2017 Year - End Report

The Shelter of Hope-Kenya ministry plans to expand and

improve the services it offers to their beneficiaries in the

Kagan Village of Nyanza Province in Western Kenya.

Phase I of their major plan, which is already underway,

is the construction of a new modern education center.

Children are currently being taught in a mud-structure

with small classrooms filled to capacity. The new brick

structure will offer 8 classrooms, 4 on the ground-level

and 4 upstairs. The cost of the new building has been

estimated to be about $8,000 per classroom. As funding

comes in, the construction continues to move forward.

James 1:27 - “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:

to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

“Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” Koffi Annan

Before the walls were stabilized, a major wind storm

destroyed the building and set the project back. Some

donors stepped up to help cover the cost of getting back

on track. Currently, the outside walls and first floor

ceiling have been completed. Even without inside walls,

the ministry has found the space to be very useful.

To help promote funding for the new school, we are

working to create a video presentation to be accessed

through our website and facebook page.

If you feel led to give toward the new school building,

you can donate through our website; just mention the

“new school funding” in the memo section.

To ensure that the children attending Shelter of Hope

Academy are getting a good education, the Director,

Ishmael Ochieng, hosted a special event. The students

of Morissons Academy joined the students at Shelter of

Hope Academy for a day of Standard 6 examinations.

The two schools competed for high scores in each

subject area.

These were the final results:

Shelter of Hope Morissons

English 67.05 56.81

Kiswahili 65.65 64.54

Mathematics 61.70 56.90

Science 70.90 60.38

S/SRE 54.45 51.27

OVERALL 319.95 289.63

The #1 top-ranking student overall was one of our very

own sponsored children, Godfrey Otieno Opiyo.

Congratulations for a job well done!

In Kenya, the past few months have been full of head-

lines and dramatic uncertainty surrounding leadership

and the nation’s recent presidential election.

The Supreme Court’s monumental decision to annul the

presidential results over “irregularities and illegalities”

was followed with a boycott of parliamentary

proceedings, calls for reform, and an election re-run.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta was re-elected in a

repeat election that was boycotted by the opposition -

leaving only 34% of voters showing up at the polls. The

entire election process was marred by violence and

clashes between tribes. The violence caused schools to

temporarily close their doors but reopened a week later

and were back in session.

The nation is the subject of great prayer and vigorous

debate over the political process. Kenyans are

concerned for peace and stability and long for a brighter

future. May God bring them hope.

“And whoever

welcomes

one such child

in my name

welcomes me.”

Matthew 18:5 (NIV)

Tragedy struck on the morning of June 13 for one of our

sponsored children when fire broke out in their home.

Neighbors rushed to the scene but could not extinguish

the fire which had spread very quickly. The family lost all

their property, but praise God that no lives were injured!

The church and the community worked together to

provide whatever items they could - no matter how small

the donation. The child’s sponsor and others felt led to

help out by sending a financial donation. With help from

villagers, the house was rebuilt and so was their hope.

Communications to our children have been sent to the Nairobi office; then taken by car to the village (5 hours away) the next time

someone headed that direction. With the recent increase to our sponsorship program and the long delay in receiving the letters, the

Kenya ministry has taken steps to open a new P.O. Box in Homa Bay (30 minutes away). This step should greatly enhance the

communication process timeline. Your patience and understanding is appreciated as our African friends try to remedy this situation.

Please note that letters from the U.S. to Kenya usually take about a month to receive just with the postal service.

NEW ADDRESS for correspondence to our sponsored children: Shelter of Hope

P.O. Box 896-40300

Homa Bay, Kenya

You can help children to get

sponsored by sharing your

personal story of sponsor-

ship with friends, family and

co-workers. If you know

someone who might be

interested in supporting a

child through monthly

sponsorship, please have

them check out our website

at www.shelterofhopeusa.org

or contact Teresa Pitts by

calling 614-755-2656. Or just

have them send her an email

at pittsstop5@sbcglobal.net.

One person really can

make a big difference! Just

ask a sponsored child.

Unfortunately, we recently lost a

precious boy in our sponsorship

program. Teddy Danzel Odero,

was born on December 12, 2012

in Komenya Sub-location, Homa

Bay County. His parents, Benard

Odero and Queen Shanet Odero,

work in informal sector earning Teddy Danzel Odero

very little income. After their house was destroyed by

fire, they rented a small house in a local trading center.

Teddy was a pupil at Shelter of Hope Academy in Baby

Class (Grade 1). He enjoyed singing, outdoor activities,

and was a happy boy with ever smiling face.

On October 31, 2017, Teddy, at the age of 5 years old,

died of acute malaria. Please pray for Teddy’s family to

experience the peace that passes all understanding.

May the hope of Jesus Christ give them comfort.

In 2014 we began our sponsorship pilot program with 20

children and 19 sponsors. It went so well that the

following year we were able to include 22 additional

children. This year we took a big step and added 58 more

children to the program.

We were praying and hoping that God would bring forth

willing hearts to sponsor these children and help the

overall ministry. God does not disappoint. We are very

grateful to Grace Fellowship for allowing us to promote

Child Sponsorship at each of their three campuses. And

even beyond Grace Fellowship, God provided in a very

unique way … by gaining a sponsor all the way from

Paris, France! “Merci” 85 of the 100 children are now

being sponsored by 75 different families. Praise God!

There are many children still waiting to be included, so we

will be adding more children to our program in 2018. The

need is great and we plan to continue moving forward in

God’s timing.

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle - or the mirror that reflects it.” Edith Wharton