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.

It's The Right Thing To Do

My role at New Hope Initiative (NHI) is a strategic role. NHI desires that the projects we support around the world set goals and vision for the future and work toward accomplishing those goals. By setting goals and vision, NHI projects can grow and impact more and more individuals living in poverty and for many years into the future. NHI strives to have sustainable programs that are led by well trained, competent leaders. My role with NHI is to support and encourage these strategic initiatives of setting goals and vision and training leaders. The role fits me well. I am a business, strategic thinker. I like to think hard about problems and figure out ways to solve them. I like to see people and projects grow and improve and be a part of that growth. And, I like to think how we can leverage our projects and our influence for the advancement of the gospel. Last week, I had the opportunity to visit NHI’s special needs orphanage in Hyderabad, India. God showed me how all the strategy in the world could never justify what we are doing there. Only what we read in Scripture and when we understand God’s heart for orphans can we justify why NHI supports this orphanage. These kids will never be leaders. These kids will never be pastors, teachers, or influencers. They will be lucky to make it to their next birthday. Several years ago, a major donor of the orphanage pulled out and it would have been the perfect opportunity for NHI to drop the entire project. I asked Sandy Baird, Founder of NHI, why he stayed. His response was, “because it’s the right thing to do.”

Sometimes as Christians, we have to make hard decisions especially when it comes to limited resources like money. Many US churches want to see the money they give make maximum impact for the gospel. And, I understand that. But sometimes, we must only look to Scripture and the heart of God and do things because they are the right thing to do. They are the things God cares about. They are the things Scripture commands of us. Even if they have absolutely no strategic value.

Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. - Psalm 68:5

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. - James 1:27

The best strategic ideas will not make these kids different. But caring for them the way Jesus instructs us will make them feel loved. It will help them see there is a God that loves them just as they are and that He sent His Son to die for them so that one day they might have perfect bodies without sickness and have joy that will last forever. They can know today that though their parents have abandoned them, that their country and community have rejected them, they have a Father in heaven who accepts them and who has adopted them into His eternal family.

- By Lauren Allgood - Leadership Development Director

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.