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Published: November 4th 2009
SPRING VALLEY Last Friday marked the grand opening of the new bathroom facilities of the Spring Valley School. Pastor Stanley and his wife Alice have been working hard over the last months to get ten new toilets and showers (the first showers ever for these kids) installed for the 270 children. For the last eight years the children have been using two outhouses with “squatty potties” (which is the traditional toilet here). The smell and risk of spreading infection was a constant struggle. Due to the children only being able to take “bucket baths” in their one roomed homes, hygiene has not been a top priority. With the installation of tiled showers the number of skin rashes and infections will be greatly reduced.
There is the boys’ section on one side of the building that has 4 squatty potties and one flush toilet as well as urinals. One the girls’ side there are also four squatty potties and one flush toilet. The floors are tiled and the walls are clean. One major setback was that Pastor Stanley’s office was broken into and all the flush units were stolen before they were installed. However, since the children had been waiting
Pastor Stanley
Showing us the new squatty potties.anxiously for months they decided the opening could not be delayed. Buckets of water are carried which will be used for flushing and there are plastic basins for washing hands until there are enough funds for sinks to be purchased.
Who would think that seeing new toilets would be such a fabulous event? For these children who live in a slum, have dirt for floors and may have never had anything new…it was a thrilling day. Alice told me they took the kids in for a “tour”. The pre-school children were especially excited and after the adult left the bathrooms the small kids decided that the tiled bathroom floors were a much nicer area for them to take their afternoon naps. A teacher came in to find them laying and giggling on the floors. Another discovery the children made was the flush toilet. Since most of them had never used a flush toilet they weren’t quite sure what it was. They saw water inside so deductive reasoning led them to believe that its purpose was for them to wash their hands. Alice arrived and saw the kids dipping their hands in and wringing them around to get them nice
Sisters
Carol, age 9, and her 4 yr. old sister Mary were suffering from starvation and illness. HOREC rescued the sisters and have saved their lives. and clean. Surely the smiles on their faces proved that they were proud to have listened to the lesson of “wash your hands after you use the bathroom!”
HOREC The goal of Christine, the director of HOREC, was originally to take in 20 orphaned children. The number is now up to 27, with 10 of the children being infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. The reason why she has so many children is because she can not say no to the desperate cases.
Ruth and her two brothers are a perfect example. Ruth, age nine, was left with her two brothers, ages six and four, after the death of their mother. They were living with the grandfather who had now become their “caretaker”. That meant he could put a roof over their heads. However, Ruth had to take on the role of mother and she became the head of the home being responsible for all the cooking, cleaning and hand washing of all the clothes, including her grandfather's. When Christine found out about the children she went to rescue them. The grandfather was happy to hand over the boys as he has no income, therefore no way to
Ruth and her brothers
The kids have found joy at HOREC now that they don't have to scrounge for food. feed the kids. However, he did not want to let Ruth go. Basically Ruth was a modern day slave. She was not allowed to attend school, play or do anything else a normal nine year old is allowed to do. She was to forget her grieving and take care of the grandfather from sun up to sun down. Finally the Children’s department intervened and gave Christine custody of Ruth as well. The little girl now has now had the weight of the world lifted off of her shoulders and is allowed to be a child.
HOREC is developing with the determination of Christine and some wonderful people in the states. I love being able to partner with the project and ITHM steps in on a regular basis to help cover monthly expenses. Just this month there was no money for their annual auditing report that must be completed, nor for pumping the temporary septic unit (a hole in the ground). The hole was full and after one week of rain the contents of the "septic" flooded the yard. I was able to promptly get money to her for a septic truck to come and empty the hole, as well
HOREC Preschool
Many of the children arrive without having been enrolled in school. They get their basics on site before heading to the local school. as pay their auditing bill and provide the $70 we give towards food each month. It is vital that HOREC have a proper septic system built in order to accommodate the children that are there and the growth that is to come. And, it is vital that people continue to help aid HOREC and homes like it.
We will be hosting a team through Global Hope, CO that will be a huge blessing to HOREC. They have paid to build a dining and kitchen facility which means the children don’t have to eat outside in the heat and dust.
LAWRENCES From Jen...
My wedding to Johnny Lawrence in July was fabulous and we both love our life together. There have been a lot of changes in the last few months with marriage, moving and… now, pregnancy. We will have a new family member come May of next year. Besides nausea we are very excited to be adding a little one!
As a couple we believe we can increase our effectiveness and assist even more children. This is our prayer! After years of working on my own I have to say that I feel a sense
of relief of being able to share the workload. Granted, Johnny has a full time job but he still manages to help me, Spring Valley, HOREC and other projects. I am so thankful!
From Johnny...
Jen and I have been working together as a couple brilliantly! I must say I cannot believe I waited so long to get married as it has been the best time of my life. My wife and I are a good team and we are able to do so much more by combining our efforts. The verse in the Bible that says: “One of you will put a thousand to flight and two of you will put ten thousand to flight” is very real to Jen and I.
My professional skills involve engineering and coordinating with suppliers and end users. Therefore, I have also been able to assist Jen with many project-related needs. Personally I would like to thank you all for assisting Jen in her ministry in Kenya and other places because I would never have met her
if you did not support her work with children. Thank you!
We welcome your prayers as we are face discouragements of vehicles
1st crop
One of the many veggies we will get from the ITHM garden. breaking down and business being slow for me. Please pray that we will always walk in God’s guidance, for me to rely on Him as my source and not try to “fix” everything in my own strength. I have not yet met you, but know that I love you in Christ.
ITHM GARDEN Our new house is just what I had envisioned as we have a 1 1/2 acre garden as well as 30 chickens. Our vision is to grow crops that will help subsidize the orphanages. Since we can not take in all these little children that need homes and education we want to do as much as we can to help the facilities that can. We had a generous donation from a friend in Texas that will enable us to install a drip irrigation system in half of the garden. With the current drought in Kenya this will mean that we are able to grow crops when others can not. The plight of the hungry is a whole update in itself so I will not go into it…let me just say it is desperate and we see signs of it on a daily basis. We
Johnny and the borehole
Johnny fixed the borehole in our garden which now makes drip irrigation possible. can actually help alleviate suffering by providing food…a very tangible assistance and all because of the generosity of many of you. Let me assure you, we are making a difference by working together!
SCHOOL FEES I have had two more requests from two 14 year olds that are completing class eight this year. January is time for them to go to high school but neither of them have school fees. One is Maggie’s sister (ITHM has supported Maggie for the last 3 years) and one is her cousin, Elizabeth. Maggie’s sister is an orphan and is being cared for by her aunt (Elizabeth's mother). The aunt makes $1 per day working in the fields. The girls desire a better life than striving just to exist. No school fees= no further education at the age of 14.
BLANKETS, BIBLES AND BEANS So far ITHM has received through two teams, three short term volunteers, and two people in America $1,400 towards the project for the Internally Displaced People group living in the forest. This is enough to purchase a whole packet (1 blanket, 1 Bible, 1 bag of beans) for 70 families or if we only provide blankets
it is enough for about 200 families. I am waiting until I can provide something for each of the 620 families represented. With the holidays around the corner and many people giving and receiving gifts I would really love to provide a gift for these people who live in drudgery and gloom. Even a ray of light is better than complete darkness and we can shed many rays of sunshine on them through our generosity.
NEEDS that I would like to meet in the next two months: 1. Septic system for HOREC- Approx. $5,000-$7,000 however we are working to get a cheaper quote.
2. Soap and toilet paper for Spring Valley School kids-Any amount
3. Play mats for Spring Valley School's pre-school classes so the kids don't have to get dirty playing on the dirt floors.-$100
4. School fees for two more girls- Approx $150 per term per child (3 terms, not needed all at once).
5. Blankets, Bibles and Beans- $20 per package
6. Completion of irrigation system for ITHM garden- $1,200
7. One time donations that are used as needs arise: food, school fees, emergencies, etc.
8. Committed monthly supporters to join us on our continual
quest to bless!
If you would like to help with any of these needs please make your tax-deductible check out to:
ITHM 23223 S. Warmstone Way Katy, Tx 77494 Thanks to all!
Jennifer and Johnny Lawrence
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Amberly
non-member comment
Those bathrooms!
I was just telling the kids about the first shower Romulus and Armondo, I think it was, took....and how Cici came out soaking wet....it was like trying to wrangle wild monkeys. Funny! Sweet story about the toilet.