AUGUST 2019 UPDATE:
Because of your donations, we met our July goal, and our partners John and Dorcus in Kimana were able to purchase a strong, used vehicle that will take them to the villages and beyond. The vehicle arrived in Hope Beyond a few days ago and the arrival celebration was nothing short of spectacular. The kids at Hope Beyond love to sing a happy song and its lyrics are heard through town – “…The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here…”. With the new vehicle, our partners will be able to continue their mission of saving young girls and boys in the rural areas of southern Kenya. YOU are ONE that made this day so happy!
Thank you for choosing to be part of this goal and providing something that will change the life of ONE and many other children.
– Original Article –
In April, a mother of five drove to the police station and loaded up some police officers in her own vehicle. They drove all day into a rural area, reached the town they were looking for, and rescued a 10-year-old girl who had been sold into early marriage by her family. On the way home on a rural road, it became dark and a herd of antelope jumped out in front of them. The vehicle rolled 5 times. The little girl was ejected from the vehicle. After several hours waiting for help to arrive, the little girl was rushed to a local hospital. She had a broken hip, leg, and several deep wounds.
This mother is the Director of the Hope Beyond Foundation, Dorcus Parit. This happened in southern Kenya and that town was a very rural village. Dorcus runs a rescue center and a school for girls who have been victims of female genital mutilation, child marriage, and rape. More often than not, girls experience all three in that order. Dorcus and her team have rescued hundreds of girls and committed to educating them and guiding them to find the Hope Beyond the trauma they have been through.
However, now they don’t have a reliable vehicle for navigating those rural dirt roads. Donors like you, regular people and families, paid for that young girl’s medical bills. She is walking again and about to attend school for the first time. Can we make another miracle happen and purchase them a new rescue vehicle?
They need a vehicle that they can use to rescue girls that live off the beaten path. If you feel compelled, check out this link and donate what you can to help them replace the vehicle they lost.
In the area of Kenya that they work in, the police are underfunded. They can’t travel out into rural areas to conduct rescues without someone else providing a vehicle. These practices are illegal and are now occurring further in rural areas to avoid authorities. Regular vehicles are incapable of traversing these roads safely. A four-wheel drive SUV or similar vehicle is a necessity for conducting future rescues.
I am interning for the Hope Beyond Foundation in Kajiado County, Kenya this whole Summer. This is as real as it gets. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me. Please consider helping this great organization. Every single penny will go toward rescuing more young girls from FGM and Child Marriage.
Note: This guest article was written by Christian Bonds. He is interning with Just One Africa during the summer of 2019. He is working at Lenkai Christian School and Hope Beyond Transitional Center (in Kimana, Kenya) to create new policies and help with community development. He has a Masters in Public Policy from The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA.
