News

It's great to be back

Hello again from Kitale, Kenya. My sister and I are doing well. On Monday morning we went to Birunda the rescue centre. It was good to see a few children who are still there and all the staff again who I know from previous trips. It was also good to meet the new children at the project. There is one little boy there called Peter. He is 1 and a half and was abandoned by his mother. The organisation is trying to find his mother and send him back if it is safe to do so for him. After helping with the maths class we then played some kenyan games and taught them Duck Duck Goose, Simon says and played relay games.

In the afternoon we went to Liyavo the long term project. It was good to see them again as I know a lot of the children there. I got out the car and they shouted "Pete." It's nice that they remember me. We played some football with them and I'm sad to say that my team lost!!!

Yesterday (tuesday) we again headed to Birunda in the morning. After listening to the teacher teach Swahili the local language to them we gave them three footballs as they had none. They love foootball so much and were very happy to be given a ball. After playing football there (and my team winning) we had lunch and then headed to Liyavo. We played football again with a new ball which again they were very happy to have. The day before we used a very small ball so to play with a football was great. I'm also pleased to say that my team won!!

In the evening we went out for a meal to celebrate St. Patricks day. We ate Irish food and listened to U2!!

This morning we went into town with Steve, a social worker. We were looking for street boys who wanted to go to Birunda in order to go home. This my sister and I found upsetting. I find it difficult to describe what I felt but I know that this is simply not right. There were boys from the age of 9 who live on the streets. Some were abandoned, some ran away from home for various reasons and some are orphans. The street boys find it difficult to go to projects like Birunda as they don't like the structure of it. They enjoy having the freedom to do what they want. Many of them sniff glue, many get beated up as life on the streets is tough. As we left the streets Steve was deciding which childen should go to Birunda as there was not enough space for them all who wanted to go. When I was at Birunda yesterday one dormitory is nearly finished but there is not enough funding there to finish the building or to pay the extra costs of looking after an extra 44 children.

This afternoon should be good. We are gong to Birunda to give out toys,stationery and games. We have also made some drawing books for them as well as buying exercise books for them all.

Tomorrow we will do the same at the Liyavo project in the afternoon. We are going into a slum tomorrow morning.

Thanks for reading.

Pete

Greetings from Kenya

Hello from Kitale, Kenya. The time is 9.30am and the temperature is 20 degrees!! It is good to be here after a long journey. We left Cornwall at 10.30am on Saturday (14th) and arrived in Kitale at 4.30pm on Sunday (15th). We had some trouble at heathrow as we were only allowed 100mls of fluid to take onto the plane so we packed all our fluids into our big bags. Then in the air we struggled to sleep as it was so hot. To add to this a lady collapsed next to me (Pete) so I and a doctor looked after her for a while. Finally we arrived in Nairobi and caught the coach to kitale. Again we were unable to sleep as it was too hot and the road was very bumpy. From Eldoret to Kitale it was extremely bumpy and we were getting thrown all round the place despite wearing a seatbelt. On arrival we checked into our lodge which is very nice and had an excellent dinner. Needless to say we both slept very well and have just caught a boda boda (a bicycle with a chair on the back) into town which Rachel did not like at all!!

Today we are going to visit the two projects and will discuss with the project managers when the best time to give out all the toys, stationery and games is. We will keep you posted on news whenever we can get online again.

Thanks for reading

Pete & Rach

The adventure begins

Tomorrow (14th March) my sister Rachel and I (Pete) head to Kenya for a three week trip. Whilst in Kenya Pete & Rachel will be giving out the toys, stationery and games which have been donated and seeing how best Heart of Hope can support the two children's projects.

To be kept up to date with the trip keep your eyes posted on Heart of Hope's news page.

Needed: Toys, Stationery, Games

Next month (14th March) Pete Gray, Founder of Heart of Hope will be taking toys, stationery, games and more to the two children's projects which Heart of Hope supports in Kitale, northwestern Kenya.

During the three weeks Pete and his sister will also be visiting a baby orphanage, two slums and camp in the rift valley where people who have been displaced from the post election violence still live.

If you have any toys, stationery, or games which are in good to excellent condition then please get in touch. If you want to see how much of a difference these gifts make check out our image gallery. Alternatively, if you'd like to make your support more long term then visit our child sponsorship page.     

Heart of Hope becomes a Registered charity

On the 12th of February 2009 Heart of Hope became a UK registered charity. After a lot of hard work everyone associated with Heart of Hope is thrilled with this great news.

Having a registeration number will allow the charity to apply for grants and other such funding and claim gift aid on any donations.

This is a huge step forward, hopefully its one of many!

Desperate Times

NPYT - the main organization that Heart of Hope supports is facing a financial crisis. For many people worldwide the credit crunch has made life tough. With a poor harvest due to a lack of rain people and organizations in Africa are struggling. NPYT have seen their food bills go through the roof with food costing either double of treble of what they use to cost. The cost of other necessities have also risen leaving NPYT in financial trouble. Despite the worldwide situation the need faced here is great so please if you can either donate or become a child sponsor.

At present Heart of Hope is awaiting for its charity number to arrive in order to apply for grants from organizations such as Children in Need and Comic Relief. Once a grant has been accepted it will ensure the long term future of NPYT. 

Download a Donation Form

Download a Child Sponsorship Form