Providing your first and last names really helps us keep things straight!
Dancing (at Home) for the Stars Report
We didn’t know what to expect from our first (and hopefully last) virtual event, but you all blew us away. We didn’t meet the amount raised last year at the dance… WE EXCEEDED IT!!! How much do you ROCK?!!!! We raised just over $23,000.00, which puts us in a very solid position for operating costs into 2021! Thank you. We are beyond grateful.
September 2020 Newsletter
There have been no known cases of COVID in the village, though testing is limited. There is an advantage to being isolated from bigger cities.
The school is taking every precaution to keep the kids healthy with sanitizing rooms, extra hand washing, masks, and social distancing.
The kids are as safe as is possible.
Thank you from Marsha, Bill, Vicki, Dana and Selah (SoH Board USA)
and
Leonard, Gladwell, the staff, and especially the kids at Star of Hope, Kenya.
Fall For Hope!
The new boys’ dormitory, funded by a grant from the Moody Methodist Church Foundation, was finished ahead of schedule.
Most of the labor and materials were locally supplied. Those jobs and commerce were a huge help to families and the village.
The boys and girls who reside at Star of Hope now have separate dormitories, new latrines, and shower rooms! "Elephant baths” (where children stand in a big bucket and get “clean” by splashing water on themselves) will soon be replaced by showers with running water.
Thank you donors, for the upgrades to the Girls’ Dormitory. Sanitation and social distancing will be much easier now.
Along with the new building, the school is now connected to the electrical grid and is no longer dependent on the portable generator.
Showers, lights, learning! Action! It’s been a crazy year, but because of your support, Star of Hope is doing great.
In March, due to COVID-19, the Kenyan government closed all schools.
Now, there is bad news, but good news too! The bad news is that all children, at all grade levels, all over the country, will have to repeat their 2020 grade level. This is particularly disappointing for the older students.
But the good news is that local Community Learning Schools, like Star of Hope, have been given permission to reopen. The challenges of keeping our kids distanced, sanitized and monitored for health will take more time and money, but it is doable, and the staff is up to the task. Because of YOU, we were able to continue to pay the staff during the shut-down (a boon to the village) and your donations also make it possible for us to pay for the extra health supplies.
The kids are VERY excited to be starting up again, and the staff is delighted to get back to working with them. It is (a cautious) full speed ahead!
starofhope@starofhopecentre.org
Star of Hope Centre USA
5015 Magnolia Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368
501(c)3 Tax ID: #45-3605509