Hello Don & Mary& Soar group,

I hope and pray that you are doing fine. I have been out of touch for a jolly long time and that is most unfair to my dearest friends and the greatest and untiring supporters of Hopewell. I am good and so are the others (I guess). Rashid is still away upcountry rebuilding his house which got burnt down while Nelly is somewhere out of Nakuru (don’t know where….she said she was going on some soul searching mission). So Vitalice is watching their houses as well as playing the chief guard at Hopewell. The holiday has been relaxing and I have enjoyed this break. Spent lots of time reading the exceptional classics and rare books that came in the container, watching movies and just unwinding. This comes to an end though tomorrow when school reopens.

How is the farm? How are our many kind and loving friends at SOAR-K doing? The US elections have generated immense excitement down here and our news channels are filled with Obama and McCain most of the day. You would think we are having a repeat election in Kenya.

The library project which had stalled for lack of funds due to the massive inflation in Kenya restarts this coming week. The Johnsons will be sending funds to complete the building (plastering, fixing of doors and windows and doing a good floor screed). We look forward to this since our many volumes of valued books can find safe and secure refuge. It will not be in a usable form as a library because of lack of furnishing which we hope can be a later project. But we will be asking the Johnsons if they could stretch a little book and fit in a few shelves to store the books as we wait for a time when furniture funding will come through.

The school farm has taken off in a big and interesting way. A group of teachers have taken over the farm and are doing an excellent job on it. They have grown assorted vegetables. The whole idea is that with them managing the farm, it sets the school free on that end and when they harvest, the school will buy from them at a discount/charity price. This will be w in win situation for everyone as the teachers will have an additional income besides their wages and the farm will greatly be managed with the school getting a good supply of farm produce. The project is being spearheaded by the school’s agricultural department. Some sort of private management.

As we plan to start this final term of the school year, I wish to thank you most sincerely for the endless efforts you have made in seeing us through all the difficulties and ensuring that the Hopewell community is comfortable and the process of teaching and learning can proceed well. God bless you mightily for your big hearts.

Vitalice

‘Nobody should seek his own good,but the good of others’- 1 Corinthians 10:24

Vitalice Kahendah