New Leadership Position in Nairobi

We are pleased to announce that we have added a new position to our staff in Nairobi.  Christopher Gitonga has recently agreed to become New Hope Initiative's Director of Special Projects in Kenya. Chris was born and raised in Nairobi and attended quality educational institutions throughout his childhood and teenage years. Spiritually his life changed dramatically when he began to play basketball at a large youth project called Hope Center in Nairobi. It was through this sports ministry that Chris developed a vibrant personal faith. It was also at Hope Center in 2004 that Chris met and became friends with Kyle Baird who was serving a summer internship between colleges semesters. Chris and Kyle were both in their early twenties at the time and have remained friends for the past decade.

Chris went on to work part time for another non profit organization in Kenya and also to start his own safari company called "Front Seat Safaris". Many of NHI's supporters have met Chris in Nairobi as he has provided logistical support like transportation and lodging for our visiting teams. Chris has proven himself to be an invaluable member of our organization. He is well connected in Nairobi, he has a warm engaging personality, and he has multifaceted abilities to manage different aspects of the ministry.

Chris will serve specifically as the liaison between the NHI board and our newly reorganized school in Kibera, he will supervise construction projects (having served as the general contractor on our recent dining hall construction),  he will be the overseer of the Kibera Penda Project, and serve as logistical support for our visiting teams. Chris is currently single however he is hoping that status will be changing soon as he has a fiancé from Michigan named Kelly Bowman. We are excited to welcome Chris to the NHI family and we are looking forward to many of our friends and supporters developing a close friendship with him. Welcome Chris!

A Day At The Clinic

It’s shortly after 8 a.m. in Arusha, Tanzania and the scene unfolding on the street in front of the New Hope Olorien community clinic, while new to me, is a familiar one for the 15+ member staff and those that live nearby. The street, unpaved and barely wide enough to fit two cars side-by-side quickly fills with dust, commotion and plenty of engine exhaust and it stays that way for much of the morning. People arrive by foot and bicycle, others hitch a ride on a motorcycle or the always entertaining dala dala (a Tanzanian taxi which was likely made to fit 7-8 riders that typically is filled to double that capacity). I watch as older men with canes, young pregnant women, a teenage boy, an entire family with an ailing aunt and an elderly Masaii matriarch - all ages, all backgrounds - all arrive to the clinic looking for answers and relief from their pain.

“This is one of the most popular bus stops in the neighborhood,” Dr. Byemba, the man nearly everyone is coming to see, says to me as we watch people walk through the entrance and begin the check-in process. By the end of today more than 70 patients will pass through his care – “a very slow day,” according to the doctor – by the end of month nearly 3,000 and at year’s end close to 30,000 people will have the chance to answer the question, “Je, ni kuumiza?” or “What is hurting?”

For many people the words “clinic” and “Africa” may conjure up images of tents or rudimentary operating rooms and lines of people haphazardly waiting for medication and while these do exist, the New Hope clinic is far from this reality. Thanks to the generous donations of many of you that are reading this and the work of Dr. Byemba and his staff, the NHI clinic is a top-notch, government accredited medical facility. Instead of temporary tents and disorganization, the NHI clinic is a three, cement building compound with a dedicated lab, x-ray facility, pharmacy, ultrasound, operating room, multiple examination rooms and it utilizes an electronic medical charting system that allows the doctor to track patients and streamline the check-in process much like visiting the doctor in the United States.

By the end of the day, I’ll have the chance to watch Dr. Byemba diagnosis and treat respiratory issues, remove multiple teeth and a cyst, perform a circumcision along with reexamining and evaluating multiple prior treatments on patients including a finger amputation and a child suffering from epileptic symptoms. While I’m reminded of the many patients I saw that day, it’s the faces of the last two patients that have remained consistently in my thoughts as of late.

Joseph was a laborer who started experiencing pain and swelling in his hand. He visited a local clinic near his home where they simply cleaned and scrubbed a small wound on his hand and sent him off with a basic medication for pain (Tylenol). The pain and swelling didn’t stop and after visits to five more clinics and hospitals many of which performed the same treatment all to the same effect, the pain became almost unbearable and he arranged a ride to the NHI clinic on the advice of a friend to see Dr. Byemba. Swollen nearly twice its size, Byemba said his hand was within days of needing complete amputation – remember that Joseph was a laborer who needs both hands to work – but after examining him and seeing where the issue was coming from, a small cut on a finger that became extremely infected, Dr. Byemba removed the finger and within a day the swelling began to subside.  Now, nearly a week later the hand was back to normal with no sign of infection and Joseph was able to resume work.

Godwin is less than a year old and I was in the outdoor waiting area of the clinic as he was carried in by his father late in the afternoon. With his arms and legs dangling motionless beyond his dad’s frame, it was his eyes that were glassed over and rolled back that caught my attention. Soon after he was seen by the doctor I had the chance to learn more about what was wrong. Several months after birth, Godwin developed a fever one day which went undiagnosed and untreated. That fever eventually went on to cause brain and nerve damage that triggered sometimes eight or more epileptic seizures a day. Unable to find a doctor that they could afford that would treat Godwin near their home on the other side of Arusha, they heard about the NHI clinic and soon had the chance to meet with Dr. Byemba. After several tests, Byemba was able to diagnosis and source a prescription that would ease the seizures, the first step in a multi-faceted recovery process. Now several weeks later, Godwin is seizure free and while he still has a long road ahead of him, the family and Dr. Byemba are consulting with a local specialist to do all they can to help Godwin regain basic muscle functions.

These are just two of the hundreds of cases that are occurring each and every day at the clinic. Our goal is to bring more and more of their stories to you throughout the coming year and hopefully it will spur you to action – maybe you have a desire to serve in the clinic (we have a fully-furnished, American style apartment on site that is available), maybe you can support the clinic either financially or sourcing needed medical supplies but nonetheless we hope that you will pray for the clinic and the amazing work that is being done on a daily basis.

Written by T.J. Walter

Great Improvements at Kibera School

As we begin the new year of 2014 we are excited to share with our supporters a great improvement for our ministry in Kibera. The new year brings a brand new facility to our school compound. We have just finished construction of a dining hall and commons building. This brick structure is without question the finest school building in all of Kibera and perhaps the single nicest structure in the entire slum. The building is stone inside and out and houses a new kitchen, with a large secure pantry and pass through serving facility, as well as a seating capacity of almost 200. This will allow the entire student body to be fed in 2 convenient, efficient shifts.  We have been able to feed the children of our school for the part 5 years due to our faithful sponsors however the children have always had to eat standing in the compound with their bowls in their hands. The new hall will allow the students to enjoy a more civilized atmosphere that will continue to help us promote excellence in all phases of the New Hope Kibera Primary School.

From “I am no missionary” to “All In!”

When I was young, growing up in the church, missionaries living in South America, Africa, and parts of Asia would often come to my church, telling us amazing stories about remote villages they were living in and about people being introduced to the Gospel. For years, I saw this as what a missionary was, and for that reason I determined that “I am no missionary!” With that as my definition, it never even dawned on me that I could be a part of Global Missions. In fact, for most of my twenties I was the guy happy to write the check that enabled others to go, but was never really open to going myself. Then, in late 2009 a colleague and friend approached my wife and I about going to Kenya and Tanzania in the summer of 2010 with New Hope Initiative. She had been to multiple developing countries on similar trips and was very enthusiastic about missions. I took the information in and tried to get past the idea of giving up my vacation time and the thought of getting sick in country. I considered going, just this once, so that I could check the box and move on. That was my intention, even as I stepped on that plane for that first trip.

In retrospect, the process leading up to the trip, the trip itself, and surprisingly, the time of reflection after the trip, all worked together to change my marriage and my life. Since that first trip three years ago, we’ve been in a process of getting more and more involved with the works there, from leading a trip the next year, to sending trips, to raising money, to working with NHI’s leadership to set the direction for the organization. As cliché as it sounds, it all started with one step. Going on that first trip was my first step to “All In”.

This October I completed my third trip to New Hope Center in Nairobi, Kenya. The purpose of the trip was to take my leadership experiences in Corporate America, University, and my local church to train and equip New Hope Leaders to have the right strategies and tactics to take on their current leadership challenges. The trip was an amazing experience, where I took the things I have learned over the years, built interactive training modules and delivered them just as if I were in the States. And from that experience, I already have several ideas of other things my wife and I can do to strengthen and support our partners in Africa.

Maybe you’re reading this having never gone on a trip, but always had interest in doing so. Or maybe you sponsor a Penda student and sometimes think you’d like to visit them. Or maybe you joined us on a trip and can’t help but occasionally think that maybe you should get more involved. There is so much good work going on through New Hope Initiative, but there’s always so much more that could be done. After all, “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Usually the first step to getting involved is to go and see the works. I needed to do that in order to see how I could fit in. So I’d like to encourage you by saying that God has a plan and you can be part of it. He’s looking for people who are available and open. I’d encourage you today to take your next step toward “All In”.

Meeting Wisdom in Sierra Leone

As I look back on my recent trip to Sierra Leone I must go back to my first trip in 2009. It was on that trip that I first encountered a young girl with the saddest eyes I had ever seen. We had split up into groups to share the gospel with the children and this young girl was in my group. Like the other children in the group she spoke little English so I needed an interpreter to communicate with her. That night as I lay in my bed reflecting on the day I could not get her out of my mind. So I asked God to show me how to reach out to her. The next time I saw her, I taught her how to say I love you in American Sign Language. From that time on whenever I saw her I would sign “I love you” and each time the hint of a smile would appear on her face. After returning home I emailed Pastor Rogers and shared my experience with him. He wrote back and told me her story which explained the sadness I saw. Over the course of the year I corresponded with “my girl” through Pastor Rogers. Then when I returned in 2010 for the dedication of the Karen Baird Children’s Home I was excited to find a different little girl. The sad eyes I saw the previous year now reflected joy. Flash forward to January 2013 when I returned to Sierra Leone for the first time in three years. How she has grown! My heart filled with such joy when Pastor Rogers told me he has given her the name “Wisdom” because she works hard in school and is very smart. Sometimes I wonder why I have remained single with no children of my own but then I think of my kids in Sierra Leone and I realize that God had other plans for me. He saw a woman with no children and two kids needing a mum and brought them together. He is amazing!

God is doing wonderful things through the Sierra Leone project. It was exciting to see the addition of a second building and with that the increased number of children whose lives are being changed. The children are healthy and happy. They know they are loved by people they may never meet and they are very thankful for them. Children who once had no hope for the future now think about where God will take them.

My life has changed tremendously since that first trip in 2009. I thank God for taking me out of my comfort zone and blessing me in ways I could never imagine.

Written by Lorraine Wood