Roots of Hope
Roots of Hope is the dream of John Njane…to provide an early education to the Kenyan children which will set them up for success through primary and secondary school. He speaks metaphorically of the ease of watering seeds and tending them as they grow rather than trying to straighten the already bent tree…alluding to early childhood intervention versus trying to alter the path of an abandoned adolescent. It is an opportunity to spark a love for education in this vulnerable young population.
Roots of Hope preschool opened in the summer of 2017. This integrated school includes forty plus 2 1/2 to 6 year olds and four to seven special needs children. Intended to help children from poorer families be better prepared for primary school..those who can, pay about 10 cents a day for two nutritious meals and seven hours of classroom time.
Built and funded by teams from Love Africa and finished by many individual volunteers. Roots of Hope operation costs are funded by Flow of Hope. The salaries for our teachers and cook staff total $300 a month and an additional $200 a month is used for food and supplies. For $12.50USD / child per month we are nurturing the next generation of Kenyan leaders!
Nutrition
Each day starts with a breakfast of porridge followed by morning class. Two hours later a fortifying lunch is prepared composed of cooked beans, lentils or maize mixed with potatoes, cabbage or tomatoes. For some of these children this could be the only food they will see in a day.
3 billion people worldwide cook using stoves fueled by solid fuels like wood, charcoal or animal dung coupled with kerosene. Approximately 4 million of these people die annually secondary to these cooking practices.
On May 23, 2018 Flow of Hope was proud to begin using clean burning gas grill for Roots of Hope preschool.
Future Plans
Monitoring growth charts for each child began in May 2018. With the continued accumulation of this data over their formative years we hope to validate the importance of early intervention programs like Roots of Hope in Kenya.
Kick balls made an official entrance into Roots of Hope Recess and were met with unabashed enthusiasm. Over the next year we hope to raise enough funds for playground equipment to complement the joy that comes with a ball.
Donate to Roots of Hope below.
Roots of Hope Video–Give a child a ball and magic happens!
