When children at Missions of Hope (MOHI) complete the 5th grade they are moved to the MOHI boarding schools where they complete the 6-12th grades. The schools are located about 20 miles outside the city but it takes 1 ½ hours to get there. The girl’s school is called Joska and the boy’s school is called Ndovoini (pronounced dah-voy-nee). They are located about 6km apart and at each location they have also opened an elementary school for the local children. Total enrollment is close to 1500.
After being jostled and bumped for over an hour on the dirt road that lead to Joska we were greeted with a special guest presentation. They were already singing when we stepped out of the van. We spent the first half hour singing with them. We sat in the first two rows while each class had either a song, dance, skit or reading they put on for us. This lasted more than an hour. Then we were taken on tours of the schools and support facilities.
The girls school has dormitories, classrooms and chapel as well as three fish ponds where they are farming tilapia, huge outdoor gardens, experimental hydroponic greenhouse and of course a futball field (read soccer)and volleyball court. The Joska girls soccer team were Kenyan national champions for schools of their size last year. They are in the process of building a very large multipurpose building where they can accommodate all the students for basketball games, drama productions and large events as well as a health clinic that will serve the community as well as the students.
The boys school has dorms, classrooms and chapel and in addition they have a water bottling plant on their property. An artesian well was discovered a few years ago and they run it into a building and bottle it for themselves and to provide water for the other MOHI schools. The water is labeled and sold as “Hope Springs” natural spring water. We drink Hope Springs water at the guest house. I plan to bring back a few bottles just to show you.
After a very hot and bumpy ride back to the city we stopped at Nakumat (the Kenyan equivalent of Walmart) and had cold drinks and ice cream. My feet are tired and dusty but my heart is light and I’m incredibly inspired, especially by the young women we met today. Without Missions of Hope they would more than likely be living in the slums and continuing the cycle of poverty and despair. Instead there are more than 700 healthy, smiling and polite young women that are thriving and have a bright future and a relationship with Jesus.
A final note…the wifi here in Nairobi is unreliable at best. So if you receive these messages a day or so late it is because we are searching for a reliable connection.
The pictures I’m attaching are: 1. Joska girls welcome us with a greeting 2.Grade 7 girls dancing 3. Hydroponic greenhouse 4. Hope Springs bottled water plant at Joska.
Blessings to all,
Elizabeth
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