Cindi's: a Blessed Hope for Many

09 Dec

Cindi’s: a Blessed Hope for Many

Cindi and her girls in Eastleigh

Dear Friends,

Having just returned from Kenya, I cannot help but boast in what the Lord is doing through our new partnership with Cindi’s Hope, a ministry that rescues abandoned and sexually abused children in Nairobi and throughout the country.

We first visited the Hope Academy campus located in Eastleigh neighborhood, one of the worst slum areas of Nairobi. It is here that the government brings Cindi the children nobody else wants. In their secure compound we witnessed the restorative effects of loving care, nutritional food and biblical teaching in the healing of wounded young lives.

As their shyness diminished, these precious little ladies welcomed us to their world. We toured their living quarters and classrooms in this former apartment complex that is being renovated one room at a time. Heaven’s Family has provided uniforms, books and tuition, as well as the renovation of some of the rooms through the generosity of folks like you.

Two of the beautiful young ladies who thrive at Cindi’s Hope in Eastleigh

We also visited the kitchen area where the stove, which Heaven’s Family also provided, was in use preparing a meal. The staff pays careful attention to providing the nutrition needed by the malnourished children (something our Food Fund helps to supply). While there, they explained the need for a simple outdoor kitchen, which I was happy to provide for from the Victims of Sexual Violence Fund.

Next, we visited the second Hope Academy campus in the town of Kirugoya, about two hours outside Nairobi. Once more, we met happy children who were well clothed and fed. We were thrilled to see the joy and contentment in their faces as they played with us.

Lastly, we traveled further into the countryside to visit Cindi’s Hope Farm, just within sight of Mount Kenya. In this high country of vast vistas, the Cindi’s Hope workers have cultivated one of the cleanest, most efficient pig farms I’ve ever seen! They are future nourishment for the children, and a means to help support the ministry when some are sold at the market. The surrounding 23 acres are beginning to be cultivated to grow vegetables and fruits for consumption and sale, and will one day be a place for children from the city to live and learn as they start new lives.

At left, the children at Cindi’s Hope in Kirugoya; at center, some of the beautiful pigs anxiously waiting to fulfill God’s purpose for their lives; at right, Cindi’s Hope Farm

Cindi hopes to care for many more of these “cast off” children. Her dreams didn’t seem far-fetched after seeing all that her faith has accomplished so far, and I’m excited to partner with her ministry in this God-ordained work.