New LOH Medical Clinic Nearly Complete!

Opening 2019!

We are excited to announce that the projected opening of the LOH Medical Clinic is to be in February of 2019! This has been a dream of LOH, and as a result of receiving many generous donations, it is finally coming to fruition! The clinic will serve the girls and staff at LOH and we hope to serve the local community in the future.

“Through LOH, I am able to stand before people and proclaim the miracles that God has done for me. No words can explain the joy that is in my heart.”

– Former LOH student Mary Loyan

October School Updates

Update on Nancy’s Rescue

Two months ago we introduced Nancy, who was brought to LOH due to an abusive home environment. Since arriving, she has been doing wonderfully, blossoming with love from her new sisters, staff, and Daddy Boni! Watch the above clip to find out how she’s been doing since arriving at Light of Hope!

International Day of the Girl Luncheon

The 2018 International Day of the Girl Luncheon, held last Thursday at The Hutton House, was a huge success! We had over 120 guests in attendance and raised over 20K in donations, our most successful luncheon to date!

A great big THANK YOU to Lt. Governor Michelle Fischbach for joining us and speaking so eloquently about the plight of young girls. ASANTE SANA!

Michelle Fischbach and Boni at 2018 IDOG Luncheon

Daily Chores

Everyone at LOH has a responsibility to help keep the grounds clean and to do daily chores. Here the girls are helping to clean the beans purchased at the market. Great job, girls!

September School Updates

Meet Little Jane, Nina

Meet Nina, one of our newest rescues, who arrived to Light of Hope in January! Nina is an orphan, who was living with her Grandma, and who was referred to LOH by the Deacon of the church her grandmother was attending. Welcome, Nina, we are so blessed to have you!

Click Here to Watch Video of Nina’s arrival

Sandy and Nina, soon after her arrival.

Medtronic Volunteers for Career Day!

Medtronic volunteers from Minneapolis joined forces with Medtronic staff in Nairobi to organize a Career Day at LOH! This amazing event is the first of it’s kind for LOH, and we want to thank them for their commitment to girls, education, and Light of Hope! We are so blessed. Asante Sana, Medtronic!

Zippy Home for Her Internship

Zippy, who is in her 2nd year of college, is home for an “attachment”, which is a 6 month internship in her area of study, Animal Husbandry and Farming. While home, she is training the staff in the care of the animals and helping improve gardening techniques.

Following her attachment, Zippy will return to school for her 2 remaining semesters, after which she will graduate!

Thanks Zippy for all of your care and hard work!

August School Updates

Meet Our Newest Arrival, Nancy!

We are delighted to welcome darling Nancy, who is 6 years old and was brought to LOH due to an abusive home environment and a need for personal safety. Since arriving, she is doing wonderfully, blossoming with love from her new sisters, staff, and Daddy Boni. We are so blessed to have her!Nancy arrives at LOH, greeted by her new sisters

High School Graduates Return Home

Carol, Mary, and Ruth, who graduated from their prospective High School’s in 2017, returned to Light of Hope for a visit and to spend time “giving back” to their home and former school. Part of the culture of LOH is a promise to visit and help, whether it is tutoring girls, gardening, cooking, cleaning, or just playing. With Light of Hope helping to facilitate, they have been making preparations to go to college in the Fall.

Stay tuned for future updates on these motivated students! We are so proud and can’t wait to watch your futures unfold, girls! Reach for the stars!

Co-Founder Boni Home For A Visit

“Daddy” Boni surprised the girls for a month long visit, and is having a wonderful time re-connecting with the girls! Along with playing and spending meaningful time with the LOH girls, he is also hosting visitors, making new connections, and fulfilling his duties as Director of Operations!

Meet Veronica

We are so blessed to have LOH Matron and gifted seamstress, Veronica! She was inspired to sew all of the new LOH uniforms, which is quite an undertaking! Not only will it help us reduce costs, it will help develop skills of the newly formed Sewing Club.

Asante Sana, Veronica! You are wonderful!

July School Updates

Staff

Thank you for all that you do, LOH Staff!

A Letter from the Staff of LOH:

“We are blessed to be here as staff of LOH! We enjoy helping the girls acquire knowledge and skills, helping them identify talents that we can nurture and develop, and watching them succeed! We also enjoy providing moral support, and offering counseling and guidance in consideration of their difficult backgrounds.”

“Supporting them spiritually to be God fearing and to seek Godly guidance in their endeavors is an honor. We act as role models to the girls, and all of this is helping us to become the best versions of ourselves. Finally, we love being in a Godly environment, increasing our knowledge in other fields, and are thankful for the ability to support our families.”

A GREAT BIG thank you to each and every staff member of Light of Hope! We appreciate you so much and we couldn’t do this work without you! Asante Sana!”

The Gifted Hands Club

The Gifted Hands Club is a club that gives the girls a chance to learn new skills, and to use their gifts in a positive and creative way. This month the members focused on knitting and the girls are excited about their creations! The teachers in charge have been working hand in hand to help advise the club members, and pictured on the left are a few examples of their beautiful work. Nice job, girls!

Leadership Training Continues at LOH

Leadership training continues at LOH, this time for the younger grades, as the 7th and 8th graders were busy completing their weekly exams. Lessons were built around Apollo and the book of Acts 18:24-28, with teachers’ Margaret Wanjiku and Margaret Wanjiru as leaders.

Daily Life at LOH

Daily life at LOH: a darling ewe and her lamb and a green shot of the gardens

June School Updates

V-Academy

V-Academy arrives at LOH

The girls at LOH are having fun with an interactive new software that provides e-learning with or with-out internet access. This required program through the Kenyan government provides lessons in history, geography, science, math and language arts. Have fun, girls!

“When we think of you, we think of God for bringing you into our lives.”

– Anonymous LOH Student

Zippy Presents Farm Equipment

Zippy Participates as a Presenter at Local Conference

We are so proud that Zippy was chosen to be a presenter at a regional agriculture conference this past month! Zippy presented information on farm equipment to visitors, and was able to meet top dignitaries, including Vice President William Ruto! Zippy is currently attending college for Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.

Upcoming Events

International Day of the Girl Luncheon

October 4th, 2018

2019 Shine a Light of Hope Gala

May 4, 2019

Thank You to our Supporters!

Boni and Sandy Karanja at the 2018 Minneapolis Gala

2018 Gala’s Were A Success

Thank you to all of our friends and supporters of Light of Hope for all of your support over the last year! We are incredibly blessed to have all of you in our lives, and appreciate each one of you, whether you are volunteering, offering financial support or sending prayers for the girls of Light of Hope!

The 2018 Shine a Light of Hope Gala was held on Saturday, April 21 and was a huge success! We raised nearly $150K for the girls of Light of Hope and were blessed with a two special guests that flew in the day of the event to help us raise more funds (thank you Jared Allen and Marc Bulger)!

Jared Allen on stage at the 2018 Shine a Light of Hope Gala

Heads or Tails Game participants with auctioneer Rory Brinkman

1st Annual Be a Light of Hope Gala – Chicago!

This first annual gala was held on Friday, April 27th at Concorde Banquets in Kildeer, IL and came about through the love and shepherding of Jeff and Diane Balagna! We are thrilled to share that nearly 120 people were in attendance and $63,000 was raised, and more importantly wonderful connections were made for years to come. We can’t wait for next year!
Chicago GalaChicago ballroom.

“Hope In Front of Me” LOH Video

Not able to attend the Gala this year? Click below to play the featured video, created by Victor Nyang’or of 2230 Productions, set to the song “Hope In Front of Me” by Danny Gokey.

Watch now

Upcoming Events

International Day of the Girl Luncheon

October 4th, 2018

2019 Shine a Light of Hope Gala

May 4, 2019

2017 Wrap-Up and Impact Statement

Dear Friends –

As Co-Founders, we would like to thank you for your support of Light of Hope over the last 12 months!

Nineteen years ago, God brought us together to serve His purpose by giving us each a vision, which has lead us to where we are today. Over the years we have faced many challenges, and have witnessed His faithfulness, as Light of Hope continues to grow and transform so many young lives. This has been a true labor of love, not only for the benefit of girls at Light of Hope, but also all those who have joined hands with us.

We thank each donor, volunteer, and supporter from the bottom of our hearts for joining us on this important journey.

Respectfully and with great Humility,

Boni and Sandy Karanja

A volunteer captures the wonderment of young LOH students, 2007 (photo courtesy Rob Robertson)
2017 Highlights

Laundry Facility

Laundry Facility Completed

A Laundry Facility was built and became operational in 2017! The facility was outfitted with an industrial washer and has greatly reduced daily hand-washing. The students and staff are thrilled!
Jane w/ surgeons

Inaugural visit of LOH student to MN

It’s been a dream for years, and it finally came to fruition in November 2017! Jane Wanja, accompanied by LOH School Director Ruth, had a busy six week visit that included speaking at church services, youth groups, schools, and casual home gatherings. The result was $53,316 in monies raised toward “SHE is Our Future” end-of-the-year campaign, a whopping $13,316 over our goal!
Class 8

8th Grade Class Graduates

We are so proud and blessed that the entire 8th grade class was accepted into a Kenyan High-school, and began classes in January 2018! They are each doing well and we look forward to seeing each of them on their next school break!

Volunteer Engagement

Light of Hope Volunteers at our annual IDOG Luncheon
Our volunteers are the heart of our organization. A great big THANK YOU to every person who visited LOH, helped fund-raise, joined a committee, chaired an event, or helped in the office/administration! We couldn’t do this work with out you!

November Newsletter

Featuring Mary Sera

Meet Mary Sera

Mary Sera is a sweet, confident, and social 7th grader that is poised to be a positive influence in the world. She looks to the future with a hopeful eye, and plans to follow in her sister Jane’s footsteps by attending high-school and then college. Although she has many interests and talents, her current goal is to become a writer, and make a difference through communication.

Like many at LOH, Mary Sera and Jane were abandoned at an early age, first by their father, and then their mother. Their mother, jobless and poverty stricken, had struggled for years with illness and lack of income, and feeling this was her only choice, left them, along with their baby brother, in the street at a shopping center.

A shop owner took the children to the police station, who then placed them at a local children’s office, where they remained for over a year. Their parents were never found, and in 2007, the girls were referred to Light of Hope, where they remain today! Mary Sera was three.

Having grown up at LOH, Mary Sera loves and appreciates this special place, as it is the only home she has ever known. Her favorite pastime is photography, something to which many a visitor to LOH can attest as she has been known to teach visitors how to use their digital cameras!

We love you Mary Sera, and we look forward to watching all of your future successes!

Upon arrival, Jane age 5, on left, and Mary Sera, age 3, on right

Jane and Ruth arrive in Minnesota!

Ruth (left) and Jane (right) greeted by the Karanja’s at the MSP Int’l Airport

We are thrilled to announce that Ruth and Jane have arrived safely from Kenya! Jane Wanja, Mary Sera’s older sister, and Ruth, Director of the School, as well as Boni’s youngest sister, are here to promote LOH and share their personal stories of faith and triumph! Exhausted from travel, but grateful to be here, these wonderful girls are excited for their inaugural visit to Minnesota!

8th Graders Take Kenyan National Exam

Congrats to the 8th grade class, who have completed their Kenyan National High School Exams! The girls worked hard to prepare for this important exam, and will now wait on the results, which are due at the end of December. Test scores help determine if the student will be accepted into high-school, and if so, which school.

Congrats 8th grade class – We are so proud of you!

“When we think of you, we think of God for bringing you into our lives.”

– Anonymous LOH Student

KPCE Exams- LOH Becomes an Official Testing Site

Light of Hope is proud to be chosen as an official testing site for the Kenyan High-school Exams! Visiting students and exam proctors were on campus last week taking and administering these important exams.

Congrats, LOH! This is quite an honor!