Welcome to New Hope School

A little background:

A number of years ago while on a mission trip to Maua, Kenya we were hosted by Stanley Gitari who took us to a number of public elementary schools in the area. It was during a stop at Athru Gaiti Elementary School that at that school there was a special area set aside to educate "Aids Orphans" who lived in the community. What made them different was that their parents had died leaving them to be raised by grandparents or members of extended family. The quality of care for the students ranged from very good to just passable.

The school program was funded by PEPFAR (United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) aimed at providing substantial relief to residents of Kenya (and other countries) through programs which included testing, treatment and support for education of orphans.

As with a lot of programs, funding is set for a certain amount of time and, unfortunately, after about two years the funds were depleted. Facing the prospect of turning the children loose and having to find the funds to go to public school or stay at home Stanley started working with potential donors. Within a short amount of time enough money was donated to build at least three classrooms and hire teachers. The land to build the school was donated by the Athru Gaiti Methodist Church of Kenya. The school is actually built next to the church. Soon there after, another mission team was visiting and was so impressed by the impact that this school was making on lives of children that a member offered to endow the school with enough funds to build additional classrooms and provide needed support.

Based on the success of that school, yet another donor contacted Stanley and raised the issue of possibly building another school in a different area. Short story, the answer was "Yes" and the work started on New Hope School with the first class being that of a pre-school

Our students live approximately 5 miles from Maua in a small, marginalized village. Income opportunities are almost non-existent. People live through subsistence farming, operating small stores and shops, commuting to Maua for work there, and manual labor when available. Money is scarce with many demands on every shilling. Many times, education is very low on the list and children find themselves staying at home, wandering the streets, etc.

Our students are bright, personable and take education seriously. These qualities make it easy to see that with even a small amount of funds we can make a lifelong difference in their lives.