trained and prepared to apply for jobs in the hospitality industry that will not only pay their living expenses but also provide them internships in their chosen field of study. You can imagine that working all day and going to classes all evening is a very challenging schedule. It will take great commitment and time management for these students to be successful at both.

We want to thank those of you who sponsor these wonderful students. You are making a profound impact in their lives. We also ask you to pray for them that they will be able to manage effectively the challenges of their rigorous schedule.

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.

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.

Ethiopia Update

Jorgo Academy School is in the village of Bishoftu, Ethiopia. Jorgo is an Oromo name, which means "a large tree giving refuge to those in need." We feel it is a very fitting name for this school and representative of what we are called to do as followers of Jesus Christ. On July 1st New Hope Initiative officially took over the property and the school. Currently, Jorgo Academy serves nursery through sixth grade. We had 80 new students pre-register for the coming year, which will double the enrollment for the upcoming school year.

Since May, the property and facilities underwent some cosmetic changes and additional changes to enhance the property and make it a safe environment for the children. We painted all the buildings and classrooms and renovated the inside bathroom in the preschool area. We have changed the toilets from Turkish (on the floor) to standard sit-down toilets. The whole area is now tiled and we are lowering the sink to a better height for the younger students. We are also making a wash station outside for the kids to use as well.

The open-air cafeteria is currently under construction and should be done this week. Previously, the children did not have a place to eat lunch outside of the classrooms. Since soccer is very important here, we leveled the soccer field for them. At this time, we have two areas for soccer: one for the older kids to use and one for younger. Thanks to donors, we will have a computer lab with five brand new laptop computers and a safe playground with updated playground equipment. Three water tanks, totaling 10,000 liters, have been added so that the children will always have water on the campus.

 A few weeks ago we had an outreach carnival to introduce ourselves to the community and promote the new school.  We had over 500 children and their parents come and enjoy the free games and food. They seem very excited about the changes coming to the school and the American influence running the program.

We are still working on the curriculum and will be holding teacher training in the coming weeks. Lauren Allgood, our Leadership Development Director, will come in August to hold a Leadership Seminar for our teachers and staff.  We are eager to have her come and share her knowledge and expertise. We also have two ladies coming from Alaska to teach full-time at the school and help enhance the English curriculum and programs.

Immediate Needs and Future Projects

Even with all the progress, we still need to purchase desks and chairs, and completely overhaul the outside bathroom for the older kids.  An estimated cost for the desks and chairs for 200 students is $4,500. The bathroom is on the existing "septic tank," but is sinking, and we need to completely demolish it, move it, and rebuild it. The estimated cost for the bathroom is $5,500.

Some future projects include: tiling the outside area of the preschool, pouring concrete for a basketball court, and adding another building for more classrooms as we add grades.

We want to thank you for all your support and prayers for this project. We look forward to continuing our partnership and seeing the Lord work in the lives of these children and their parents.