Esther Home - Sweet Joy Bakery OVEN
Donation protected
Hi! My name is Charmaine. Some of you will know me & some will not, but I don't really think that matters. Some of you will know about my favourite place in Africa from following me on Instagram or Facebook, if not then let me tell you about it....
This story is all about a place called Esther Home in Kitale, Kenya. Almost 10 years ago we heard about a couple in Kenya who were trying to help teenage girls there, who had become pregnant through sexual violence. We are talking about girls between the ages of 11 & 16. When this happens there, they are usually dis-owned, cast out & rejected, by their families and their communities. At the very least this is a sentence of exteme poverty and in some cases it is a death sentence for them. There is very little hope for their future.
At the time we first heard about this mission, they were trying to buy a piece of land to have the girls live on, to keep from being evicted everytime the landlord found out what they were trying to do. Oh, I could tell you many stories of their struggle and rejection that would break your hearts but for now I will try to focus on the stories of victory & success!
Fast forward almost 10 years.... there is a farm in Africa... It is a home. It is a place of love, refuge, protection & healing. It is a daycare & the goal is for it to become a completely self-sustaining farm.
The girls & their babies are cared for & loved. The goal is for each girl to either go back to or finish school or learn a trade that she can eventually support herself and her child with.
The farm has many projects that go into it being self-sustaining they have chickens ( to eat, sell & for eggs) and a couple of cows ( for milk to drink & sell) , they grow corn, lentils, tomatoes & bananas. Last year, I raised $30,000 to dig a new well on the farm so they could actually fully use the greenhouses that they have. They were also able to start a fish pond because of the well! ( to eat & sell) The manure from the cows is also being used to make natural gas that will eventually give them a new source for cooking rather than charcoal and a wood they use that makes your eyes burn like wildfire! ( well, our eyes, they don't seem to be bothered but breathing all that smoke can't be a good thing?!?!)
And the farm has boys! ( the last 8 out of 10 babies have been boys!)
One thing that has been quite heavy on my heart is that the girls & their children can only stay with Esther Home until they are 18. Eventually, they have to be on their own and projects are needed to help transition the girls who are leaving the Home. This fundraiser is for one such project! Pauline, one of the over-seers & my very dearest friend, is an amazing woman with such a hope & a dream & a passion for these girls, has started up a bakery. It is called Sweet Joy Bakery <3 !!! ( You can find them on FaceBook -Sweet Joy Bakers Kitale ) Girls are training to bake and decorate cakes for special occasions like Weddings & Birthdays. One of their greatest challenges is the actual baking . It takes HOURS to bake cakes in a charcoal oven . They could bake more cakes in a shorter time period thus being able to produce more and in the end make more income. I have talked to Pauline at 2 am ( imessage) because she is still waiting for cakes to finish baking.
I want to purchase them a Commercial Gas Oven ! ,
have it installed and also purchase a suitcase FULL of specialty cake decorating tools from here to take with me when I go to visit in June! That's my plan!
Who's with me?!?!?
So many of you have expressed interest & encouragement since my last visit, so I have decided to make it easy for people to get involved & be part of something so great! If we were helping One Girl it would be enough for me.... but we are going to help so many!!! My heart hurts at the thought of turning girls away. We may not be able to help them all but we will help as many as we can!
This story is all about a place called Esther Home in Kitale, Kenya. Almost 10 years ago we heard about a couple in Kenya who were trying to help teenage girls there, who had become pregnant through sexual violence. We are talking about girls between the ages of 11 & 16. When this happens there, they are usually dis-owned, cast out & rejected, by their families and their communities. At the very least this is a sentence of exteme poverty and in some cases it is a death sentence for them. There is very little hope for their future.
At the time we first heard about this mission, they were trying to buy a piece of land to have the girls live on, to keep from being evicted everytime the landlord found out what they were trying to do. Oh, I could tell you many stories of their struggle and rejection that would break your hearts but for now I will try to focus on the stories of victory & success!
Fast forward almost 10 years.... there is a farm in Africa... It is a home. It is a place of love, refuge, protection & healing. It is a daycare & the goal is for it to become a completely self-sustaining farm.
The girls & their babies are cared for & loved. The goal is for each girl to either go back to or finish school or learn a trade that she can eventually support herself and her child with.
The farm has many projects that go into it being self-sustaining they have chickens ( to eat, sell & for eggs) and a couple of cows ( for milk to drink & sell) , they grow corn, lentils, tomatoes & bananas. Last year, I raised $30,000 to dig a new well on the farm so they could actually fully use the greenhouses that they have. They were also able to start a fish pond because of the well! ( to eat & sell) The manure from the cows is also being used to make natural gas that will eventually give them a new source for cooking rather than charcoal and a wood they use that makes your eyes burn like wildfire! ( well, our eyes, they don't seem to be bothered but breathing all that smoke can't be a good thing?!?!)
And the farm has boys! ( the last 8 out of 10 babies have been boys!)
One thing that has been quite heavy on my heart is that the girls & their children can only stay with Esther Home until they are 18. Eventually, they have to be on their own and projects are needed to help transition the girls who are leaving the Home. This fundraiser is for one such project! Pauline, one of the over-seers & my very dearest friend, is an amazing woman with such a hope & a dream & a passion for these girls, has started up a bakery. It is called Sweet Joy Bakery <3 !!! ( You can find them on FaceBook -Sweet Joy Bakers Kitale ) Girls are training to bake and decorate cakes for special occasions like Weddings & Birthdays. One of their greatest challenges is the actual baking . It takes HOURS to bake cakes in a charcoal oven . They could bake more cakes in a shorter time period thus being able to produce more and in the end make more income. I have talked to Pauline at 2 am ( imessage) because she is still waiting for cakes to finish baking.
I want to purchase them a Commercial Gas Oven ! ,
have it installed and also purchase a suitcase FULL of specialty cake decorating tools from here to take with me when I go to visit in June! That's my plan!
Who's with me?!?!?
So many of you have expressed interest & encouragement since my last visit, so I have decided to make it easy for people to get involved & be part of something so great! If we were helping One Girl it would be enough for me.... but we are going to help so many!!! My heart hurts at the thought of turning girls away. We may not be able to help them all but we will help as many as we can!
Organizer
Charmaine Evans
Organizer
Coaldale, AB