How Peter’s Hope Began

Peter’s Hope had its beginnings in the fall of 2019.  I (Carolyn) had spent a month volunteering in the Bamburi Women’s Empowerment Center, which was located next door to St. Peter’s Mountain Children’s Centre.  The founder and director of both programs is Peter Ochieng.  I also lived with Peter and his family during my time there.  I became very well acquainted with Peter—his beliefs, values, dreams, etc.  I could see that he is a man of integrity, working/living in a community where everyone is poor, (including Peter and his family) and trying his best to educate children and women who have no other options for such an education.

I poured heart and soul into my work there for 4 weeks!  Before I came to Kenya, I had no intention of doing anything other than volunteer my time, learn what I could learn…and go home with lots of good memories.  Well, things didn’t work out that way!  I returned home not knowing WHAT I would do, but knowing that I had to do something.

After talking it over with several friends and family members, I kept hearing “You have to start a nonprofit”.  Boy, did I resist that plan!!  I had spent a number of years in executive positions of nonprofits, and I knew well how much work it entailed to run such an organization.  I kept trying to find another way…an easier way…but nothing was really making sense, except…to start a nonprofit.  I have to admit, I did the paperwork begrudgingly!  I was downright grumpy about the whole thing—filings with the State and IRS, putting together the required board of directors, writing a mission and vision—and that was just the beginning, I knew.

However, I knew clearly that there was a pathway that was opening, and it was not of my own making.  I didn’t actually feel much choice but to put one foot in front of the other and walk down the pathway.  Peter had been praying for years (he’s a deeply religious, Christian man) for someone to come along who would take on the large task of supporting his programs on an ongoing basis.  He also has a dream of eventually building his own center where he can house both the school and women’s center.  He puts that all in God’s hands, and just keeps plugging along, trying to survive!

So—after hours of work, Peter’s Hope was granted official nonprofit status by the IRS in January 2020.  The Federal Government calls this status, 501(c)(3), and it means that all donations are tax deductible for those people who choose to itemize their donations.  So—that makes us official, and like I said…this was the beginning of a whole new world of work…one that I didn’t ask for, resisted as much as I could, felt too old to be starting…and knew it was definitely the right thing to do!  Thank you, God…I think!

The birthing process was over, and I had to start nurturing and growing this young organization.   To find out more about the school and the women’s center, please refer to our tabs “Children’s Center”  “Women’s Empowerment Center”, and “History of Peter’s Programs.”