Be a part of a "Forever Home"!

It was a very early morning, we were leaving Nairobi to drive the 40 km to the site of our big project, where we are building 12 homes for widows, orphans, and abandoned babies. I remember it was a cool morning.  Believe it or not some mornings you can see your breath. On our way out of town we passed by a few familiar landmarks. Near one of Nairobi's fancier shopping malls we always see children begging.  They are at the entrance to the parking lots, or often in traffic.  Anywhere the traffic has to slow down, that's where the kids will be standing, hands out asking for food and or money. There was no traffic yet, the sun was barely up. It was too early for begging. I always wondered where these kids go at night.  This morning I learned the answer.  They go nowhere.  They have nowhere.  As we drove by on this day, they were lying near their sections of road. There on the sidewalk, curled up in a little ball, as tight as he could go, was a little guy around age 4. He had a filthy, tattered and torn pink parka that was much too small that he was trying to cover up with. I am sure the faux fur collar around the hood was white in some previous life, before it was donated somewhere at some used clothing depot.  This hit me hard.  I couldn't help but think about tucking my son into his warm comfy bed, praying with him, kissing him, telling him I love him. This little guy has no one.

Any home is only as strong as its foundation.

Getting started on the walls!

Recently we visited the Internally Displaced Peoples Camp we regularly deliver food to. This time we were shocked when we were asked to take a new born infant. They asked us to literally take the baby for good, so that the grade 10 student who is his mother could return to her studies.  This is always a very sobering reminder of why we are here in Kenya.  The big picture for us here, our big job, is to provide long-term care, spiritual, emotional and physical to the many abandoned babies and street children.  There are countless thousands of them, and more today, and even more tomorrow. This tragedy is not going away, and we have to get our children's homes built so we can help bring hope to some of these children.

Almost ready for the roof!

Its starting to look like a house!

Everyday in Kenya, babies are born to mothers in extreme poverty. Often the product of prostitution, because mom was hungry enough to give herself away for some bread or some cheap meal, these babies are unwanted, and their desperate mothers have no way to care for them. They can barely survive on their own, never mind with a child to care for. These babies are discarded, thrown away like so much trash. They are put into plastic grocery bags and thrown away, or dumped into a pit latrine. Often found in a bush or dumpster. The lucky ones are simply left in the hospital, mom sneaks away in the night. Or they are dropped off at an orphanage.

From the front! Now it needs the windows, the electrical work,
 the plumbing, the paint and all the interior finishing work. 

We share this harsh reality with you because we hope you can understand why we are here. We have to help these children and infants. WE HAVE TO!

We need to complete this first of the twelve homes.  We are well on the way, but we are still quite a way from having the funds to finish the task and get this home to the point we can fill it with these precious abandoned infants. Please consider making a contribution to the building project.  Many of you already support us by giving to our general budget.  now I am asking if you can go above and beyond! For those of you who have not yet made any contributions, this is a great way to start!

If we can find 100 people to donate $500.00, we will have one whole house ready to become a forever home! If $500.00 is too much for your budget situation, can I just challenge you to give what you can. Every dollar counts.

Please consider helping us help them.  You can make an impact, one life at a time! 

The Village Time Forgot and other news from Mission:180 in Kenya

The "road" to the village. Rough going.  We were bounced
around a lot, I even got a sore back from this ride.

We travel in two vehicles, this is our super tough
Mitsubishi Pajero Exceed.

The new Toyota Hilux Surf. We spend a lot of time
in these vehicles.
What a day we had yesterday. We spent over 6 hours in the vehicles, 4 of them literally off the road, bouncing over boulders, through ditches, dried stream beds, up and down steep boulder strewn hills and through thorny Acacia tree shrubs.

Not much has changed in how the traditional Masai live
for many generations. This is a real Masai community.

We arrived in this beautiful valley at a very old, very traditional Masai Village.  These people are unaware of such things as the internet.  They have not changed the way they live for generations.

What brings us so far out of the way to a little forgotten part of the world? Hope, love, compassion, and a genuine desire to deliver the aforementioned qualities to some desperately needy people.  Its hamper time for Mission:180 in Kenya.  Its the time of the year when we really focus on connecting our Canadian supporters with Kenyans in desperate need.  We accomplish this by giving you the opportunity to purchase a hamper of staple foods that we will assemble and deliver on your behalf.

Some of the Masai men in the village.   

We need your help to fulfill our purposes here in Kenya.  The Christmas Hamper initiative, called "Hampers Of Hope", is one way you can do that. We are here in Kenya to improve the lives of the Kenyan people one life at a time.  Providing food to people in desperately needy situations is one way we do accomplish this huge task.
If you haven't already done so, please sign up by emailing jennifer@mission180.ca,  and indicate you want to feed a family in Kenya this Christmas.  For more details, read the post from September 17 on this page.

Home Sweet Home!

The Village Time Forgot.

We have guests from Canada with us now all the way through to December 2nd. We have more arriving on the 1st of December, through till the 13th.  Then we are blessed with more from December 28 - January 10. It's amazing to host our friends from Canada, to see Kenya through your eyes, most of you for the first time.  It's refreshing, encouraging, and a real treat for us. We are thrilled to host you.  Why not plan a life changing Impact Trip to Kenya! You will not leave here like you came!

Everyone loves sweets!

 

Jeremy, one of our staff, who serves as our  Community
Liaison with the Masai people. He is standing with the
local pastor and some of the residents of the village.

We have the amazing privilege of visiting these beautiful people in their homes and communities, bringing them much needed staple foods, and this message of hope, "Someone out there knows about me, and cares"! Thank-you so much to all of you who have donated for the hamper program. Without you, this does not happen.  We need more hampers, so if you want to be a part of this incredible initiative, please let us know ASAP! We will be thrilled to deliver hope on your behalf this Christmas season!