Happy International Women's Day!

Being a local organization with international reach, we particularly love to celebrate International Women's Day. Women are amazing and I am so thankful for the badass women in my life, with whom I can share personal and collective struggles. You may already know that Restore Humanity is led by women and the majority of our team are women (not to diminish the impact and value of the incredible men we work with who are critical to making everything happen). But did you also know that the majority of our team has been working together for the last 18 years?  That degree of consistency and commitment from these women is a big reason why our organization has had stable, measurably impactful growth. 

We are playing the long game here. Our kiddos are our family and our staff is too. We have built this growing RH Global Family purposefully and with careful consideration. This includes every kiddo who has lived in our JCO Children's Home, our RH Scholars now attending college or technical school, our JCO Alumni, our donors, our volunteers, our board members, and our beloved staff (both Kenya and the US). And there are SO MANY amazing girls and women who we consider family. 

So today we celebrate you! And us! Thank you all for what you do for the world. You are badass. Continue to shine your light and inspire us all!

And P.S. donating to Support Other Women. Period. Campaign is the perfect way celebrate International Women's Day! Our goal is to provide 1000 Kenyan school girls with AFRIpads maxi pads that will last them an entire year, but we need your help to do that! To learn more about this program click here!

WE ARE ALMOST HALFWAY TO OUR GOAL!

Every amount helps!

Thank you for your support!

Call to Action.

The gutting of USAID is an action with grave consequences. Restore Humanity, the organization I founded in 2006, has never received a dime of federal international development funding, but I have seen USAID programs at work myself in the past two decades of working in Africa. Most notably through the PEPFAR program that provides HIV testing, treatment, prevention, and care all over the world. As of last year, it provided life-saving medicine for 20.6 million people, 566,000 of whom are children. 

Some of those children currently reside in our JCO Children's Home. Some have grown up and are now RH Scholars, but they still depend on that life-saving medicine. We have staff members whose lives depend on this medicine, and family members of our kiddos as well. The expectant and new mothers at the maternity ward that we helped build 10 years ago at the local health clinic depend on this medication, not only for them, but to also stop HIV from being transmitted to their babies. This medicine is antiretroviral therapy (ART) and it can reduce the risk of HIV transmission from mother to baby to less than 1%. Given the state of things just two decades ago when I first went to Africa, that seems nothing short of miraculous. 

In 2005 I volunteered in South Africa, where the HIV/AIDS rate was around 20%. Almost 1 in 5 people had what was essentially a death sentence. Most of my work there was done alongside the amazing hospice nurses who cared for and provided comfort to people facing this harsh reality.  This was a challenging experience, to say the least, but the hardest part for me was the home visits. Home visits were for patients who were coming to their end imminently and almost every patient I visited was dying from AIDS.  Even more alarming was the age of the patients who were dying. One would generally expect that the majority, if not all, of hospice patients would be older and elderly. That was not the case here. Seeing so many other young people facing certain death had a profound impact on me.

In 2007 I again witnessed the devastation caused by HIV/AIDS, this time in Kenya. In the village of Sirembe, where we do most of our work, it was as if an entire generation of people had been wiped out. Grandparents were caring for their grandchildren because all the parents of those children had died of AIDS. This is why there were so many orphans and vulnerable children in the area where our programs are located. We have always welcomed and loved the kids who join our RH Global Family through the JCO Children's Home as if they were our own flesh and blood, but the primary reason why the vast majority of these children ever found themselves without a home and family (before joining ours) is that their parents were casualties of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  Please keep this context in mind as you consider the rest of what I have to say.

People my age and older will remember how terrifying the AIDS epidemic was in the 80's and 90's.  Back then, contracting this disease was an unambiguous death sentence and often entailed a level of suffering no one should have to endure. Fortunately, today this is not necessarily the case. Modern medicine has developed treatments so that people who have AIDS can now live relatively normal lives—but with the all-important caveat that they take the right medications in the right combination in the right amounts at precisely the right time every single day.  Each person's regimen can be quite different and must be individually prescribed and continually monitored under the supervision of a competent medical professional.  

This life-saving medicine is cost-prohibitive to the overwhelming majority of people in the developing world, but it is important to note that PEPFAR provides more than the medication itself. It also provides for the testing and adjusting of medications so critical for children who are HIV+. Children with HIV have to take their medicine with food every 12 hours on the dot, every single day. They also have to go to the clinic every month to check their viral load and see if any adjustments need to be made. Each one of our kids who is HIV+ has experienced periods when they were sleeping through school or getting sick easily and we would work closely with the nurses at the clinic to get their dosage readjusted. And ALL of that is also covered by the PEPFAR program.  This noble expression of compassionate humanitarian foreign aid and American greatness has transformed lives in the developing world. And yet in recent years, I have occasionally heard people comment about how HIV/AIDS really isn't that big of a problem anymore. In reality, it is still a huge problem on a global scale—but it is no longer necessarily a death sentence. 

Sirembe has changed so much in the past 18 years, and many of the positive changes Restore Humanity has actively participated in. However, one of the starkest differences I've noticed is that no one dies of AIDS anymore. It was so common in 2007, but once PEPFAR was established, dying from AIDS was a thing of the past. There is even far less of a stigma to having the disease because it is no longer a death sentence and, as long as you take the medication regularly, you are much less likely to pass it on to your partner or your unborn child. This was the stage we had finally reached until the program was canceled abruptly. This life-saving work has been stopped and millions of people will die if it is not restarted. And PEPFAR is just one of the programs that USAID is responsible for.

People may not realize that USAID also works to contain dangerous diseases when they pop up around the world. During the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014, USAID's work was critical to containing the outbreak and preventing it from becoming a full-scale pandemic.

As I type these words, there is a current Ebola outbreak in Uganda's capital, Kampala–which is only 3 or 4 hours away from our JCO Children's Home. Ebola is highly contagious and has a high fatality rate–41%-70%. The freeze on funding and recalling of all USAID workers has made a bad situation so much worse. The USAID team in situations like this would be helping to provide manpower and funding to check people at airports and border crossings to ensure that Ebola didn't spread further. This critical work is now not getting done.  In the ever-shrinking world that we live in, it would just take one infected person to get on a plane and carry it across the world to our shores for it to be very clear, very quickly, why it is in “America's interest” to contain Ebola—and any other deadly highly communicable pathogen. 

On February 5th, the US government issued a travel warning for Uganda, so they recognize there is a problem and yet have removed the resources needed to fight Ebola's spread. If Covid taught us anything, it is that our world is much more connected than we realized. We no longer live in a world where we can ignore a contagious disease outbreak on the other side of the world because it could be on our doorstep tomorrow. This is true of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and it is also true for Ebola. These programs and many more at USAID are saving the lives of people across the globe which also ends up saving the lives of people right here at home. 

To recap, the PEPFAR program was started by President Bush in 2003 and has saved over 26 million lives.  Among other interventions, it has enabled 7.8 million babies to be born HIV-free. That in itself is worth celebrating! Since 2010 it has drastically reduced new HIV infections among young people worldwide. Before the funding freeze, the program supported more than 20 million people with antiretroviral treatment, including 566,000 children. For me the argument is simple, PEPFAR is an incredibly effective program. It saves millions of lives and could allow us to see the end of this horrible epidemic. If PEPFAR ends, millions of people, including newborns and children of all ages will certainly die. Full stop.

No matter where you stand on the political spectrum or what you think America's place in the world is or should be, this program is something that we can all be proud of. The PEPFAR program has saved and continues to save millions of lives every single year–the lives of children, mothers, babies, and loved ones, through testing, prevention, and life-saving medicine (ART). While there may be programs within USAID that need reworking or are overly bureaucratic, this is a program that actually works and actually saves lives and, without it, millions of people will die. When thinking about this program in terms of being in America's interest, there are a few things to consider. First, there are many people in the US who also directly benefit from the medicine and testing. Also, as I mentioned before, we live in an ever-shrinking world and every single person in it would benefit from HIV/AIDS becoming less of a threat and even one day possibly eradicated. If the freezing of this program continues, people will die, but also people will have higher viral loads that result in more infections (including to babies) and the starting and stopping of medicine could create strains of HIV that are drug-resistant. This will make the world more dangerous for everyone and the people most at risk are young people.

Forever etched in my memory is the day in 2005 that I spent sitting at the bedside of a 25-year-old woman dying of AIDS in South Africa. She was surrounded by hospice nurses who had cared for her so well and various Xhosa women from her community singing beautiful songs and praying with all of their might to give her what comfort they could in her final moments. While it was a beautiful thing to see the outpouring of love and support for her, it also struck me as completely senseless—insane even, that a 25-year-old was dying in this way.  I was also a 25-year-old woman and couldn't help but think that if the circumstances of her birth had been a bit more fortunate, then instead of being a hospice patient, perhaps she'd be the one volunteering to assist these caring nurses and—more to the point—that if the circumstances of my birth had been a bit less fortunate, then perhaps I'd be the patient being prayed for. This was only 20 years ago, but it was an all too common occurrence for young people to die of AIDS—young women in particular—because, while the medicine that could save their lives had already been discovered and mass-produced, it was not yet accessible to the communities that were the most devastated by this disease. PEPFAR, administered by USAID, provided that missing link.

So what can we do? We can reach out to our members or Congress and let them know that we want USAID and PEPFAR to continue. Fivecalls.org makes it very easy! I have been told that calling is the most effective way to get your message across. Last week a judge temporarily blocked USAID workers being put on paid leave and there is a hearing on Wednesday about the plans to destroy USAID. If we can make our voices heard in the next day or two it might make a difference! 

You can also donate to Restore Humanity and/or other international organizations that you love. We all need all of the support we can get right now and we try to ensure our people are ok and that our programs continue. Thank you all for all of the support.

"Who is My Neighbor?"

Since I started Restore Humanity, a question that I have been asked more times than I can count is “Why are you helping children in Kenya when there are children here in the US that need help?” While I understand the underlying thought process, it still always strikes me as such a strange question.

I could answer by appealing to the magnitude of need or explaining how the money we raise here goes such a long way there.  Or I could list the many awesome people and organizations that are working hard to build support systems for those in need in here in the US and how there aren't necessarily counterparts in rural Kenya, but the truth is that the main reason why I do what I do is because I was given an amazing opportunity to really make a difference in some incredible children's lives and I took it.

What I want to address today is my problem with that question in the first place. I believe that every human is important, every person from every race, religion, nationality, or tribe. Everyone, without exception. So it seems strange to me that someone would see a person helping another and wonder—Why are you helping that person, when you should be helping this person? A child in need is a child in need.

While Restore Humanity is not a Faith-Based Organization, I, myself am a person of faith. The Golden Rule is something that I take very seriously and quite literally. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself” is first said in Leviticus and then Christ applies the concept in the wonderful parable of the “Good Samaritan” (Luke 10: 25-37)

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

What I find fascinating about this story is that Christ made a Samaritan the hero. Samaritans and Jews were historically enemies and did not generally share merciful views about each other. The fact that the first two people in the story walked by their Jewish brother and did not help him says a lot, especially considering one was a Levite (from the priestly tribe) and the other a Priest, two people that would be assumed to be following the "Law" and would be considered this man's "neighbor" in the strictest sense of the word. The Samaritan was just a good person who showed love and mercy in the moment it was most needed. He goes above and beyond to help another human, despite societal norms. What I take from this is that we are to do whatever we can for each other—meaning every person regardless of our national borders, tribal affiliations or personal hang-ups.

For the record, I would love nothing more than to help every single child in need in the entire world. I was merely given an opportunity to help these children in Kenya and I took it. I am so thankful for our Restore Humanity family that supports us, and grateful that so many people share our conviction that if we make a difference in even one life,that's enough.

While many people who support Restore Humanity may not share my specific beliefs about everything, we do share some core values—that everyone matters, that all children deserve love, a stable home, and education, and that if you are able, you should help whomever you can whenever you can for as long as you can. Period. You do what you can to make the world better. One planet. One People. One Purpose.

As for a question I like to answer, “And who is my neighbor?” Everyone.

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Investing in the Future--Meet Juliana

This phenomenal young woman is Juliana. As you can see, she is absolutely gorgeous, both inside and out. Seven years ago Juliana joined our Outreach Program. She had scored very highly on her national exam in 8th grade and desperately wanted to attend high school, but she had no way to pay her fees. We became aware of her plight and enthusiastically welcomed her into the program, which covered her school costs. She joined as a freshman and continued in our program until she graduated. She would not have attended high school without the help of our #educate60 program and not only did she attend, but she excelled! Thank you to each and every one of you who helped to make her dream a reality!

She did so well that she received a government scholarship to attend university. These scholarships require the student to pay some fees and once again school fees were the only thing standing between Juliana and her promising educational future. At the same time, we decided to expand our RH Scholars to include some exceptional students from our outreach program and she was able to attend! She has continued to excel in her studies and in May she will graduate with her Bachelors in Education. Imagine if someone this bright was forced to end her education in 8th grade. Her career as a teacher will allow her to mentor countless future Julianas, too, thereby extending the gifts of her scholarship.

Juliana is one of those people who lights up a room with her kindness and enthusiasm. Investing in Juliana and students like her produces very high returns. Investing in them is investing in a better future for them, their communities, and the world. This is what we mean in our Mission Statement when we say that we support “positive and lasting change through the development of human potential.”

These young people are eager to learn and deserve the opportunity. You can help these promising students follow in Juliana's footsteps! We currently have 13 students' fees covered and are trying to get at least 47 more. Please donate today and know that you are directly contributing to a brighter future and a solid investment in a better world for us all.

Click the link below and choose your amount!
 
 
 $250--sends one student
$500--sends two
$750--sends three
$1000--sends four

Education is Key-Journal Entries from Kenya Series

The holidays are a time to pause and reflect on what truly matters. They provide us with an opportunity to come back to what feels like home—whether that’s family, friends, or simply a sense of belonging. Thanksgiving in particular is about gratitude.  It’s about giving thanks for what we have and hope for what we can become. It’s a moment to be present, share what we have, and reflect on what it means to live a life of connection and purpose. I am especially grateful for our Restore Humanity Global Family and all of the support that makes our work in Kenya possible.  

As we approach December I want to focus on our Outreach Program, #educate60, which covers the fees required to keep kids in Sirembe and the surrounding villages enrolled in high school. Public high schools in Kenya aren’t free, so these kids would be forced to drop out without these scholarships. This program started in 2008 with just one student, the one and only, Moses Vincent Agare. He was the first person in his family to attend high school.  Then he became our first RH Scholar when he came to the US to attend the University of Arkansas where he was crowned the UofA’s first-ever Homecoming King before earning his bachelor’s degree and embarking on an increasingly successful career as a civil engineer. To be fair, Moses’ charm, persistence, and ability to get the most out of every opportunity make him a bit of an outlier.  We don’t expect to replicate his story exactly but it remains true to say that our Outreach scholarships produce positive, life-altering effects for the students who receive them, as well as for their families.  The prospects for a happy, healthy, and productive life are just better for someone with a high school diploma than they are for someone whose formal education ended in the 8th grade.

Our program has grown a lot over the years. In fact, in 2024 #educate60 helped 200 girls and boys attend high school! That is a lot of growth over the years and we are so thankful for each and every one of you who has donated to make that happen!

During my trip to Kenya this past summer, I took the time to go meet with a few of the principals of the high schools that we partner with, and I was reminded just how critical it is that we continue this support. For many of the kids in the area, our scholarship is their only hope of attaining any meaningful level of education. While a high school diploma isn't a magic wand that clears every obstacle in their path, it does ensure that at least some doors will open for them--doors that allow them and their families to achieve some social mobility and have a brighter future.

Ndegwe Secondary School is one of the smaller schools in the area for which we started providing scholarships, and I met with the Principal, Mr. Kariko, while I was there. He gave me a tour of the school, which took about 6 minutes due to its modest size, but it was full of smiling, giggling faces as I passed by the classrooms. He wanted me to convey his gratitude to every donor who has helped support these students. He told me in no uncertain terms that without it, those students would not be in school at all. He very earnestly asked that we continue to support these students and I told him that I would relay the message to all of you.

The new Principal at Sirembe Secondary School, Mr. Owiye, was a joy to meet. I heard him described as a "jolly man" by people from the area and it's a very apt description. He also thanked me profusely for all of the support that we have given the students and the school itself over the years. Sirembe is a bigger school--probably 3 times the size of Ndegwe and, while they have more resources, it is still nowhere close to providing the children with everything they need. But he was determined to elevate the school to new heights and I believe that he and the teachers can do it. His leadership and focus encourage his students on their journey and also inspire increased engagement from their families.

All of our lives have been touched, at some point, by passionate educators who lack adequate resources and God bless them for their dedication and resourcefulness. While this is an all too common story, the situation in the developing world is even more extreme.  It’s not just the teachers and principals who struggle to meet basic needs for their students, but families do not have the financial stability to cover the costs of education.

This is where we, or more specifically YOU, come in. Next week we will start raising money for our #educate60 campaign and we will work to send as many Kenyan students to high school as possible. More kids able to attend high school means more graduates, which means more opportunities for them. Those opportunities benefit not only the students themselves but also their families and their communities at large. The ripple effects of their success create a continuing cycle of positive change! Some students will get a chance to attend a university, some a community college, while others will go to technical, vocational, or trade schools. Some of the students don't go further with their education, but even so, they are leaps and bounds ahead of where they would have been had they dropped out in 8th grade. 

Another thing to consider is the long-term effect of educating girls. Research shows that the longer girls can stay in school, the longer that they delay getting married and having children--which might not sound like a big deal until you understand that once many rural women in Kenya start having babies, they do not stop for quite some time. At some point, this unfortunately but reliably becomes dangerous for the mother and her babies. That is just one of the many factors to consider when thinking of the importance of this program.

Something I didn’t quite fully appreciate until I witnessed it on my most recent trip is just how much this program affects the families of our scholarship recipients and their community as a whole. Of course, it does in very tangible ways–like if these students have access to more education, they can get better jobs which not only benefits them, but also those around them. However, this program also has some benefits that are not as obvious–it helps to empower the students and their families, inspire confidence, and create the space for dignity to flourish. The bottom line is that this program is a direct and cost-effective way to completely change the course of someone's life for the better. Both girls and boys being educated is pivotal for the betterment of their lives, their families, and their community. 

I will be reaching out next week with an opportunity to participate in this year’s campaign, but in the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving full of love, gratitude, and delicious food.

Familyhood

Familyhood. This word was taught to me by our JCO and RH Scholars Alumni Jerrym on my last trip to Kenya. At first I thought it was just a great descriptor, but not actually a word. However, it turns out that it is a word, one that is very rarely used, but I think we should change that. Jerrym was telling me about his experience in our JCO Children's Home. He was one of the first 10 kids that moved into our home in 2010, the eldest in fact. He is called endearingly by some "the first born."

He told me that he participated in a forum with various people that had received help from a variety of sources. There were other non-profits and even for-profit businesses that assist kids to get through high school. He left there realizing just how unique his experience had been.

One of the main takeaways was that at the JCO, he and his JCO siblings have a sense of belonging, a sense of familyhood that is a rare thing. To be able to create true belonging and familyhood outside of a traditional family set-up is a difficult task, but by all counts that is what is happening at our JCO Children's Home. It was definitely always our intention, but it is something easier said than done.

Familyhood is one of those elusive things that you can't quite put your finger on, but you know it when you see it. And the place that it is the most apparent is in the interactions between our kiddos,both past and present.

I found a wonderful definition of family in the Urban Dictionary. “Family– A group of people, usually of the same blood (but do not have to be), who genuinely love, trust, care about, and look out for each other."

That is exactly what we mean when we say that these kiddos are our family and that they are family to each other. It is something that is essential for us all that you cannot have too much of.

When families experience great loss, it can often be the cause of the family unit breaking apart and sometimes it is unable to be put back together. Generally speaking, the kids that moved in with us experienced exactly that--a great loss, or losses, and a lot of chaos and instability in the aftermath

Human beings can survive a lot, but for children to actually be able to thrive there are some key components that must be in place. All of their basic needs must be met and they need a lot of love, safety, and stability. Children have to feel safe and feel like their environment is stable in order to explore, grow, and learn. Kids must be able to just be kids in order to develop the knowledge and skills that they need to be healthy adults.

The JCO Children's Home is providing that space for belonging, safety, love, and play. The mental and physical space to just be a kid. And within this space, our kiddos have developed the most beautiful bonds with each other. They have created and continue to maintain this incredible support network just amongst each other that inspires me to no end.

That familyhood, the bonds between our kiddos, is precious, even sacred. We gave them the support, the love, and the space and, as a result,  this is what they have created. We have said from the beginning we believe that by helping these kiddos they will actually be the ones to change the world--and this is one of the most heartening examples of them doing just that. 

The Inspiration Runs Deep--Journal Entries from Kenya Series

The Inspiration Runs Deep

Journal Entries from Kenya Series

As I have mentioned in previous posts in this series, my trip was packed full of every emotion under the sun, often turned up pretty high on the dial. One of the most constant feelings was inspiration. Returning to Sirembe after being away for so long naturally reenergized me about all of our programs and I left feeling so excited about what the future will bring. 

However, the greatest source of inspiration on this trip came from our RH Scholars, our former JCO kiddos who are now attending universities, community colleges, and technical schools through our RH Scholars Program. These remarkable students instilled in me a deep sense of hope for our future. Their individual futures, the future of Restore Humanity, and the collective future of humanity at large.

All of our RH Scholars and now RH Scholar Alumni are remarkable people. I mean that both in big and small ways. The challenges they have faced and overcome in their young lives are difficult, to put it mildly, and yet they are focused, loving, kind, hard-working, and by all accounts happy.

I spent a lot of my time on this trip just talking with them. The last time we were together they were still kiddos in our JCO Children's Home and now I was fascinated to learn more about the adults they are becoming.

Each of our RH Scholars came home to visit me and stay for the weekend. Seeing them all grown up, laughing and interacting together, made my heart swell. The bond of grown up siblings is so strong; they understand each other in a way that no one else can. Mathe's house and the JCO compound were teeming with life and I was so happy to just be a part of it!

Over the weekend I got to have some really enlightening and heart-warming conversations. Some of our scholars took the time to tell me how grateful they are for what Mathe and I have done in their lives. Others were excited to talk about what they are learning and gave me great advice on how to improve the work that we are doing based on their experiences.

Pamela, for example, is getting her Bachelors Degree in Clinical Psychology and she has some wonderful ideas on how to improve the lives of our current JCO kiddos. This was a moment that I have been looking forward to for so long. It has been clear to us for some time that as our JCO kiddos grow up and receive some type of post-secondary education or training, the insights they have will be invaluable to guiding the work we do, and the future of Restore Humanity and their community. Because honestly who would know better what our newer kiddos need? Or what would make Sirembe better? They are all just at the beginning of their adult lives, but it is already so apparent what an immense resource their insight is.

It's also just as important, perhaps more so, how these kiddos will show up in their personal lives. What kind of mothers or fathers or colleagues or neighbors will they be? Our sweet Elvis moved in with us when he was 10 years old in 2011. As with all of our kiddos, he had already experienced an enormous amount of hardship by the time he moved into our home. He was always sensitive, earnest, and had a heart of gold, but the unfortunate circumstances of his early life left quite a mark. He struggled throughout school and was often teased about his perceived lack of intellect. But Mathe saw something special in him from the beginning and gave him encouragement and special duties around our home, engendering her love and trust in him - day after day, and year after year.

Elvis left high school for a technical school to learn to become an electrician. He has excelled so impressively in the last few years that he will soon earn his associates degree and wants to keep studying! Elvis still has that beautiful heart of gold, but now he is a confident and happy young man. He sat me down, determined to tell me how grateful he was to us, especially Mathe, for all that we have done and for believing in him. He also told me that he loved my sons Malcolm and Howie and all of the current kiddos at the JCO. He said he especially loves little Omondi, one of our newer kids who has significant health problems and mental challenges. He struggles and Elvis did too. When Elvis said "I understand him," it might have been the sweetest thing that I have ever heard. Our kind, earnest boy is all grown up and he is fantastic.

We haven't figured out any secret code to ensure that children grow up to be great adults--I promise if I ever do discover it, I will share it far and wide—BUT we are onto something because the progress these kiddos have made is nothing short of miraculous. While our programs are designed to help them heal and give them a chance to become the best they can be, the greatness of what's being achieved is all coming from our kiddos themselves.

I could go on for hours about how impressive and inspiring these future change-makers are, but for now I just want to leave you with this. I had the bizarre experience of two of our former JCO kiddos; Albright and Jerrym (one a current RH Scholar, the latter now a RH Scholar alumni), unbeknownst to one another, telling me almost exactly the same thing in two different private conversations.

Both of these conversations lasted for 5 or 6 hours at a time. We were just talking and sharing together and, completely unprompted, both shared precisely the same insights. They credited living at our JCO Home with the fact that when they see children who they don't know in pain or in need, they want to help them. What's more, they not only want to help, they genuinely believe that they can - and that they will. They each told me that many people are under the misconception that you have to be really wealthy to help others. They believe that everyone can help and they are determined to do their part.

We are playing the long game here folks, and we are just now seeing what long term love, care, and support does for people and it is truly a sight to behold. This is the journey towards healing–this is what it takes to begin to restore humanity in us all. It is what I believed and hoped to be true for so long and now I can see it in these incredible young people and the choices they make.

How do we make positive and lasting change in a community?  By investing in the young people who live there. This investment requires money and time but also lots of love. I feel so much gratitude for everyone in our Restore Humanity Global Family who has contributed to the healing and development of our kiddos. Our world is a much better place because of your efforts and generosity and I can never thank you enough.

With Love & Gratitude,

Sarah Fennel Buchanan

Founder/CEO 

Restore Humanity

So Many Tears--Journal Entries from Kenya Series

So Many Tears

Journal Entries from Kenya Series 

Anyone who knows me well knows I am a crier — happy tears, sad tears, being moved and tearing up because of a credit card commercial. You get the picture. It's not usually full-blown tears, though that happens too. It is more like tears are always at the ready.

On this trip I cried more than I had in a very long time. It started the morning I departed home. I went in to drop my boys off at their daycare, which they love, but that particular day our son Malcolm knew was the day I was leaving for Kenya. He is almost four years old, so he understood that mommy is going on a trip, but that she will be coming back. He wasn't happy about it but handled it pretty well. Our younger son Howie is about to be two years old and he didn't really understand what was happening. He had been sensing something was up in the days leading up, but it was like it clicked for him that it was happening right then.

Howie started crying and holding onto me for dear life and I held him longer than usual because I knew I wouldn't be seeing him for the next few weeks. Shortly after, I started crying while holding him and then Malcolm came out of his classroom and grabbed onto my leg and wouldn't let go. It was brutal. I am so thankful for the boy's teachers; they were so loving and helped us navigate that heart-wrenching moment.

I left the school and went home bawling—like full-body crying. I cried on the way to the airport and calmed down, only to cry again when I said my final goodbye to my people. I thought I was more or less good until I saw a random person that I knew who asked me where I was going and the waterworks started again. Finally, as I sat in the Atlanta airport (for many hours) I settled down, with a very puffy face, and started to get present in my journey. My tears for my boys continued throughout my entire trip, though thankfully not constantly.

I wasn't surprised at the tears from me or my boys when I left; there was not a world where that wasn't going to happen. However, I was a little taken aback at how tears would be a major theme of my entire trip. Both my tears and many other people's as well.

A lot has happened since I last was in Sirembe. Multiple people I knew had died, namely our sweet Clinton who died from cancer in 2022, and our dear Vivian, who was a former JCO kiddo recently killed in a domestic abuse incident. Many of my conversations centered around these two remarkable people and everyone's grief experiences. It was tough, but also beautiful and healing. Allowing some sunlight to shine on grief with people you love and trust is always healing. Tears were often bountiful in these exchanges.

I also had a few hard conversations with two of our kiddos who made some bad choices,ended up facing the consequences of those choices, and were filled with regret and some shame. Seeing someone you love down like that is difficult to endure. However, there was something else that was present in both of those conversations—hope. And a lot of it. Both of these young adults acknowledged they had made mistakes, faced the consequences, and are now on the path to redemption. They were full of hope and determination to steer their lives back to how they wanted them to go and I think in the end these two will blow us away with just how bright their futures become.

And that brings me to my favorite kind of tears—the happy ones! I teared up daily (often more than once a day) when confronted with the positive results of the transformational work that we are doing! Honestly, I was stunned. We focus on quality over quantity. We make positive and lasting change by investing in individuals in the hopes that they will become the changemakers that their communities need. And I am here to tell you that IT WORKS!

Seeing the results of the last 15 years of this type of work is truly a sight to behold. The last time I was here most of our kiddos were still kids, but five years later there are now young adults attending college, universities or technical schools and excelling! They are kind, hardworking, funny, and compassionate. They will indeed improve their community, their country, and the world at large. I will have an entire blog about these changemakers soon!

Happy tears also came when I met our newer kiddos at the JCO for the first time. They are all wonderful little humans, most of them are shy at first, but once the stickers and bubbles and crayons come out it goes away. I teared up as I learned more of their stories of how they came to be living in our home and teared up again as I watched them play—knowing what a blessing it is for them to feel safe and loved.

Not surprisingly, as I was packing the van to leave Sirembe and I started to give my final hugs to some of my favorite people, the tears returned. I was once again leaving people that I love to return to people that I love. It's so bittersweet. The trip was a beautiful one, packed full of every emotion under the sun and I am so grateful to have experienced them all.

Karibu Dala (Welcome Home) Journal Entries from Kenya

Karibu Dala (Welcome Home)

Journal Entries from Kenya Series 

The journey to reach Sirembe is an arduous one, even when everything goes smoothly. This time the journey was full of delays and missed flights and changes, even though, admittedly, some of the surprises were good ones. I left my house in Arkansas on Wednesday morning and arrived in Sirembe on Sunday evening.

While on my flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi, I happened to look out the window and witnessed the exact moment we flew from over the Mediterranean Sea to over the deserts of northern Africa and I was in awe. It was stunningly beautiful and it really hit me how lucky I was to be coming home.

Years ago, on one of my first trips to Africa, I got up to go to the bathroom on the plane and happened to look out the window from 30,000+ feet up and I could see straight down to the Sahara Desert. I was completely filled with wonder. I spent the next hour staring out the window, fascinated by the desert below me and I was reminded how incredible it was to be living a childhood dream by coming to this marvelous continent. It makes me feel like I am 10 years old every single time.

And this time was no exception. In fact, it was even more intense, given that it had been so long since I had last made this journey. It was truly incredible to actually see the moment where the plane went from flying over the Mediterranean into the skies over Africa. I was giddy and grateful and felt so alive.

Hours later, when we landed in Nairobi, I was in tears. It felt so good to be back; I missed this place even more than I had realized. It was the middle of the night and I couldn't see much, but the energy was unmistakable and I knew I was home.

I stayed in Nairobi to rest for a day before boarding my 4th and final flight to Kisumu. I was jetlagged and exhausted, but so excited because I knew I would soon be with my beloved people in my beloved Sirembe. The next day I landed in Kisumu and saw a huge sign saying “Karibu Dala” and I teared up because that means “Welcome Home.” The phrase is a combination of Swahili and Luo. I got my bags and walked out of the Arrivals area to see one of the most important people in my life, Mathe (Mrs. Opot). Just as I started to run over to her I realized that she had nearly 20 people with her—she had brought most of our JCO Kiddos and two members of our Kenyan team to pick me up and I was so moved. Just a puddle of happiness and tears. So surprised and so grateful.

I hugged each and every one of them, shocked at how big many of them had grown. We all piled into the van and drove the almost 2-hour journey back to Sirembe. As we were driving, I was feeling so many things—exhaustion, happiness, and so much gratitude. It was also a strange Deja-vu moment. I had ridden, smashed in a van with our kiddos, on those Kenya roads millions of times. It is honestly a wonderful feeling to all be packed in there, usually going somewhere exciting. But this time most of the kids were new-to-me and some of the other kids who had ridden on my lap or were smashed next to me years ago are now the big people in the back of the bus waiting to start their college courses this September. Everything felt so familiar, yet also new, and it was fantastic.

We drove slowly down the dirt roads into Sirembe and my heart felt anchored, attached at the root to this place. When we pulled up to Mathe's house, I was home. I got out and was greeted by many more people, including my Kenyan bestie Christine (aka Nyarkisumu). I got unpacked, ate dinner, bathed out of my bucket and then I stayed up much later than I should have, catching up and laughing with Mathe and Nyarkisumu. It was glorious and so good for my soul. Later still, I fell asleep under my mosquito net and felt at peace, so grateful to finally be back home. Karibu dala indeed.

With Love & Gratitude,

Sarah Fennel Buchanan

Founder/CEO

Restore Humanity

My Heart is Being Pulled in Two Different Directions

As I prepare for my upcoming trip to Kenya, I am filled with a big mix of emotions. I am really excited to get back to Kenya for the first time since 2019. I never expected to be away so long.  I was planning for a visit in 2020, but I learned I was pregnant in February of that year and then everyone knows what happened in March. Our son Malcolm was born that October and by November 2021 I was pregnant again with our second son, Howie. Naturally, traveling across multiple time zones and hemispheres hasn't really been an option. My husband has been twice during this time, but this will be my first trip since 2019.

The best way that I can explain this feeling is that my heart is being pulled in two different directions. Every trip that I have made to Kenya has been bittersweet, both in coming and going. I am always leaving people I love to go to see other people I love. Only this time I am a mother of two gorgeous toddlers, so that bitter, as I prepare to leave, is much stronger. But at the same time, it has been so long since I have seen my Kenyan family that the sweet in going is all the sweeter this time. 

Five years is a long time; inevitably there is a lot of change. Especially when it comes to children. I am constantly shocked when I see pictures of our kiddos in Kenya, many of whom are grown adults now. I keep up with them all, thanks to modern technology, but when I get to see their faces in person and hug them after so long–I feel like my heart will just be bursting out of my chest. I also really miss Mrs. Opot (Mathe), my Kenyan partner and friend and mentor and mother–and of course our entire awesome Kenyan team.

Seeing them all and catching up is what I am looking forward to the most. However, I am also looking forward to just being in Sirembe. I have spent years of my life there and it is very much my second home. It has raised me as much as Fayetteville has.  The journey to get there is very long, four flights (30+hours) followed by a two hour drive. But then there is that moment where we will pull off the main highway onto the dirt road headed to Sirembe when my heart always starts to feel lighter. As we make the last few turns, I can see Mathe's house and our JCO Children's Home–I know I am home and my heart is at peace. 

There is something special about that place. Its people, of course, would be the main reason I love it so much, but there is something more that has worked its way into my heart. There is no electricity (though we do have pretty good solar panels now), running water is usually available these days (though it is freezing cold), and internet is pretty scarce. And while I miss regular access to electricity and a hot shower, it is also kind of nice to really unplug. 

It will be so good for my heart and soul to be there. To see all of our people again and see our programs at work. It is crazy how much we have accomplished since my first visit to Sirembe in 2007. We have been able to completely transform dozens of lives of the kiddos in our JCO Children's Home and been able to positively impact thousands more through our various Outreach Programs. The ripple effects are already being felt and we have only just begun. 

I will be sharing my journey along the way (when the internet cooperates) and will have lots to share with you upon my return. To each and every one of you who have supported us along this journey, thank you. Please know you helped make this happen and we couldn't do it without the support of our ever growing RH Global Family.

I will be in touch soon…

With Gratitude,

Sarah Fennel Buchanan

Founder & CEO

Restore Humanity

We Couldn't Be Prouder

As I watched Juma walk across the stage at Bud Walton Arena I couldn't help but remember the little guy I met 12 years ago. During our first conversation on the day that he moved into our JCO Children's Home I got a glimpse and a preview of the exceptional man that I know today.

While he seemed timid at first, underneath his quiet demeanor was a passionate and determined young man prepared to do everything he could to realize his dreams.

Twelve years ago, Juma was in the 8th grade. His principal, Mr. Anyango, brought Juma to our attention. He was a kid in need of help, as many kids there are, but Mr. Anayngo had recognized at an early stage that Juma was exceptional. He told us that if Juma were to get the support he needed, he could truly excel. Boy was he right!

Children in many rural areas in Kenya have little access to computers and, even then, only sparingly. When Juma graduated high school he had little experience on a computer or even a smartphone. However, when he joined our RH Scholars program and moved to Arkansas, he quickly made up for lost time. Within just a year or two of living in an entirely new country, with English as his third language, he started coding and was often the person helping me with my phone or computer troubles.

Juma has gifts in understanding both hardware and software. Yes, he can code and implement high level software, but I have also witnessed him take apart broken computers, fix them, and put them back together again. On May 11th, he graduated from the Walton College of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems. His GPA for his final semester was a 3.75 and his overall GPA is a 3.14.

How incredible is that? I would wager that all of his classmates who graduated with him had daily access to computers for most of their lives which resulted in a huge head start in their field. However, in the end, it didn't seem to hinder Juma one bit.

We couldn't be prouder of Juma. It is a major accomplishment for which he has worked diligently. He has always been a hard worker. From the moment Juma moved into our JCO Children's Home, the other kids looked up to him. His focus on school made studying cool and resulted in a major shift in the culture of our home. Now everyone wanted to study and do well in school just because Juma did.

As impressive as Juma's intellect and work ethic are, by my lights, the most impressive thing about him will always be his heart. From a very young age he has been deeply compassionate and concerned with the welfare of others. Even as he succeeds and continues to climb, he remains grounded in his determination to ensure that whatever he does in the world will include making it better. He is passionate about helping his community and the world at large and I believe with all of my heart that he will do just that. Juma uses the struggles that he has been through to fuel him and inform how he wants to show up in the world. He is spinning that struggle into gold for himself and his community. He sees a future where he can use technology to improve the lives of people and I have no doubt he will. 

The world is a better place because Juma is in it and I am grateful to know him, to love him, and to call him family. A huge thank you to every one of you that helped him along the way directly or just by supporting Restore Humanity's programs. You made this possible and trust me when I say that this is only the beginning. We are so excited to see what the future has in store for our dear Juma!

P.S. The picture below was taken in 2013, when Juma was still shorter than me. 

With Love & Gratitude,

Sarah

Happy International Women's Day 2024

 I have spent years of my life in Kenya.  It is my second home and there is an entire community of people there that welcome me and claim me as their own. And for that fact and many others I am so grateful to my Kenyan family.

When I am in Sirembe, at home (Mrs. Opot's home), I feel cherished, loved, and protected. Juanita Opot, my Kenyan partner, makes sure of that, but I also feel this from the larger community and especially all of the Kenyan women I know and love.

I am amazed by Kenyan women. Their fortitude, their beauty, their perseverance through difficulties, their joy, their humor, their love and their ability to work harder than anyone else I have ever seen--male or female, worldwide. This even goes for women up into their eighties. They are pillars of strength that provide the foundation for their community.

Every year during Women's Month we raise money for our "Support Other Women. Period." campaign wherein we raise the money to buy 1,000 Kenyan school girls AFRIpads maxi-pads that will last them an entire year. It is a powerful way for women (and some wonderful men) to support other women and provide a simple solution to a serious problem.

In honor of International Women's Day, I wanted to share something beautiful that I have learned from Luo culture (Luo is the predominant tribe in the area where we work) that might inspire us to find specific ways to support each other.

In Luo culture, traditionally girls leave their parents' home and move to another area to get married and join their husband's home. Many women in Sirembe grew up in another area, and you hear these hometowns referenced in the greetings. So for instance, my Kenyan best friend's English name is Christine, but she is called “Nyarkisumu” by most people, which translates to “girl from Kisumu”. Mrs. Opot is originally from the town of Siaya, so she is sometimes called “Nyarsiaya.”  There are variations of this all over.

When I first started spending time in Sirembe and learning about Luo culture I thought at first that it was dismissive like “oh she's just a girl from___.” But when I really started paying attention, I realized that it is more often used as a term of endearment. Especially from one woman to another.

Instead of it being a lack of recognition, it was the opposite—by calling you by the name of where you are from they are telling you that they know something extra about you. Like “I know where you are from” or more simply “I see you”.  Men use this phrasing too, but I hear it much more amongst women.

At some point over the years, I was given the name “Nyarsirembe” and so many people from the area call me that when I am there. They always say it with such gusto too, like they want me to know that they mean it. They have claimed me as a “girl from Sirembe” and it is one of the greatest honors of my life.

We can learn from this beautiful tradition and, especially today, reach out to women whom we love and admire and tell them something special about them that you know and appreciate. It always feels good to really feel seen. 

Women constantly inspire me. Women of various cultures, races, and ages—in all stages of their journeys. Although our differences span far and wide—there seems to be so much more that connects us. Our struggles, both collective and individual—our failures, our successes. Women are magnificent and our abilities are vast and awe-inspiring. I feel blessed to know all of the beautiful women who are in my global family. I love you all and you inspire me daily. To every woman across the world, know that you deserve to be seen and celebrated, and even if only just for today, then let's do that for ourselves and each other! Happy Women's Day!

With Love & Gratitude,

Sarah 

Learn more About “Support Other Women. Period.” Campaign

Mamas, Babies, & Restoring Humanity

While our principal program is our JCO Children's Home (est. 2010), in 2014 we had the opportunity to do something quite different and we took it! We were approached by the leadership of a local clinic, the Sirembe Dispensary, and they asked us to help them build a maternity ward.

As a rule, we only take on new projects that are first requested or initiated by the local community. The village of Sirembe is where most of our programs are located and so It was clear to us that the people there would benefit greatly from a well-functioning maternity ward.  With this offer of formal collaboration to build one came the certainty that there was also enough support on the ground to make it happen. So we decided to partner with the local clinic in Sirembe, Kenya - which is where our JCO children and staff get treated when they are sick.

The Sirembe Dispensary was where a great many local women would go to deliver babies and while the staff there did the best that they could with the resources available, it was not very conducive to a healthy delivery. There was no drainage in the patient rooms and there was no real separation between delivering mothers with newborns and the other sick patients at the clinic. Many of these sick patients have highly communicable diseases such as TB, which is particularly dangerous for people with compromised immune systems (e.g. delivering mothers and their newborn babies). It was very clear that a proper facility was needed.

At that time the local committee in Sirembe came together and identified what the needs were and raised $12,000 from the Kenyan government. However, they needed an additional $25,000 to complete the construction, which included a septic and drainage system. Our Restore Humanity Medical Committee made up of members from our Board of Directors and doctors from NWA decided to step up and help out.

 Our Restore Humanity Medical Committee Chairman, Dr. Scott Bailey, led the way and we were able to raise the remaining money needed for construction and some basic furnishings and equipment by the end of 2014.  By March 2015 the first baby was born at the new facility! A healthy boy named Titus!

 What's even more incredible is that well over 1,000 healthy babies have been born to healthy mamas in the time that has passed since those doors were first opened. I am so thankful that we were given the opportunity to help and that our wonderful donors made this all possible!

 Now having delivered two baby boys myself, I have an even greater understanding of how crucial it is to have a hygienic, safe, and calm environment in which to give birth. To have both the space you need during the process, but also to have professionals there to help you and your baby through the journey. It is a magical time, but everyone is also quite vulnerable during the process.

I feel so grateful that we were able to do this for mamas and babies in Sirembe. I am so thankful for Dr. Bailey and everyone else who helped to get this done! In the future, we hope to find even more ways to help Sirembe's mamas and babies, but in the meantime, I just wanted to take a moment to look back with gratitude at how far we have come.

Our Sweet Boy

The worst has happened. One of our kiddos has passed away. This is an email that I prayed that I would never have to write.  I have dreaded the mere thought of it. Our sweet boy, Clinton Otieno Musa died last week from Burkitt's Lymphoma. He was almost 12 years old and had lived with us for 11 of those years. It all happened very quickly. He got sick at the beginning of June, was diagnosed at the beginning of July, and he died on August 14th while undergoing treatment in Nairobi. He was buried yesterday on his family's land in Sirembe surrounded by so many people that loved him dearly.

He and his brother Austin moved into our JCO Children's a few weeks after their brother Elvis in the summer of 2011. Clinton was not yet 18 months old when we found him and Austin (3 years old at the time) in a very bad state, both with severe malnutrition and extreme cases of malaria. After staying in the hospital to recover for 2 weeks, they both moved in with us and became a part of our JCO Children's Home Family. From the moment they arrived, they brought so much love, light, and laughter to our home and they have ever since. Since that time Clinton has been a very healthy young boy who spent most of his time playing in the yard with all of his JCO siblings. He was beloved and cherished and such a happy little guy.

At the JCO Children's Home Clinton lived a very happy life. He was the youngest kiddo from when he moved in at 1-year old until he was about 6, so he was doted on by all of the older kiddos and staff. And when I was around, I couldn't keep him out of my arms. He was ridiculously cute and he knew it. And everyone absolutely adored him. From the time he could run you could find him out in the yard with Austin and other younger kiddos playing all sorts of games that they created and having the time of their lives. Clinton LOVED mangoes, as any sane person does, but he once made himself physically ill during mango season because he just couldn't get enough. He also loved hot wheels cars, in fact, he asked for one when he was in the hospital.

Mrs. Opot and our staff cared for him and helped him through every stage of development. He learned to walk and talk and even use the outhouse like a big boy. I was there helping with some of the toddler tantrums and potty training, but our JCO Staff dealt with most of that day in and day out, and they did a phenomenal job. Clinton grew to be a handsome, loving, and well-behaved little guy. He loved to play board games and run around the yard with Austin and his other JCO siblings. He was also becoming quite the artist and would spend long stretches of time quietly coloring.

He was such a special kid and holds a very special place in my heart and I think that is true of everyone who knew him. I have spent a lot of time imagining who he would become as a grown man and how he would contribute to the world around him. Although he didn't ever get to grow up, I can say that he contributed so much to my world and I know Mrs. Opot, Patrick, our entire staff and all of our kiddos would say the same. He brought joy to our hearts daily and so much love and laughter. Our lives are infinitely brighter because he was here and I thank God for the day that I met him and he joined our home.

He meant the world to me and our entire global family. We are all devastated by this loss. However, if you could, please say a prayer and send loving thoughts to his brothers Austin and Elvis and all the rest of our kiddos—we are all feeling so much pain, but I imagine theirs is the worst.

We appreciate all of your love and support of our Home and our kiddos. Many of you loved Clinton from afar and helped us to give him the beautiful life that he had and we thank you for that. The thing that I am holding onto right now that brings me comfort amidst this horrible tragedy is that although his life was way too short, I can say with 100% certainty that it was a really happy one. Clinton spent every day surrounded by laughter, joy, and people who loved him deeply. With the exception of the rough beginning and end of his life - he lived every day as a happy and healthy young boy whose biggest concerns were having fun with his buddies, his toys, and his JCO Family that loved him. We are so grateful to have him in our home and in our hearts, now and forever. 

Support Other Women. Period. 2020

Help us Provide Maxi-Pads for 1000 Kenyan Girls for an Entire Year!

Today is International Women’s Day and we want to celebrate all women across the globe! The women of Restore Humanity believe the best way to celebrate International Women's month is for each of us to look at other women and find out what they really need--and then find effective ways to help provide it. Here in the US our focus tends to be on the necessity for our equality, respect, and opportunity--and rightfully so! However, we are remiss if we fail to notice the huge chasm between groups of women when it comes to more basic needs. And what could be more basic, or more of a woman’s issue than our periods?

While “lady-time” is no picnic for anyone, for millions of women and girls worldwide it means so much more than discomfort. Millions of women and girls do not have access to maxi pads or tampons at all simply because they cannot afford them. However, every woman knows that nature will still take its course and “Aunt Flo” is coming whether you want her to or not. So unfortunately these girls and women have to use things like mud, sticks, leaves, pieces of a foam mattress, or old rags to try to manage their cycles. Not only do these things not work, they sometimes cause harmful infections.

The statistics are staggering. For example, some estimates say that the average girl in Kenya misses 4.9 days of school every month, every single month of the school year. That means they’re missing at least 20% of their school year due to lack of maxi pads! That is just unacceptable. Period.

In 2012 I met with the girl students at Sirembe Secondary School (In Kenya) to talk about life and being a girl. At some point our discussion turned to the issue of schoolgirls having sex with older men, which is a problem for many reasons, not the least of which is the rapid spread of HIV. I asked them why girls were doing this and the first answer I got was “they do it to get money to buy things like maxi pads.” My jaw hit the floor. As I was leaving I asked them if there was one thing that I could do to help them, what would it be? Unanimously they said “Please buy us maxi pads.”

Since then Restore Humanity has provided maxi pads for the girls at Sirembe Secondary School, even as their population has continued to grow rapidly (to over 700 girls). While getting them pads was the most important thing, the impact on the environment was always in the back of our mind. The plastic in maxi pads is non-biodegradable which means they stay in landfills for about 800 years! So if we buy pads for 700 girls each month, and if each girl uses that pack of 12 every month, that is 8,400 pads thrown away each month and 100,800 per year from just one high school in rural Kenya! (432 million pads are disposed of each month globally).

The good news is that 3 years ago we found a better way! An incredible social business in Uganda called Afripads makes reusable maxi pads that last for an entire year and they are amazing! They employ 150 people in Uganda and upwards of 90% of them are women (in all levels of the business). They partner with nonprofits and women’s groups and have reached over 3.5 million women and girls with their products! (Watch the video below to learn more!)

Another exciting development is that Afripads is offering a special “schoolgirl menstrual kit” which has five pads (instead of four) including one for light days. They changed up their original product based on the feedback of school girls and we are excited to get this improved product to our girls! This packet costs around $5 and it lasts for an entire year. I have tested them out myself and they are really comfortable, they actually work really well, and they’re also really easy to wash and take care of! There are so many reasons why we love this program and here are just a few:

1. We help girls be safe, stay in school, and manage their periods with confidence and comfort.

2. We help the environment in a big way.

3. We support a social business in Africa that employs over 150 women.

4. AND it is cheaper! We now spend around $5.00 per girl per year and we were spending $12.00.

So pretty much it is a win, win, win, win. How could it get any better than that?!?

HERE IS WHERE YOU COME IN

We want to buy 1000 packets of Afripads at the end of this month for girls 7th-12th grade in Sirembe and at least one other secondary school in the area (high school). Again, this packet will last these girls ALL YEAR!

We need to raise $5,000 by March 31st.

We have raised $1,300 of our goal so far and only have $3,700 to go!

Let us all celebrate the month of women by supporting those of us who need it the most!

Donate Here

$25—COVERS 5 GIRLS FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR

$50—COVERS 10 GIRLS FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR

$100—COVERS 20 GIRLS FOR AN ENTIRE YEAR

$500—COVERS 100 GIRLS!!

DONATE HERE

Thank you all for your support and today we are so happy to celebrate women everywhere!

Please watch this video below to learn more about our partner Afripads!

Since we launched almost 10 years ago, our business offering has adapted and grown a great deal. Our experience and expertise had led us from being solely a ...

Outreach Education Update: We Reached 107 Students!

How #educate60 became #educate107

We want to thank each and every person who contributed to educate Kenyan high school students for the 2020 school year! Kenya’s school year is from January to December, so thank you for helping us to start their year off right! It is impossible to overstate the importance of education.  It’s the key to opportunity and a crucial first step towards breaking cycles of poverty. This is a game changer for these kiddos and on behalf of them we thank you!

This year we decided to change our program a little bit, based on feedback that we received from parents, school administrators, and students. We created a new application process to help us ensure that we are getting help to the students who need it the most. We also opened up eligibility for our scholarships to students in three different area schools. We are excited to announce that we were able to give partial scholarships to 107 Kenyan students!!! That is 107 high school students who are in school today because of YOU! Thank you so much for your support!

We appreciate our donors and we also appreciate our Kenyan partners who make this all possible. Without our Kenyan Country Director and Co-Founder of the JCO Children’s Home, Juanita Opot, nothing we have done in Sirembe over the last 13 years would have been possible.  Her wisdom, leadership, and tireless work on the ground every single day are indispensable to Restore Humanity’s impact in this community. We are also deeply thankful for the Principal of Sirembe Secondary School, Mr. Henry Airo. He is an incredible Principal and teacher and he goes above and beyond for his students. We also want to thank the leadership of Malunga & Ndegwe Secondary Schools. 

We are a Global Team and a Global Family and if you have supported our work in any way, you are a part of this family! We thank you all for your support and for donating to help to send 107 kids to school! Education can completely change the trajectory of their lives, so thank you for making that possible.

Giving Tuesday 2019-- Help us Educate 60 Kenyan Students!

Restore Humanity began its Outreach Program in Sirembe, Kenya in 2008, two years before we opened our Children's Home. Our Outreach Program assists families in need by paying school fees for their children. It is one of the simplest ways to help people and move towards alleviating poverty one family at a time. Many of the families in Sirembe need some form of assistance to send their children to secondary school (high school) and while there is some help available, it's not nearly enough. That is where we (well, actually YOU) come in. 

In our Restore Humanity Outreach Program we usually pay a partial scholarship for each student, but will provide a full scholarship for those in the most dire of circumstances.  We tend to pay partial scholarships because we have found that encouraging the families to pitch in makes this a real investment for everyone involved. However, there are cases where the family literally has nothing to give. In such cases we cover more, if not all of their fees. School fees in Kenya fluctuate quite a bit from year to year and so we raise $250 per student, then if the costs have decreased we just get to educate more kids! So everyone wins! For example, last year we raised money to educate only 60 kids, but we were able to stretch that cover 73 kids! How awesome is that?

We began by giving the partial scholarships only to girls in the community. Historically they have had less support both from their families and their society to attend school. Thankfully, all of that is changing! We still have work to do, but in the community of Sirembe the school leadership made it their mission to increase the attendance of girls and now the school is around 50% female. While boys traditionally get more support from their families, there are still many families that cannot afford to send their boys to school either. We all rise together and that means we also need educated young men. Providing help for boys was also what young men, teachers, and parents asked of us, and so we listened and adjusted our program accordingly. While we will always lean towards uplifting more girls—since they historically have had much further to climb—we are also really thrilled to help these awesome young men who, without assistance, would not have the opportunity to be educated either.

For the 2020 school year (which starts in January) we hope to be able to assist 60 Kenyan students! Our goal this year is to raise $15,000. Our campaign starts NOW and will run through December 31st. We are excited to announce that we had some early donors and we already have 3 students covered! Only 57 more to go! Please join us in providing education to some amazing young people who, if given the opportunity, can change their community, their country, and possibly the world!

Click the link, choose your amount, and you can make a note at the bottom if you prefer to send a boy or a girl

$250--sends one girl or boy to high school
$500--sends two
$750--sends three
$1000--sends four

DONATE HERE

Moses in the Big City

Last week was deeply significant for me and my husband, as well as for Restore Humanity. The first kid that we ever helped in Kenya, Moses Vincent Agare, boarded a plane from Arkansas and moved to New York City.  Yes, you read that correctly, Moses is now a resident in the Big Apple. He was one of the first people I met in Kenya on my first trip in 2007. He was the first and only kid we helped during the years we were building our JCO Children’s Home. In 2008 we paid for his Secondary School fees making him the first student in our Outreach Program.  In 2013 he became our first RH Scholar and moved to Arkansas to study Civil Engineering at the UofA. This past May he graduated with this bachelor’s degree and just last week he took a Civil Engineering job in New York City. 

As we stood there in the lobby of XNA, all in tears, it occurred to me that this was a day that I never thought of and wasn’t prepared for. I have spent all of this time with my head down working to ensure that we get them through school and prepare them for life—basically working to make this day happen, but still, it never occurred to me how I would feel once it came. How could I feel so proud of him and terrified for him at the same time? I just wanted some assurance that he is going to be ok. But that’s not how life is for anyone, as much as we want it to be. I know he is both capable and prepared for this.  And yet, I still want to protect him and be with him to make sure he is ok. But I cannot be there—it is time for him to spread his wings. I imagine this is something which parents feel all of the time. It is both wonderful and terrifying to love someone like this and be responsible for their well being. You work so hard to prepare them so that they can stand on their own and yet you don’t want to let them go. 

Moses applied for jobs all over the country but when this opportunity came in New York City, he was especially excited.  Despite initially not knowing anyone in the city or where he would live or even who would pick him up at the airport he found a way to make it happen.  Through an awesome Kenyan network of people who are helping him to start a new life, he was able to answer all these questions so he just went for it! It is a really big move, but if you know anything about our Moses, that is pretty much the only way he rolls. 

Many of you probably saw his departure on social media, but just in case you didn’t—I wanted to update our entire Restore Humanity family on his success. Moses has made it so far and still has so much more to do on his journey. Thank you to each and every person who has made his amazing journey possible. 

And don’t worry, this isn’t the end of the story. We talk to him almost every day, so we will keep you updated on all of the amazing things he will do in this next phase of his life.  

Moses & I in 2008 in Kenya

Moses & I in May 2019 at his University of Arkansas Graduation Ceremony

Me, Moses, and my husband Boo all teared up at the XNA Airport last week

Moses just being Moses

Winetopia 2019--Wrapped up in Gratitude

Winetopia 2019—-Wrapped up in Gratitude

Two weeks ago, on October 4th, we had our annual Winetopia Event at the Pratt Place Barn and it was better than ever. Every year I am in awe of this community. Hundreds of people all contribute in ways both big and small to ensure our event is a success. That includes volunteers, sponsors, vendors, donors and guests! To have this kind of support in our community means more than I could ever express, but I hope each and every one of you knows that you are appreciated. We raised $64,083 this year and that is our record for this event!! So thank you all for your support!

We spent two days setting up with the help of incredible volunteers and then as the event began I watched as hundreds of people started pouring in the doors ready to enjoy all the wonderful things our vendors had to offer. It always feels good at our event, but the energy this year seemed even better. The way I would describe the feeling is being wrapped up in gratitude. Everyone was so happy to be there and participate—and you could feel it.

A little more about what our vendors had to offer…We had four of the best restaurants in Northwest Arkansas serving their finest: Bordinos, Bocca, Arsaga’s and Cafe Rue Orleans. For dessert, we had the famous Mia Tarts, Pure Joy Ice Cream and Chuck’s Cake Shoppe! Wine lovers enjoyed tasting all of the delicious wines poured by Natural State Distributing, Constellation, Diamond Beverage Group, De Nux Distributors, and Scout & Cellar. Two of the finest breweries in town—Core & Fossil Cove—were pouring their wonderful craft beer. Black Apple Crossing poured their fabulous cider and Beam Suntory provided top-shelf bourbon! And imagine— ALL of that was included in each and every Winetopia ticket!

Local businesses were exceedingly generous this year as they provided incredible contributions to our silent auction making it the best one we’ve ever had and we are so grateful. We had it all and our guests loved it! Papa Joe at the Wine Toss was a huge hit as always. Matt Boles (DJ M. Bolez) was spinning the sweetest tunes all night—he was the cause of many spontaneous dance parties. We had a team of awesome ladies design and set-up our outdoor lounge area. It was magnificent and packed full of people all night long. And my favorite barn—I have never seen Pratt Place look prettier (thanks to Lightworks). It was a really wonderful evening and we appreciate you all so much!

We have some gorgeous photos taken by the one and only Cole Fennel below, but first take a moment to scroll through the lists of all of the wonderful people and businesses that made this night possible!

Grape Crusher Sponsors

Mertins

Adventure Subaru

Rockline

Miller Boskus Lack

Greg & Hannah Lee

Harvester Sponsors

Advanced Monitoring Services

Signature Bank of Arkansas

C&C Services

Max & Lydia Mahler

Frozen Bean

Harmony Proteins

Planter Sponsors

Affiniti Management

Elevate Performance

The Law Offices of NWA

Roblee Orthodontics

Olsen Clinic

Buffington Homes

Underwoods Fine Jewelry

Winetopia Retail Wine Shops

Cheers Liquor & Wine Shoppe

Liquor World

Wine, Beer, Cider, & Bourbon Sponsors

Natural State Distributing

Constellation (Robert Mondavi)

Diamond Beverage Group (Steele)

De Nux Distributors

Core

Fossil Cove

Black Apple Crossing

Beam Suntory

Scout & Cellar

Food Sponsors

Arsagas

Bocca

Bordinos

Cafe Rue Orleans

Chuck’s Cake Shoppe

Mia Tarts & More

Pure Joy Ice Cream

Community Sponsors

Intents Party Rentals

AV Design Consultants

Lightworks

Westwood Gardens

Eventures Party Rentals

Moxy Ox

Showerfilter Store

Media Sponsors

Citiscapes

KUAF

3W Magazine

Hosts

Dr. Scott & Leslie Bailey

Leigh & Candra Davis

Gary & Teri Head

Chris Goddard & Bartus Taylor

Dr. Allyson & William Mertins

Neal & Gina Pendergraft

Linley & Dave Dust

Adam Jones

Andrew & Sarah Dabney

Jennifer & Wade Esty

Martel & Bethany Brown

Abdi & Laura Dubed

Volunteers

Alannah Massey

Chris Beavers

Tareneh Manning

Lexy Hill

Lana Lyon

Cheryl Walsh

Kim Norris

Terra Stephenson

Lori Boatright

Kristi Batchelor

Misha Gardner

Kristing McDill

Jessica Ginger

Aileen George

Nathan George

Juma Ogongo

Moses Agare

Tarri Fennel

Jay Fennel

Joe Fennel

Jean Ann Fennel

Miriam Smith

Rusty Jones

Charlotte Jones

Adam Jones

Kimberly Clinehens

Silent Auction Donors

All Sports Production

Blakeman's Fine Jewelry

Bocca Italian Eatery

Bordinos Restaurant & Wine Bar

Buffalo Outdoor Center

CBD & Me

Cheers Liquor & Wine Shoppe

Chris Beavers, Realtor with Bassett Mix

Clubhaus Fitness

Coach Jessica Phelan

Coach Michelle Fyfe

Counts Custom Duck Calls

Dark Star Visuals

David & Candace Starling

DK Design

Dog Party USA

Dylan Taylor at 2nd Life Wood

Elayne's Dance

ELXR Yoga Lounge

Eureka Pizza

Farmer's Table Cafe

Fast Lanes Entertainment

Fayettechill

Fayetteville Acupuncture

Fayetteville Athletic Club

Fayetteville Pilates & Barre

Fitness One

Flora

Gall Excavation

Good Things Eco Boutique

Grey Dog Vintage Boutique

Hugos

James & Stacey Keenan

Jay Fennel

Jessy Lang Independent Wine Consultant for Scout & Cellar

Juice Palm & Con Quesos

Kathy Thompson

Khana Indian Grill

Kirk Lanier

La Vida Massage Gift Card

Lola Boutique

M.buell.design

Mae's Emporium

Markham & Fitz

Mary Linda Biddy

Maude Boutique

McDonald Eye Clinic

Mertins Eye & Optical

Mockingbird Kitchen

Mount Sequoyah Center

Nan Sherry

Natural State Distributing

Onyx Coffee

Ozark Escape

Petra Cafe

Pieceful Hands Quilters

Pinpoint Bar

Rainbow Valley Lodge

Rejuvenated Medical Spa

Remedy Road

Revive Medical Spa

Revive Spa

Robyn Robynson Jewelry

Rod Roark Family Dentistry

Romance Diamonds

Scout & Cellar Independent Consultants, Paul Pasnell, Corinne Power, and Rebecca Mason

Skydive Fayetteville

Southern Trends Basket

Tease Salon

Thatch Jewelry

The Bike Route

The City Supply Store

The Company Club

Theatre Squared

Trailside Yoga

Underwoods Fine Jewelry

Urban Forest Axe House

Walker Bros

Westwood Gardens

Whitney Mountain Lodge

Woodstone Pizza

Gorgeous Greenery from Westwood Gardens!

M. Bolez creating dance parties all over the place!

Outreach Campaign Update

We want thank each and every person who contributed to educate Kenyan high school students for the 2019 school year! It is impossible to overstate the importance of education.  It’s the key to opportunity and a crucial first step towards breaking cycles of poverty. This is a game changer for these kiddos and on behalf of them we thank you!

We just returned from our trip to Kenya.  We were able to give scholarships to 63 students at Sirembe Secondary School and also assist 10 additional students at a neighboring high school. That is 73 students total who are in school today because of YOU! Thank you again for your support!

We appreciate our donors and we also appreciate our Kenyan partners who make this all possible. Without our Kenyan Country Director and Co-Founder of the JCO Children’s Home, Juanita Opot, nothing we have done in Sirembe over the last 12 years would have been possible.  Her wisdom, leadership, and tireless work on the ground every single day are indispensable to Restore Humanity’s impact in this community. We are also deeply thankful for the Principal of Sirembe Secondary School, Mr. Henry Airo. He is an incredible Principal and teacher and he goes above and beyond for his students. Sirembe is lucky to have him and we appreciate all he and his fellow teachers do every day to help their students.

We are a Global Team and a Global Family and if you have supported our work in any way, you are a part of this family! We thank you all for your support and for donating to send 73 kids to school! Education can completely change the trajectory of their lives, so thank you for making that possible.

The two photos below are of Brian and Juliana.  They are seniors this year (in Form 4) and have been receiving our Outreach Scholarships for the past 4 years. Brian and Juliana are both excellent students and really good kids as well. This program has given them the opportunity to attend high school and they will graduate in December! This would not have been possible without your support, so thank you.

Juliana

Brian