Dear Family, Friends, Supporters, and followers of Mission:180,

In this update:

• Population growth at Mission:180’s Children’s Home

• Infrastructure growth and development

• Staff changes and growth

• The Financial Situation

• Hopes,dreams, and plans for the future

Let’s Talk About Population Growth!

Each of these little people is in need of sponsorship, along with a number of the children we had in our care before December 25. We are in serious need of sponsorship for these little ones. Our monthly expenses associated with the care of these children currently  exceeds the monthly income. We are running on faith, trusting God for all the needs to be met. He Is Faithful! Please consider child sponsorship with Mission:180 Children’s Homes. For a pledge of $40.00 per month you can make an ongoing impact in the life of one of these children. Please email jennifer@mission180.ca to inquire and sign up!

Staff and Management Changes

 We have experienced some significant changes in our leadership and staffing. When we opened our doors as a Children’s Home more than three years ago, we had hired a husband and wife team to help us lead by managing things onsite for us. They lived onsite and helped manage staffing, and day to day operations. Simon and Agnes were extremely helpful and valuable to us.They helped us reach the point we are at today, and really played an important role in shaping Mission:180 Children’s Homes. We are very grateful for their contribution and we are sad to report they felt led in another direction.  We released them with our blessing this last January 31st.

left -right, Elizabeth, Florence, Lillian, Janet

Pictured above are our three House mom’s, and Elizabeth our Social Worker.  With the departure of Simon and Agnes, we had a leadership and management vacuum.  Rather than hire from outside, we took some time to consider the talent and ability we already had on the team. We divided responsibilities and created a leadership team comprised of the ladies above and Jennifer and I. So far it’s been a smooth and positive experience. We are very excited about being able to promote these ladies. We are proud of them, they’re doing a great job, and it is so important to us to see them thrive and their leadership skills developing. This is a big part of why we are here in Kenya! The IMPACT this employment has on them as individuals, in terms of self worth and value, is only part of the equation. This employment gives them the ability to make sure their children are educated, their families are properly nourished, and even help extended family in their rural home areas.  (Sending money to parents is an expectation and something they take pride in being able to do).

Let’s Talk About Infrastructure

Growth and Development

We have added a much needed sea container that we’ve turned into a storage unit. We have expanded our garden, because we have a lot more mouths to feed, and we have upgraded our water supply system with a much better more efficient pump in the well, and a higher and larger water tank. The water system upgrade became possible because you, our donors, responded so generously last June when the old water pump failed. You generously gave over and above the need, so not only was the pump repaired, but these much needed upgrades became possible as well.

Our two Holstein Dairy cows are currently pregnant, so, this June and next January we will have doubled our herd, while keeping a fresh healthy supply of milk on hand for our little ones!

All of this is great progress, and much needed!

The Financial Situation: HELP NEEDED!!

Mission:180 Ministries is a fully registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency, as well as the Kenya Revenue Agency. We are also members of The Canadian Council Of Christian Charities. We have a board of directors and advisory team in Saskatoon. There are a total of  three Canadian paid staff members. Nancy Emde is the Canadian Office Manager and our Chief Financial Officer and she is based in Saskatoon. Jennifer and Jason Sheppard are the founders and directors, and we are based here in Kenya.  We do our best to keep overhead costs low, so that we can pour as much as possible into the work of changing and saving lives here in Kenya.

Costs are rising. We have been here since December 2010. The costs associated directly with operating Mission:180’s Children’s Homes has escalated as our number of children in care has increased substantially, and of course as a result so has the number of staff! Our costs of living like rent and basic food costs have also increased steadily.

Our pledged monthly budget does not cover the various operating costs associated with the general budget, and our Children’s Home budget is in desperate need of more child sponsors to cover those expenses. WE need help. URGENTLY!!!

 Some Future Plans & Hopes 

We are working on some projects currently at the Children’s Homes.

• At this time we have just completed a new septic tank and sewage system. The system installed when we built the homes was not sufficient and has caused some damage. This job had to be done ASAP.
• We are in serious of a new fence around the entire property. We have a quote for this job, it comes to around $11,000.00 Canadian dollars.
• Our property, all 16 acres of it, consists of a topsoil known locally as “black cotton soil”. It gets as slick as ice in the rain. We need to build a small road from our main gate that runs in front of the homes and also a small parking area.  The quote for this project is around $5,000.00 Canadian dollars.
• We are located in an area that does not have trash collection. We need to address the growing waste disposal situation. We have a quote for an in ground incinerator. It will be about 5 feet deep, made of concrete with a metal rail around and a metal grid enclosure over top if it.  The price for this will be $6,000.00 Canadian Dollars.

If you, your church, youth group or just a group of friends would consider raising funds or making a contribution to one of these projects, please email jason@mission180.ca to make arrangements. We need help to fund these projects.

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. For those of you who pray for us, please continue to do so. The wisdom and understanding needed to lead and direct this work is something we know we need help with. We cant do this on our own. We need prayer for our staff and children as well.

For those of you who support us financially, we don’t know how to thank you.  We are totally dependent on your generosity.  For those of you considering making a contribution, either one time or pledged monthly support, we ask you to make that step. We are in serious financial need. We really hope to find more generous supporters to partner with us as we continue to grow.