Where We Work

ABIGAIL MINISTRIES works at two locations – Uplands and Western Kenya.

UPLANDS
The New Hope Children’s Centre was originally known as the Stars for Jesus Orphanage. At that time around 60 girls were housed in a large but inadequately sized house, kindly let to Anne and Tirus Chege for a 5 year period.

The first girls in the Home were nearly all street-girls. They can all tell horrific stories about the abuse they suffered in their early years – physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and rape, attempted murder, living on the streets and feeding themselves out of hotel dustbins and rubbish tips, general exploitation of the weak and vulnerable by unscrupulous predators.

At New Hope they have been given love and hope and we at ABIGAIL MINISTRIES feel privileged to play a part in the transformation we see taking place in these children and teenagers.

It was evident to all, however, that the original house had to be a temporary arrangement as the number of girls needing care increased almost weekly and living conditions became more and more cramped and uncomfortable. Anne and Tirus, who run the Home, discussed their problems with us and we encouraged them to look for a piece of land where they could build their own property by giving them a sum of money to open their savings account for this purpose.

We have been amazed at the speed with which they have accomplished this and it was our great pleasure in April 2007 to be present at the opening ceremony and dedication of their wonderful new Home just a short distance away from the original house.

WESTERN KENYA
This is a project set up by Rev Daniel Rugut. The SEED SCHOOL has been functioning for about 3 years. It is a very small school where children hindered by poverty are educated and their social welfare is well taken care of.

The school has had a huge overflow of students coming from the Internal Displacement Camps (IDP) set up as a result of the post –election violence, nearby and is finding it hard to cope. The teenagers are traumatised by the events themselves, but they are also suffering emotionally as many of them were abandoned by their families who mercilessly took advantage of the situation and ‘dumped’ them in the camps, thus relinquishing responsibility for them.

The Rural Education and Economic Development Services Project (REEDS) is an extension of SEED SCHOOL. Although there is indeed great poverty, the living conditions as a whole, being in a rural area in beautiful countryside, are a great deal more pleasant than they are in the slum areas we are used to working in. There are also greater resources. Most of the people have some land, they just do not have the money to cultivate it.