The history of Havilah Hope

Initial difficulties

The children’s home “Havilah Family” was founded on 5 January 2010 by Mildred Nekesa Dindi (Milly). There were a lot of difficulties and frauds, committed even by the organization that had management control over the home at first. Therefore they had a very hard time in the beginning and had to fight to survive. There were days when they had nothing to eat and the kids were crying from hunger. 24 kids had to share 2 old, ruined and vermin infested mattresses. Since there’s no social system in Kenia there was no way to pay for necessary medical treatment. At this time getting any education for the kids was unthinkable.

Change in sight?

In January 2013 Rahel Gogolin from Dinkelsbühl started an internship at a primary school in Kenia. It was during that time that she got to know the Havilah Family and was deeply moved by the poverty and misery of the kids but also by the joy they radiated despite their difficult situation. Rahel soon decided to somehow help Milly and the home as best as she might within the possibilities available. She visited the Family as often as was possible during her stay in Africa and got to know the kids more and more. At that time there was a dramatic emergency which lead to the very first financial assistance coming from Germany.

Soon after Rahel Gogolin’s return to Germany relatives, friends and people from her circle of acquaintances wanted to help and support Havilah. So it was that the association “Havilah Hope e.V.” was founded in order to provide a formal framework.

An idea is growing

A lot of things have changed for the better since the association was founded in June 2013.

“Our” kids can now have three meals a day and go to school because people were willing to take over a godparenthood and/or offer support in a financial or other way. The foundation for the kids’ future was laid.

The probably greatest gift is a house of their very own that the Family calls home since 5 January 2015.

The kids are learning to contribute to their income by doing small projects. But there are many new challenges for the Family so they will continue to need many helpers and a lot of financial support.

The future starts now

The first steps to help the kids from hunger and the greatest suffering have been completed. Medical support, education and giving the kids future prospects will remain to be of essential concern to us.

One of the girls wrote us: “…thank you for giving me back my life!”

We would like to thank you very much for this on behalf of our association but mostly on behalf of the kids of Havilah Family.

“But we can’t safe the entire world!” – that’s something we hear quite often. And it is true but if everybody from our (rich) part of the world would be willing to help the poorest of the poor our “entire world” could look so very different. This always reminds me of the story of the boy and the starfish.

The Boy and the Starfish

A man was walking along a deserted beach at sunset. As he walked he could see a young boy in the distance, as he drew nearer he noticed that the boy kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things into the ocean.

As the man approached even closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was throwing them back into the water.

The man asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied,"I am throwing these washed up starfish back into the ocean, or else they will die through lack of oxygen. "But", said the man, "You can't possibly save them all, there are thousands on this beach, and this must be happening on hundreds of beaches along the coast. You can't possibly make a difference."
The boy looked down, frowning for a moment; then bent down to pick up another starfish, smiling as he threw it back into the sea. He replied,

"I made a huge difference to that one!"

~Author Unknown~

Source: dreamemporium.com/starfish.html