2022 Fall Report to Stakeholders
SERVING "THE LEAST OF THESE"
Grace4Kenya completed its first full calendar year as a charitable foundation in 2021. Thanks to the financial support of over 100 individuals, families, and churches, we were able to award almost $325,000 in grants for health, education, and faith in 2021 and approximately $292,000 in 2022. Grace4Kenya funded the construction and purchase of equipment for the Bible Faith Church Bendera Clinic and Hospital. The hospital welcomed their first admissions, performed its first surgical procedures, and received approval from the Kenya National Health Insurance Fund. Construction of the George Kendagor Christian Academy school building is under roof and expected to be finished and furnished early next year.
Health
BFC Bendera Clinic and Hospital
Mobile Outreach Medical Clinics
Community Health Evangelism
The Bible Faith Church (BFC) Bendera Hospital continues to grow in admissions to maternity, pediatrics, and adult medical-surgical care. The surgical suite was fully equipped in the 1st quarter of 2022 and the first infant was born by C-section in April. The hospital was recently approved by the National Health Insurance Fund and four independent health insurance companies, so admissions should rise substantially.
The Bendera Clinic is now self-sustaining and has been in operation for 15 years prior to moving into the hospital. They have about 10,000 visits per year providing prenatal, well baby, and urgent care for adults and children. Urgent care treatment of sick out-patients is growing fastest. The pharmacy and laboratory are fully operational and profitable. The hospital and clinic staff work closely with the Ministry of Health to meet the needs of the local community.
The Mobile Outreach Medical Clinics continue to serve four villages with an average of over 1,500 visits per quarter. They provide prenatal care, well-baby care, and urgent care to people who are hours away from a medical facility and do not have transportation. The cost of a visit is approximately $3/person to see a nurse, get immunizations, and receive free medications for their illnesses. The clinics sponsor school health assemblies twice a year with health education, worm medicine, Vitamin A to prevent eye diseases, and a quick assessment and treatment of all students.
Community Health Evangelism (CHE) has grown from the pilot program in Kaprom to four additional villages. The CHE staff, composed of a pastor and two trained CHE instructors, visit each village twice a month to share the gospel and to promote community development including: clean water, hygiene, nutrition, and improved farming practices to generate income by selling surplus food raised.
Education
George Kendagor Christian Academy
Primary School Sponsors
Higher Education Scholarships
Over the past twenty years the school has grown from Jane Kendagor home schooling her own family to becoming the director of an accredited school with over 350 students. Up until now, classes have had to be held in space borrowed from the Bible College and in temporary buildings.
In order to meet the new Kenyan national standards, George Kendagor Christian Academy (GKCA) needed to have a permanent structure to continue to be accredited. Funding from Grace4Kenya allowed the school to break ground on a 10-classroom primary school building at the beginning of last year. The construction of the new school is now under roof and has windows and doors. The next steps are plaster, paint, electricity, and plumbing fixtures. The new school will have plumbing, sinks, and flush toilets for the first time, something most students do not have at home.
A computer lab and library are in the budget for furnishing and equipment in 2023 once the funds are raised. Grace4Kenya has made grants of $250,000 for the construction to date. It is estimated that it will cost an additional $50,000 to complete construction and $40,000 to furnish the school with desks, computers, books, and office equipment.
When the building is complete, GKCA will be able to offer the children of West Pokot a high quality, modern, Christian education.
School-age sponsorships and higher education scholarships will begin to be awarded by Grace4Kenya after the building is complete.
Faith
Bible Faith Church (BFC)
BFC Bible College
Church Planning and Pastor Support
Bible Faith Church continued to expand with a church plant in Chebilat in August. The village had been without a church for six years. The new church members donated raw materials like bricks, ballast, and foundation stones while a villager with experience led the construction team, and families in other BFC churches also contributed financially.
Central Presbyterian Church in St. Louis supports the BFC Bible College which trains pastors who then plant churches. Greentree Community Church and Grace4Kenya provide monthly support that averages $65 per month for each of the 21 pastors.
One of the common challenges for rural pastors is serving a congregation that is spread out in an area with no roads. Grace4Kenya funded a motorcycle for Pastor Geoffrey Poghisio, who is serving in Lelan. Included with the motorcycle were two helmets, insurance, and driving lessons all for the cost of $1,500. Geoffrey thanks you for your support and “believes his ministry will be more fruitful.”
Opportunity
Community Health Evangelism lays a foundation for opportunity by teaching subsistence farmers how to raise crops for sale in order to provide a source of income for their families. G4K looks forward to facilitating the development of local industries to bring financial stability for families.
Jill and Tom to visit Kenya Oct-Nov 2022
Jill and Tom Moller, co-founders of Grace4Kenya, were invited by Opportunity International (O.I.) to attend their Global Education Finance Conference in Nairobi the first week of November. O.I.’s education program has two parts: 1) EduFinance facilitates microfinance loans for capital improvements in the schools and 2.) EduQuality provides training for school proprietors and teachers in best practices for teaching and running a school. The program in Nairobi has been developed in private primary schools serving marginalized neighborhoods. The Mollers are networking with the Kendagors and O.I. to replicate EduFinance and EduQuality in the rural western Kenya region served by Grace4Kenya. For more information see https://opportunity.org/what-we-do/education-finance. Prior to the conference, the Mollers will spend a week in Kapenguria, with our Kenyan partners, assessing the ministries that have received grants, celebrating victories, reviewing challenges, and developing goals and budgets for 2023. Please pray for a fruitful trip that provides direction and next steps for Grace4Kenya.
Save the date!
Sunday, November 20, 2022
at 4:00 CST
The Grace4Kenya Board of Directors will host a Zoom Meeting at 4:00 CST on Sunday, November 20th. We will share the milestones of the first two years, feedback from the Moller’s trip to Kenya, and financial goals for 2023. It will end with a time of Q&A.
Email info@Grace4Kenya.org for the Zoom link. We hope you will join us for an update.
The 2022 Board of Directors, from left to right:
Front row: Mildred Kamami, Jill Moller, Heather Socha
Back Row: David Schopp, Tom Moller, Allen McNeill, Scott Wagner
Looking Back to go Forward
Your generosity will directly impact how effective Grace4Kenya is in supporting and expanding its programs. So far, Education and Health have been the focus for most of the funding to take advantage of the groundwork begun by Central Presbyterian Church, Greentree Community Church, and the Mollers. We look forward to expanding Faith and Opportunity in the years to come as funding and administrative support allows.
While it is important to quantify our efforts to ensure that we are successfully reaching our goals, the real story here is so much more than just numbers. It is a story of help, compassion, and serving our neighbor. Each man, woman, and child we serve was created in the image of God. In Mathew 25 Jesus describes his return in glory and makes it very clear that “whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” On behalf of the entire Board of Grace4Kenya we would like to thank all of you for your very generous support that allowed us to serve the least of these and our Lord Jesus.
Gratefully,