01/09/2021
At our meeting on Aug 25th we once again heard from an amazing person who is going the extra mile to make a difference to people’s lives.
From volunteering in the slums of Nakuru, Kenya, 2004, Susan saw the need to assist those whose lives existed purely on hope and the fruits of her labour have culminated in her founding Nakuru Hope whose mission is to provide food, educate, give refuge and counsel those who are destitute, hungry and illiterate.
Some interesting things she mentioned in her presentation included:
• Nakuru Hope’s first school opened in 2008 in rented house for 30 students
• Susan used the insurance payment for her stolen car to help purchase land to build a learning centre
• The Gabriel Learning Centre was opened in 2014 and was named after her own children’s grandfather.
• The Gabriel learning centre building was built by hand and the doors and windows are painted in bright welcoming colours. The centre has drop toilets.
• Water comes from a bore and Susan is concerned with how long the bore will continue to provide water as there is an increasing number of bores appearing in the area. The government charges 20 shillings for 2 gallons of water.
• The Gabriel Learning Centre is currently home to 50 orphaned children and provides schooling for 300 destitute students.
• The centre educates students from pre-primary to year 8 and 320 students have graduated over a 4 year period.
• The centre provides 2 meals a day and prepares 2,000 meals per week
• 75% of the food is grown on 3 acres of farmland and includes maize, kale, spinach, carrots and beans
• Nakuru Hope did have a volunteer program, with 206 volunteers registered who came from all over the world, until Covid came along
Susan is now a local resident of Victoria Park and runs the Hope Op Shop at 403 Albany Hwy where she raises funds to support the project. Learn more or to donate go to: https://www.nakuruhope.org/
