Margareth

Margareth is the eldest in the group.  She has been living in Kabondo for a long time with her family.  They are devout Christians.  Her husband is a ‘subchief’, an well-respected job.  She knows her neighborhood well, and is very engaged in community activity and highly trusted by others.  She takes care of the communication between the orphanage and the community.  Additional tasks include caring for Lea, the cow at Hope Home, and cleaning. 

Eda

Eda is 21 years old, and originally from Oyugis, a neighboring town.  Both of her parents died of AIDS.  She had a lot of problems with the step mother who later cared for her.  She dropped out of school, and went to the streets.  She has never spoken to any one about this period in her life, nor does she want to.  Achieng does not know what happened during that time period either, if she might have gotten married, or not.  We know that this must have been a very difficult period in her life. In any case, she has invested herself 100% for the orphans, and is happy to be able to help.  She is one of four full time women who live at the orphanage.  She is responsible for Ambasa, Aluoch, Newton, and Monica. 

Jacqueline

Jacqueline was born in 1981, age 25.  She is a cousin to Achieng.  At her young age, she’s had a charged past, having lost her father in an accident, and her mother to HIV.  Jacqueline got married and had two children.  Unfortunately, the relationship went sour and she was thrown out by her husband. He married another woman, and refuses further contact with her.  In the process, she has lost all contact and the relationship with her own children. 

She also lives full time at the orphanage.  She ensures that everything is neat and clean.  She is well organized and cares for the practical aspects.  She mops the floors and helps with the cooking, amongst other things.  She takes the donkey, Toto, to the river Sondu to fetch water, which takes 40 minutes back and forth.  

Lore

Lore is Jacqueline’s sister. She is one year younger.  Because their parents died, Lore also dropped out of school and got married.  She’s also had her share of misfortune.  Her first child died.  A while later, she had twins.  One of them died during childbirth.   The second died six months later.  Subsequently, her husband threw her out of the house.  Lore ended up in a deep valley of despair and misery.  She roamed around aimlessly, carrying her baby’s corpse with her.  She was skin and bones when Achieng found her.  Together, they buried the baby.  After that, Achieng took Lore to the hospital herself.  Physically, she improved quickly, but mentally was more difficult.  For her, working full time at the orphanage is part of her healing process.  Her background has not had a negative, but in fact a very positive effect on her drive and love for the orphans. 

Emily

Emily is the youngest in the group.  Achieng estimates that she’s not even 20 years old.  Her mother was a child when she gave birth to her, and she has now died.  Emily is an orphan herself.  She was abused by her family.  At about 16 years of age, she got married and had a baby.  Marriage was a way out of her family situation.  While she works, her mother-in-law takes care of her own child. At the orphanage, she takes care of the laundry and the ironing.  It’s an enormous job, but you never see her complain, and she is very kind to everyone. She’s been working at Hope Home since its inception in September 2005.

Ellen

Ellen is has just arrived at Hope Home.  She is married and has three children.  At Hope Home, she helps Emily out with the laundry and the ironing.  Together, they stand stronger to face their enormous task.  Not much is known about her, because she’s only been working at the orphanage for a short time. 

Sophie

Sophie is another young woman with a charged past.  She’s a widow and has one child.  Her husband died of AIDS, just as her parents did.  She now lives with her mother in law.  She’s afraid to get tested for HIV.  Almost everyone in her family has died from AIDS.  The fear of being positive is too great.  She’s being encouraged by many to get tested, especially since free medication is available.  At the orphanage, she makes clothes for the children and for the co-workers.  Like no other, she’s got a talent for sewing. 

Boniface

Boniface is the only male who lives full time at Hope Home.  He can be best described as a handyman.  He helped build the hut and the chicken-coops.  He helps out with the garden,…  When someone needs to go to the hospital or run errands, he’s always the driver.  He knows the roads like the back of his hand.  In contrast to many Kenyan men, he’s capable of bottle-feeding a baby, and loves children. 

De night-watch-man

He comes from 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM to guard the orphanage and the surrounding grounds.  He has a uniform and a staff.  It’s important for the orphanage to be guarded.  It provides everyone who stays there with a sense of security.  The night-watch-man is a father himself, with several children, and he loves working at Hope Home.  He is very helpful.  Once, after his day task, he brought the donkey back from the market in Riga (about a four hour journey by foot).