We are the Kenyamanyara family – Julius, Jade, Ezra and Gabriel - and we live in Tanzania. We have lived in a city called Mwanza for almost three years now. Ezra (6) is in Kindergarten at the local International school. He loves school and is doing very well. He is learning how to read and write and also participates in extra-curricular activities like Swim Club. He’s learning how to swim and recently competed in his first swim gala. His favourite stroke is backstroke. Gabriel (3) isn’t in school yet but has lots of fun playing and learning at home. He loves playing with his brother and other friends who live nearby. He also just started Swim Club in the beginner class and goes once a week to play in the water and start learning how to swim.

Our ministry position here in Mwanza is at Village of Hope Mwanza. VOH Mwanza is a children’s home for orphaned and abandoned children. Our mission is to bring lasting hope to children in need, and we do this through several programs, providing nutrition, shelter, healthcare and education. We have a Pre and Primary School on site at the Village as well as ten children’s homes. Right now we have 86 children who live in the homes and over 300 children who attend the school.

We recently welcomed our 86th child, Ashley who came to us from another children’s home. He is seven years old and very clever. He uses a wheelchair to move around, as his legs don’t work properly. He is a very sweet little boy and has started attending school onsite at VOH Mwanza. It is our prayer that Ashley will find hope and realize God created him for a great purpose.

We are also very excited about a few new projects. We have recently finished construction on a brand new clinic, which will eventually offer quality healthcare to the VOH children as well as to people in the surrounding community. We hope it will be open by the end of this year.  We also have started a new youth program for our older teens and young adults to help them transition and prepare them for independent living. We have a brand new youth home where 6 of our older boys are now living on their own. They are still part of the VOH community, but they are learning how to live on their own; working with a budget, buying and cooking their food, and taking care of their house.

Finally, we have a new VOH site starting not far (about half an hour) from the current VOH Mwanza. This site is called VOH Bulale (named after the area it is located in) and it will serve that community. We have finished construction of a brand new Pre-School, which will open in January 2018. Currently, we are working on the construction of a kitchen and dining area for the feeding program we will start running from that site along with the Pre-school. We will be working together with some community leaders from Bulale to reach out to the most vulnerable children in that community by offering them education and nutrition through the school and daily feeding program.

We are very thankful for everyone who prays for our family and Village of Hope Mwanza!

Prayer Requests:

• Health and safety for the family
• Consistent and sufficient financial support
• Continued partnership of Mwanza Pentecostal Church to reach the community