Mercy's Light Family
ABOUT US
Our girls come from trauma situations that if left alone can paralyze them emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. At Mercy’s Light Family, we provide each girl with Christ’s love, a safe place to live, and a place to start the healing process. We also provide them with knowledge, skills, and experience to leave our facility after three years with their own business fully started so they can transform their lives and their babies lives. Helping to break the cycle of poverty and restore hope.
Our Impacts in KENYA
PROTECTION
Safe Shelter
Our girls come from families/situations in which they have been raped or sexually assaulted in some way. We provide them with a lovely, comfortable and safe house and compound in which to start the healing process.
The girls are not used to inside flushing toilets, electricity or even having a bed so this house is like a palace to them.
Through the house we want to provide an environment that displays to them God’s protection.
KINDNESS
Healthy, Safe Food & Water
The girls make all their own food at the house. They learn to cook mainly on what are called Giko pots. These are little burners outside.
Our girls eat a healthy balanced meal specifically designed for the area they are living in. It is also designed to be best for pregnant and nursing moms. The girls make all their own food at the house.
They learn to cook mainly on what are called Giko pots. These are little burners outside. Our girls eat a healthy balanced meal specifically designed for the area they are living in. It is also designed to be best for pregnant and nursing moms.
HEALING
Digging Life-Changing Trauma Counseling
A Master’s degree psychologist comes to the center 1-2 times per week or more if needed. Caroline is amazing with the girls.
It takes a long time for the girls to develop trust. Once they do, they “slowly by slowly” get healing.
All of this work is confidential but areas of work are: sharing the details of their story, working through that trauma of that, and then working toward forgiveness and freedom in Christ.
LOVE
Jesus’ Joy Filling the House
Although basic physical needs must be met, the most important thing to us is the spiritual needs at the center.
We work in a community considered by the “Joshua Project” an unreached people group for the gospel (Coastal regions of Kenya).
The coast region, when Kenya first got it’s independence in the early 1960’s was settled under Muslim Law. When we hire staff Christian spiritual maturity and a developed walk with Christ are important to our hiring process.
Our trips main focuses are to encourage staff and community in their spirituality. Bring them books, listen to them, and encourage them in their walk with the Lord.
Doing this will make them to best JOY FILLED LOVING EXAMPLES FOR THE GIRLS.
While we are in the US and not with them in person we do regular times of corporate prayer over the girls and the staff in the area of spiritual growth and maturity.
Every staff meeting we share our priorities in the house:
1. Your personal relationship with Jesus.
2. Your relationship with others in the house.
3. Investing in those around you.
4. The tasks you are responsible for in the house
FAITH
Spiritual Education
What the girl’s routine is around spiritual education: Three formal Bible studies a week (with substantial homework in each)
Twice daily devotionals with house moms
Group counseling based loosely off of Celebrate Recovery for Kids Church every Sunday
Biblical education in actual practice: Looking up words like gossip, lying and other things in the word to see what the Bible says about them when there are specific issues at the house.
Bring to the table next week your favorite Bible verse and a drawing that shows what that verse means to you.
When I talk to the girls in Kenya, their eyes light up when we talk about Bible study time. They LOVE it. I regularly see girls waiting for breakfast and reading their Bibles at the table during their free time. Many girls have professed Christ as their savior and gotten baptized during their time with us.
Our staff also report being closer to God and seeing what a real relationship with Jesus looks like on a day-to-day basis!! Praise God!
DELIVERER
“Putting the pieces of girls & babies health back together.”
Our Kenya medical team consists of nurses, nutritionists, and an OB/GYN who has a great investment in teen moms and their babies and is available to our center from the Kenyan side 24 hours a day for consultation as well as visits to the center as needed. Our US medical team consists of a Neo-natologist, Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nurse specializing in Maternal/Child education, and a Registered Nurse specializing in lactation.
Mercy’s Light Family Medical team is constantly looking to partner with people and organizations that align with our goals of enhancing health care, enhance clinical practice as well as improve maternal/child outcomes.
FAITHFUL
Prenatal & Parenting Education
Besides the 2-3X per year that our US Medical team comes to train both the girls and the staff in things like: safe stretches for pregnant girls, CPR type classes, how to feed babies, breastfeeding help, hygiene, and other topics.
We also have a volunteers in Kenya – doctor, registered nurses, nutritionists, etc. that come and educate the girls on areas of concern voiced by the girls and/or house moms.
Child Development training is in place as well. They learn how to play with their babies to develop their skills – tummy time, reading to them, talking with them.
HOPE
Empowering General Education
A tutor comes in the home 2-3 times per week to teach general education. Most of our girls are very behind where they should be in school years.
Math and English will be necessary for them to get into a functioning business so we focus mostly on those areas to prepare them for the future business.
We also have a money system in place called Mercy’s Light Bucks. This is in place first to teach the girls how to budget and secondarily as a way for the house moms to reward and punish girls as necessary for behavior (you can imagine how hard it would be to live with many teens, then add pregnancy hormones, and then add on coming from trauma situations).
The girls get paid a certain amount for regular chores, small handiwork projects, getting homework done, etc. Those amounts cover their housing, food, shelter budget. From there they can earn more to get specific privileges like – going to town to get a soda or French fries. If they do a little extra work they get some extra fun. If they don’t they don’t.
POWER
Business / Vocational Skill
The key out of poverty, it well established by experts, is small to medium sized businesses. Our plan for our girls is to:
Get them well started in their healing in year 1 and also learning to 1. DREAM for the first time in their life (this is the hardest part). They have lead very hard lives in dire poverty, dreaming is having indoor plumbing – it is not even imaginable to be able to be self-sufficient and successful financially.
2. LEARN: Basic math and English skills outlined above. Vocational skills – including tailoring, catering/cooking, leather work, beadwork, massage/spa, high-quality child care, & salon/hair dressing. They will specialize in one of these areas but learn a bit of each. Business skills – budget, accounting, marketing, keeping records, finding markets, hiring.
3. FLY: Be successful in their business. Help others through the same thing they have been!
SUPPORTED BY:
We are a 501(c)(3) IRS organization which means we need to turn over our information to the US Federal Government yearly on our 990 forms. Those are available upon request.
We are registered in the State of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania Departments of Charity.
We follow all financial policies and procedures recommended by the IRS. We have a three tier system of a bookkeeper, tax accountant, and our own records to ensure monies are being put to the highest and best use.
We have 2 boards we are accountable to:
1.Infinitely More/Mercy’s Light board of 4.
2.Operation Give Hope board of 6+ members.
We also do regular follow ups with our donors to show progress and report where things stand both on social medial, through email, and mail.
We welcome conversations on further questions you have in this area contact Carrie at 414-916-5435 or KenyaGiveHope@yahoo.com.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN KENYA TODAY!
