Much has happened in my country Kenya)since I started writing the enclosed newsletter. President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the December 27th election and the opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, dismissed the presidential vote as rigged. The result has been, much violence and killing between Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe and the Luos tribe of Raila Odinga.

When I first began writing, the fatalities were only a few, now the numbers are approaching 1,000 with acts of violence happening every day. An estimated quarter of a million people have fled their homes to escape the unrest; most of them women andchildren. In Nairobi alone some 12,000 people are living in public buildings after being driven from their homes. Since the beginning of the month, there have been 140 cases of reported rape and defilement. Almost half of the cases are girls under the age of 18 and one was a 2 year old baby girl.

I write to tell you this because my heart is aching and I am afraid of what might happen in the months to come if we are not prepared to provide food and shelter for our young women. Our program is small and our funds are limited. We depend on our sponsors to provide the funds for the girls, but now the circumstances have changed and we need to be prepared for the worst. The funds that we have raised are not enough. Just last night I spoke with one of our Voices of Hope Board Members in Kenya. He told me that four of our young women are being forced to leave school as a result of closure. They have no place to go where they can be safe and they have no money for food. We are desperately looking for temporary lodging for them.

It is very difficult for me to ask for money. It’s the hardest part of my Project. But I have to tell myself that I am not asking for myself. I am asking for our young women. So, I ask you, if you can please assist us in raising money that can be set aside as an emergency fund for our young women. All of the funds will go directly to keeping them safe and cared for. Whatever amount you can give will be greatly appreciated and we know that you will be blessed for your generosity. If you are able to respond to our plea, please tear off the attached form and mail it to us with your donation so we can acknowledge you for your kindness. If you prefer, you may also make a donation through our website. Thank you in advance for your kindness.

VOH (Voices of Hope) February, 2008 Newsletter

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Dear Friends,

I wish you blessings and peace in 2008. I am very pleased to report that our VOH women are well and safe in Kenya. As you know, Kenya’s General Elections were held on December 27 and have resulted in a lot of chaos and turmoil throughout the country. Over 700 people have died and thousands have been displaced. There have been tribal clashes. (Fortunately, these clashes have not reached Southern Kenya where our girls are living and where my home is.) The economy has been greatly affected and there are shortages of basic necessities throughout the country. Many schools were delayed in reopening after the holiday break and the cost of gas, food and lodging has increased. Life in Kenya is now very tumultuous and expensive and our VOH costs have increased as well. In spite of these new challenges, however, we continue to thank God that our young women are safe and we pray that God will bring peace to our country of Kenya.

I was able to travel to Kenya in December (prior to the election) and would like to update you on what is happening to VOH women students. When I arrived in Kenya, I found all fourteen of our young women safe and well and adjusting to college and the large city life. This is the first time for many of them to be out of their home area of Maasailand. They have changed from being shy and uncertain to being sure and confident of their future. They were excited to share with me their college experience.

Sarah is on the waiting list to join Medical School where she will study in the field of Epidemiology. She is presently volunteering at a group home that serves children with physical disabilities. Catherine and Diana looked very professional while completing their internship in the famous five stars Serena Hotel in Kenya. They did well and hope that they will be able to gain employment at the same hotel after they graduate in May. Susan, Lorna and Sumule will also be graduating in May in their field of Community Development. They have applied to start their internships with the local Social Services Department. While doing their internship they want to work with the girls and women of our Maasai community. Mariam will complete her teaching degree in September. Faith will have another year of schooling. She is pursuing a Nursing Degree. Betty will be graduating in September in Tourism and Hotel Management. She had very impressive results of A’s and B’s on her international exam. This exam is very challenging. Both Kenyan and Britain’s students take the exam. Evelyne will be in her second year of Sociology and Women’s Studies at Moi University. Sision will be graduating from Secretarial College in September.

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Three of the women, Jennifer I, Jennifer S, and Magdalin have graduated from Beauty School. They were very surprised when I informed them that we were going to open up a Beauty Salon for them. All of the students and the Kenyan Voices of Hope Committee were moved when they heard about the garage sale that raised money for the Beauty Salon. They named the Beauty Salon “TRUU Blessings Salon”. It was named after the TRUU group here in the Tri-Cities who were sponsoring one of these women in the Beauty School, plus three other women students. Much thanks to Nancy Southam of TRUU and her group for all the time they volunteered and their generous donations at last summer’s garage sale. We appreciate all those who donated items to make this event possible. Also we greatly appreciate First Methodist church in Pasco for allowing VOH to use their church for the garage sale.

It was a great feeling seeing these young women being very optimistic about their future. Yet on the other hand, I was not able to ignore the fact many others were about to go through female genital mutilation and arranged marriages. (December is the time when many Maasai women go through this ritual.) There were those who came to me to be rescued from their plight and seek help to continue their education. It was difficult for me to hear their pleas and not be able to respond, due to limited resources. Our rental safe house we have been using has room for fourteen women only. With our own home we would be able to save more women and keep them from going through this brutal cultural ritual.

I thank you all for your generosity in 2007 and this year I ask for your assistance to raise money for building a safe home and drilling a borehole that will provide water to the home and to the community of Kajiado.

Together we have made a difference for fourteen Maasai women, and with more friends of VOH we can provide more young women and their community a promising future. Please share the vision of Voices of Hope with your friends, family and co-workers. Late last year Theo Dobie joined our Board Committee; she has been a blessing to our organization. We are looking for more people who will join us as well, especially those with accountant and Site of future VOH Safe Home

grant writing skills.

At this time, we are starting to prepare for our students’ schools break in April and will need to raise money for food and toiletries. Last year we received a donation of food for our breaks because of the droughts. This will not be available for us to use this year. The increase in prices of all commodities has also caused college tuition to rise. In order for us to keep these women in school and to meet their needs during the school breaks we are now asking for an additional $35 on their monthly school tuition. This makes the total monthly amount of monthly sponsorship to be $100 and we are very thankful to our Sponsors for their generosity in meeting this need.

We are excited about starting a new class of women students to join our program for college in September and are looking for more sponsors for these new students. If you are not already sponsoring a young woman in VOH, please consider doing so. Your generosity will help to bring positive change and prosperity to Kenya and also nurture hope and Servant Leadership in the life of a young African woman.

The day before I left for Kenya the Lutheran Churches of the Tri-Cities had their annual Christmas concert at First Lutheran Church. They invited me to speak about the VOH project and chose this year to give the offering to VOH. We are so thankful for their generosity and support and hope that other churches and clubs will also be interested in learning more about VOH and the difference we are making in lives of young women in Kenya.

Please, if you would like to learn more about “Voices of Hope”& the Maasai people & their culture please contact me. I am happy to speak to small groups (friends & family) or large groups. Blessings…Rachael

For questions about sponsorship or donations please contact:

Rachael Tengbom Theo Dobie Glenn Cross

VOH Founder VOH Board Member Center for Sharing

Home:(509) 586-8475 Cell: (509) 438-7898 Phone: (509)547-5999

Cell: (509) 438-8835 theo_dobie@yahoo.com

Shoenkai@aol.com WEBSITE: http://www.centerforsharing.org/VoicesofHopeHomepage.htm

New Address: Voices of Hope * P.O. Box 6563 * Kennewick, WA 99336

“Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” John 20:29