A Healing Hand

Many of you remember the remarkable story of little Esther from Arusha, Tanzania who was terribly burned on her legs in a fire and was struggling with the scar tissue and lingering effects of that horrible accident. In the summer of 2013 we had a team visiting us from Springfield, MO and unbeknown to any of us that team had a sponsor Dr. Carla Kester who was also a very experienced plastic surgeon. Dr. Carla was able to operate on Esther and do a very successful skin graft that has greatly enhanced the quality of life for Esther. While most of our 25,000 patients at our Arusha medical clinic are suffering from the typical tropical diseases like malaria, typhoid, and parasites, we are also seeing more cases of an unusual and dramatic nature.

This past month we had a young boy rushed to our clinic who had severed the artery in his wrist and was in danger of bleeding to death. Dr. Byemba our clinic director is also a skilled surgeon and he was able to immediately repair the artery and to save the young man's life. As important as this initial operation was Dr. Byemba noticed the severe damage around the wrist area of this young man and desired to do a skin graft to help not only with cosmetics but also to promote the healing process. Dr. Byemba was not formally trained in plastic surgery but he had watched and learned from Dr. Carla in 2013. Using that skilled learned from our visitor he was able to do a beautiful job repairing the damage to this boy's wrist. When you treat thousands of patients each month the typical day can be pretty repetitive, however life is never dull at our Arusha Clinic where Dr. Byemba and his staff are faced with new challenges on a regular basis.

New Hope In Nicaragua

We are very pleased and excited to announce that New Hope Initiative has a new partner! We are developing a new project in the country of Nicaragua with a dynamic local ministry called Familia Avance Nicaragua. The country of Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere where their are great opportunities to share the love of Christ with people who have both physical and spiritual needs.

This new project will be in the mountainous northern region of that country where Nicaragua borders Honduras and will consist of a new school and church plant. In this region it is reported that 35% of the children do not attend school due to the lack of availability and our new team leader on this project is not only a local pastor but an educated and experienced school administrator. We are excited about this project not only because of the great need and potential in the area but also because of the proximity of this work to our friends and supporters in the United States to whom we will be able to offer cheaper, less time consuming trips.

We encourage you to look for upcoming information on our new Nicaragua project and determine how you can help by supporting this project financially or by being a part of an upcoming trip.

To see more images of the project visit the Facebook Page.

NICARAGUA-2-3-15

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

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.

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.