Living Hope High School, Kenya, Africa

Click here for a Living Hope High School Brochure

May Mission of the Month:

You, my church family, have been generous supporters of the work that is going on at LIVING HOPE HIGH SCHOOL in Bungoma, Kenya. The 100 students who board there receive a Christian education and have a better quality of life because of your help. You have made it possible for a well to be dug there, for a vehicle to be purchased, for a dispensary to be built and equipped, for a library to be built, etc. The students may not know you personally, but they know the name “Jarrettown Church”, and they are grateful for your help. I have been blessed to be able to be your ambassador there for the past 14 years, visiting each February and doing our Lord’s work among the Kenyan people at the school and in the surrounding Bush.

I come to you now with another urgent need. The Ministry of Education has mandated that our 4 girls’ dorms and 4 boys’ dorms be razed due to termite damage and the need for new construction that will meet safety standards. The architect’s drawings have been received and the cost determined. Construction can begin as soon as $265,000 is raised. Thus far, I have been able to raise $53,000.  I ask you to pray about how you can help us here at Jarrettown raise some additional funds by May 31 to bring us closer to the amount needed.

Whatever you can contribute will help.  Please make out your check to Jarrettown Church. Be sure to put DORM FUND on the memo line so your gift will go toward this special need for the children at Living Hope. Checks can be mailed to the church or put in the offering plate during the service you attend.

Thank you for helping me to continue God’s work at Living Hope – Connie Damon

BOOK SALE NEWS – Come to the Mission Hallway and check out the books for children and adults. There is a donation box for you to contribute whatever you wish when you find a book to take with you. All money collected will now go toward the Dorm Fund at Living Hope

 

Living Hope is an accredited residential Christian school that has been in existence since 2010 in Bungoma, Kenya – 8 hours north of the capital of Nairobi. One hundred impoverished teens who live and are educated at Living Hope have lost one or both parents due to AIDS, desertion or disease.  Some have both parents but live in abject poverty. Students fortunate enough to be accepted to live and study at Living Hope find their lives radically changed as they experience, many for the first time, a bed to sleep in, three meals a day and the opportunity to envision a bright future.

In spring 2023, Jarrettown was able to step up and help purchase a new van. The old Land Cruiser we purchased 2nd-hand 9 years ago now had 283,000 miles on it and was in constant need of repair. It is used to carry food from town a half hour away.  It is used to take students and residents in the bush to hospitals.  The uses are endless as it is the only vehicle for miles around. It gets extremely hard use on the rut-filled dirt roads. Below is the recent purchase:

Click here for a video thank you from Moses at Living Hope in Kenya – “Hello, My name is Moses. I want to start by thanking you so much for your support.  I would have not been at Living Hope if it were not for your help.  I want to promise you that I will work very hard to achieve my dreams, as well as, make you guys feel proud of me.” Thanks you from the bottom part of my heart.

Update on Moses:  In December of 2022 Moses graduated from Living Hope, but he had no money or no place to go to live. Jobs in the area are practically non-existent. He was permitted to stay at Living Hope as Dorm Father for the newly-admitted Form 1 students, but was told he could only be kept in that position until the end of February. When Connie arrived at Living Hope in February, she heard of his situation and felt led to help Moses. It seemed that he would benefit from attending a technical school where he could learn skills that would equip him for future employment; so during the time Connie was there, she accompanied Moses to visit two schools for interviews. She took him to Market Day and bought him a shirt, pants, shoes and a fleece jacket so that he would have something to wear on his interviews beside the ragged, worn clothes he wore every day. Before leaving Living Hope to return home, Connie insured that Moses will be able to enter one of those 4-year schools in May.

Now Moses is using the help and experience of another Living Hope graduate student who is in college and able to advise Moses about how to find a place to live off-campus, how to purchase the things he will need for school (books, mattress, a one-burner cooker, dish, pot, etc.).  Connie has purchased a laptop computer for him to use at school.  She is grateful – as is Moses – for JUMC’s support while he was at Living Hope, and she looks forward to being Moses’ financial support for his further education.

Below is a recent letter from a student our church supports at Living Hope High School in Kenya:

Dear Jarrettown Church:
         Praise the Lord for you! I am glad to write this letter to you appreciating what you have done for me these past two years.  I thank you very much. You saved me life from being and orphan and living alone. You are my parents now. I know now that God never forgets His people.
          At Living Hope for this period of time I have learned something taught in the Bible by Jesus. It says “Bring all your heavy burdens to me and I will make them brighter for you”. I proved this is true when you came to my life.
            Every time I get a letter from Mum Connie and I write back, I promise her that I won’t let you down. Your money will not be wasted. In Nehemiah 2:20 the Bible teaches on success. I do believe in it…….that I am a winner and not a loser.
           Did you know in Kenya we just had an election. I think God gave us a good new president who will rule us well. In school we also had an election for new Christian leaders.
           I pray God will continue blessing Jarrettown Church and Mum Connie. I am excited to meet her in February. I give thanks to her for communicating my message to you on my behalf. Thank you Church.

 

Jarrettown Church and Living Hope

JUMC’s Connie Damon has been going to Living Hope since 2014 as our Ambassador.

Through her sharing of needs upon her return here each year, Jarrettown Church members have caught her sense of urgency to help with the needs of Living Hope. In 2014, we were able to raise the money to have a Well dug. In years since, we have helped with the purchase of a vehicle for emergency transport of ill students and those in the surrounding Bush. We built a Healing Hut (small Dispensary), equipped it with medicines and hired a local nurse who sees to the medical needs of the students. We helped with purchasing a parcel of land adjoining the campus for a new dorm to be built. These are just some of the ways we have answered the call. Marilyn and the students constantly say “THANK YOU JARRETTOWN!”.

The vision and goals of Living Hope are becoming a reality as sponsored children have their lives changed and are given hope to replace hopelessness. God is at work at Living Hope, and we can continue to help.

How You Can Help

  1. Pray for the children at Living Hope.
  2. Contribute during May to our fund-raising for the ministry of Living Hope (click here for info/form).
  3. Sign up to sponsor a student.

Living Hope receives no support from any source except individual donors from the US who sponsor individual students, paying $120 monthly.  Donations are 100% tax deductible. The total amount goes to pay for the student’s living expenses and education. All support donations are handled by the Riverton UM Church, which acts as the 501c3 coordinator.

For more information about Living Hope, contact Connie Damon Conniedamon624@gmail.com or go onto the Living Hope website  Livinghopehighschool.org.