In 2012, I traveled to Kenya for the first time. One night while sleeping in an orphanage full of girls, I heard a gut wrenching scream that shook me to my core. The next morning we came to learn that a widow had taken her own life. Stricken with grief, we visited her home and brought food for her surrounding family.
As I looked into the eyes of her children, I was deeply moved and have never been the same. The Take Heart Project was created out of motivation to bring healing and restoration to moments of despair like this one. Over the past 5 years of leading this organization, I learned the names of her children and made a commitment to help them.
At 12 years old, Elizabeth was the oldest and already had a child of her own. I learned she was agreeing to prostitute herself to earn food provisions for her family. Now at 17 years old, she has been brought into our family as we are supporting her vocational studies in hairdressing and beauty therapy. She currently lives with 5 other sponsored girls in an apartment in Kisii roughly 2 hours away from the village. In addition, Take Heart provides childcare support and funds tuition to secure his future educational success.
Her younger brother Barrack is also one of our sponsored boys who is now in 11th grade and thriving in an all-boys school.
Bruce is a younger brother in 5th grade who we fund to live and learn in a local orphanage. Without support for their education and living expenses, these children and family would have no hope. I care for these children as if they were my own.
I am so moved by their need that I will continue dedicating my life in effort to restoration and kingdom minded work.
