August 2012

Hello Everyone,

I just got back to the United States after spending two very busy, productive months in Kenya. I have some wonderful news to share with you about Springs of Hope Childrens Home in Maralal, Kenya and also my newest project, the Home of Hope in Nakuru, Kenya.

Just prior to my departure for Kenya I was contacted by an organization located in the US who had heard about Springs of Hope and wanted to set up a sponsorship program to help pay for the running of the orphanage. After many phone conversations back and forth and a few days of meetings in Kenya they have offered to pay for private school tuition for the children along with all of the expenses of the daily running of the orphanage. This is such a blessing after our start up years of struggling to make ends meet, but always managing to do so with your kind help.

During my stay in Maralal it was very chilly at night and in the early pre dawn morning, when the children bathed, ate breakfast and excitedly waited for the school bus to arrive.

Apart from the chilly sponge bath in cold water at 5.30am, catching a bus to school is a routing that the children now have in common with children in America and Australia. They happily run up to the gate every morning to pile into the very overcrowded bus for their new exciting day of learning and

adventure.

I have been on the board of WHHFKenya (World Health and Humanitarian Foundation) for some time now. My foundation, Springs of Hope Foundation and WHHF have partnered on a new project, the "Home of Hope" orphanage in Nakauru. We have rented a large house on 2.5 acres of land. I spent a lot of time during this visit purchasing the provisions needed to set up the home from scratch. New fridge, stove, cots, blankets, nappies and on and on the list went (man, babies need a lot of stuff)! I have learned that many orphanages will take in older children but are reluctant to take in the many babies that are abandoned for one reason or another. After buying the initial supplies and stocking the pantry for the arrival of our first six babies I can understand why. Among the many other requirements, six babies need 60 nappies!!!

The primary goal at Home of Hope is to have the babies adopted into both Kenyan and overseas families. The sad reality is that many of the babies that are abandoned are HIV positive or physically disabled. I have spent a lot of time visiting orphanages. Based on my observations we have set up Home of Hope slightly differently. Instead of a large, impersonal institution where the children can often grow up with no sense of identity, confidence or self worth we will have small family groups of around 6 children. Each family will have a mother who will raise her children with love and a sense of belonging to a family. Once we get the first family fully sponsored we will be able to start a new family at the same property.

I'm back at our home in Northern Michigan. I will spend the next few months researching overseas adoption agencies. If anyone has any knowledge or experience in this area I would love to hear from you.

Unfortunately we were only a few days away from getting the final inspection from the health department and children's services when I had to fly back to the United States, so I don't have any pictures for you.

My donation/web page is still accessed at www.maralalspringsofhope.com/pages/Donate.htm As WHHF is based in Kenya they will be relying on me to raise the majority of the money needed to keep Home of Hope running. If you decide to make a donation by direct deposit into either the Bank of Rio Vista in the US or ANZ in Australia, please send me a quick email. I had a wonderful, mystery donation into our US account at the end of May. I feel terrible that I can't send a thank you to whoever the donor was as there was no way of identifying where the check came from.

If anyone has web page experience and some time to volunteer, I would love help with my new Home of Hope web page. I'm always looking for ways to keep the expenses to a minimum.

As always, 100% of your donations support my projects, giving a new life of love and hope to orphaned and abandoned children.

Warmest blessings,

Jennifer Hughes-Bystrom