More Hope
The construction of the Hope Center has allowed Giving Back Hope Together (GBHT) to be actively engaged with children in the community on a regular basis. This continuity has allowed the staff of GBHT to establish relationships with the children being served. These relationships, in turn, are giving GBHT staff greater insight into particular areas of vulnerability that GBHT can begin to address. For example, a few of the young teen girls who have been attending GBHT functions have privately shared, with GBHT staff, heart-breaking stories of their vulnerability to abuse and/or sexual pressure, and their dilemma of not knowing how to escape.
A key factor in the ability of these children to break generational cycles of extreme poverty is to obtain at least a high school education. For teenage girls in middle school and the early years of high school, becoming pregnant means dropping out of school, never to return. Teenage girls living in informal settlements are particularly vulnerable to sexual pressure, abuse, and/or abusive relationships. So teen pregnancy happens all too often.
To begin to address this through the Hope Center, Katie Ouma has begun leading a Saturday mentoring program for girls in this age group. The goal is not only to minister to these girls spiritually, but also to equip them with the right tools to say “No” and to know how to stay firm in the face of pressure. The Saturday sessions will provide these girls with a place of safety, mutual support, and spiritual strength.
Katie’s first mentoring session was this past Saturday, and the group of girls who gathered to meet with her is shown in the upper left photo. This session was low-key, with a simple Bible study and the beginning efforts of developing trust. As you think about the ministry of GBHT, please join us in praying, in particular, for Katie to have wisdom as she leads this endeavor, and also for the girls in this community whose lives could be changed through this mentoring effort. They need more hope, and they need more love.