Tumaini Children's Ministries - November 2015 Update
Kenya
Dear Partners and Friends of Tumaini Ministry and the Riamukurwe Parish,
We know Tumaini and Huruma children are a part of your prayers. Please keep praying for and supporting the 208 children currently residing there. Ken Cornelison, from Laguna Presbyterian Church, and I visited the Tumaini and Huruma children this month. It is hard for me to describe the joy we saw on the faces of both the children and the dedicated staff and board members!
Some of you may have heard that former manager Nancy Kaigua’s contract expired on September 30, 2015. The board decided not to renew her contract, and they are in the process of selecting a new manager. In the meantime Virginia Munyiri, elder and board secretary, has been communicating with partners and others on matters of the home. She has been so helpful.
Tumaini and Huruma children come from varied backgrounds, but their common denominator is they are children who need help from others because they do not have parents or relatives to care for them. The homes were established to express God’s love to these children and to instill in them that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” as their physical and moral behaviors are nurtured.
Education, of course, is paramount. It is believed that good education will shape the future of the child, and so the children are encouraged to work hard and with determination knowing that education will give them tools to shape their future with hope. Hard work is the motto for each child. They are also taught that the future depends on the present. The home instills in each child the spirit of community and patriotism. As such they have rules to adhere to, determined by the board, which must be followed. If anyone would like a copy of these rules, I would be happy to forward one to you.
As I mentioned earlier, Tumaini and Huruma care for 208 children. There are 14 form four (senior) students from both homes who are taking their final examinations. One of these students, Isaac Wamahiu Wachira, is pictured here. He has worked hard to make the Tumaini gardens very productive as you can see in the picture. Isaac exhibits wonderful leadership and is a good role model for the other children.
Education at Tumaini
The Vocational Training Center
Many of you are aware of this big project, an expanded vocational training center, to equip Tumaini children with marketable skills. Thank you so very much to those who have supported this project for the Nyeri community. We had hoped the ground floor would be in use by this year.
However, the engineers advise that there is still a lot of work to be done to complete the ground floor and make it usable. The walls on the ground floor need to be completed and be strong enough to hold the top two floors. The second floor is completed but cannot be covered yet. They will need to secure the building by installing the pillars and the roof. There is more work needed with this project than we anticipated. The people in Riamukurwe Parish have faith that God will provide, and they are knocking on doors and doing fundraising locally (HARAMBE, which is Swahili for fundraising). Let’s keep them in our prayers as well. Please let us know if you or your congregation would like to give towards this project. It will definitely require efforts from all corners to complete.
Existing vocational programs include computer training, sewing and tailoring. In addition the shoemaking and shoe repair programs are really doing well. The computer training program opened new sites at various parish buildings to make it available and affordable not only to the children at Tumaini but also to the community thereby generating some revenue for the home. Anne Wandimi, the computer teacher, is busy working hard to make this program successful.
The E-Learning Program
E-learning was instituted at Tumaini several years ago to cut down on the cost of studying at universities and provide Tumaini children with opportunities to further their education. It has been done as a campus of the Presbyterian University. Although most students will tell you that it has not been easy for them, we have a good number graduating from the program on December 4, 2015. Janet Onyango, Shadrack Nunge, and Maureen Nyambura Onyango are graduating with certificates and diplomas in Business Administration. Jackson Endome will graduate with a certificate in Business Information Technology. We have more children who would benefit from this program if more sponsors were available. For only $2,200 a year, a child’s life can be changed and his/her future brightened. The program has received plenty of books from collaboration between Books for Africa, The Outreach Foundation and The Presbyterian University. In addition to text books, the home also received story books for the younger children to read. A wealth of new library books has been provided, and the home is so appreciative.
Daniel Muthike Kividyo and Ken Cornelison
Prayer Requests
• please pray for the board to find a suitable manager who will meet all of our expectations
• pray for the children taking their final examinations, for success and for them to trust God for their next steps
• pray for opportunities to open up for them when they leave the home
• keep praying for the staff, matrons and all the children at both homes
• please pray and donate to the Vocational Training Center without taking away from the children’s general support
As always, we are so grateful for your support,
Ebralie Mwizerwa
Projects Coordinator
Congratulations Mercy!
Mercy Wanjiku Waihuini, 18 years-old and in form four (senior) at Tumaini, is a table tennis star. Her coach is Coach Titus. She has won a number of competitions on all levels – sub-county, county/region and national. She has been the Nyeri county champion for the last three years and has made it to the Kenya secondary schools national championships on the Aberdare team for the past two years. In August of this year Mercy represented Kenya in the East and Central Africa Youth Championship in Rwanda, where she won fourth place overall in singles and third place overall in doubles. Congratulations, Mercy! We are so proud of you.
Read more about Tumaini Children's Ministries by clicking HERE.
Amount needed in 2015/2016
The Outreach Foundation seeks to raise a minimum of $6,250 per month for the Tumaini Children's Ministry, $2,200 per scholarship for e-learning and $30,000-$50,000 for the Vocational Training Center. To make a donation, click the Donate Now link in the sidebar.
The Outreach Foundation now offers the option of receiving missionary/project updates, newsletters, and receipts by e-mail. If you would like to sign up to start receiving these communications electronically, please send your name and e-mail address, along with that request, to info@theoutreachfoundation.org or call us at (615) 778-8881.