people from all over the United States and other countries, in
all walks of life, to do His will for these children. Will he bless
you? I know he will, for he is faithful!
I want to put in a quote here from one of the workers at
Hope Center who wrote us last fall. This tells it all: “This pro-
ject is probably the biggest in western Kenya as a whole,
whereby the population is well over ten million people. Ac-
cording to the children’s department who visited recently, it is
rated the best and well
managed and also the
cleanest, with neat
buildings. Even the
food is rated among the
best compared to other
orphanages. However,
it has the lowest budget
compared to the num-
ber of children at the or-
phanage. To prove
what I am telling you,
may you get a report
from the children’s offi-
cer of the province.
They were wondering
how the project is run
by little funds. It was a
pride to our institution
to imagine that with the little in our hands, we are able to do a
lot.” Jane, Maurice’s cousin. (It is also interesting to note that
the staff of many of these orphanages that are funded by the
west receive some of the highest wages in the area. This has not
been, and will never be, our policy.) I’m sure Jane understands
why we can do what we do with so little. It is because we are
NOT the ones doing it. It is He who is Faithful!
One thing that amazes me is how they take care of so many
children. How do they feed them all, cooking over open fires
for so many? There are 226 children at Hope Center every day
to attend classes, and all of the workers. And of course there’s
the famine relief: hundreds of children coming to be fed each
day! Much the same at Glory Center—meals cooked over open
fires and people coming to the gates by the dozens for food and
water. I knew they had to have help, but somehow in my mind I
thought they would be fortunate to have five or six good people
to help. So we wanted to know just how many were helping and
wanted to know their circumstances.
Many Helpers are Needed
We were so amazed to find there are fifteen helpers at Hope
Center, plus ten teachers. Maurice has a way of surrounding
himself with good people, and certainly he is a good organizer.
There are also thirteen helpers at Glory Center, as well as several
teachers for grades pre-unit through standard six. At the end of
this article, you will find the list of these workers and where they
come from and what their life circumstances are.
As I read of them, I became fascinated and just wanted to do
what I could to help them. Although we have not paid “wages”
as such, to our workers, we have tried to help their families from
time to time with a small stipend when extra funds are available.
Due to our early experience with OBREC, we have stressed that
we in America are donating our time and money voluntarily and
expect the workers there to also sacrifice for these orphans. With
conditions as they are, many people are happy to work just to re-
ceive a hot meal or two a day and a few shillings in their pockets.
However, we have seen that these good people do have many
needs, and we hope to be able to help them monetarily on a more
regular basis in the future. We are very grateful for their love and
dedication, but our gratitude will not clothe and educate their
children or put food on their tables. I hope we can help them
more as they, too, are faithful workers.
I’m just so happy we have such wonderful dedicated people
over there. I hope you enjoy reading about these people, too.
Whatever comes into our stipend fund is divided among the
workers in these orphanages based on the amount of time they
work and according to their need. Often, we receive calls from
folks asking us for suggestions as to how their donations should
be directed. Perhaps if you are inthis position, you might consider
the stipend fund. It would surely make life a little easier for these
families who have given their lives over to assisting the orphans.
Hope for Children Center Volunteers
1. Scholastic Adhiambo – has been our cook for now two
years. She is a very dedicated widow woman about thirty-six
years old. She has four children of whom two are staying at the
center. The other two children are staying back at home with
her co-wife. The ones in the center are three years old and six
years old. The ones at home are thirteen years old and nine
years old. She really needed assistance. She has been a very
faithful worker as our head cook. She lives in the center with
the children and also serves as our matron.
2. Mary Atieno Otieno – Volunteered to help with cooking
and has been very dedicated. The husband is still alive and they
have three children. One of her sons is already married, the other
one is in high school,
and her daughter is in
teachers’ college. She
does not live in the
center. She stays at
home but comes ev-
ery morning just out
of love for the or-
phans. Mary is about
forty years old.
3. Mary Odero –
She is about thirty
years old and a widow with three children aged ten, seven and
five. All these children were not attending school due to lack of
uniforms and some money needed in school. Mary has been so
helpful. From the small stipend she gets from the center, the
children can now attend school, but she stays a bit far away
from the center so her children cannot attend our school. She
lives at home but comes in the morning to help in the kitchen
with cooking and serving.
-2-
Pastor Maurice’s wife, Edith
Scholastic Adhiambo
