Igniting Hope in Hard Places

Lucas Onyango considers Food for the Hungry an angel sent directly to him—precisely when life seemed its most bleak and hopeless.

He was forced to drop out of high school when his parents died of HIV/AIDS. Lucas expected to be rejected by friends and neighbors, forever live in abject poverty, and maybe even suffer the same fate as his parents. But a small ember of hope began to smolder within him the day he discovered Food for the Hungry.

Food for the Hungry had taught local churches how God calls believers to reach out to people in their communities. As a result, a church member adopted Lucas and worked with Food for the Hungry and community volunteers to pay his school fees. Embers of hope ignited brightly as Lucas graduated from high school and joined an Food for the Hungry-formed community business group.

Lucas learned how to start and efficiently run a small business and now earns enough to put money aside toward a university education. He rejoices for what God has done for him and enjoys giving hope to others in the community.

What We Do

Agriculture & Environment: Agricultural training in best practices, environmental management and leadership, livestock feed production and pasture recovery.

Child Development & Education: Education support program, health care, clean water, training community leaders in church development, rehabilitating school buildings, HIV/AIDS education, assisting youth with Bible study.

Economic Development & Livelihoods: Sustainable goat breeding, trading of goat milk, training livestock traders, building market infrastructure, livestock marketing.

Health & Nutrition: Nutrition education, growth monitoring, disease prevention education, health assessment, first-aid treatment, iron supplements, deworming treatment.

HIV/AIDS: Clinical treatment and testing, education in behavior change, HIV/AIDS awareness, church and community care, promoting life skills, home-based care, support systems development, counseling, training community resource persons.

Peace & Conflict Mitigation: Improving local governance, training in conflict mitigation.

Water & Sanitation: Drilling wells, catchment systems, spring protection, constructing dams and water pans, hygiene education, hand washing stations.

Emergency Relief: Implementing early warning systems for flood, famine and drought, food distribution, disease prevention education, renovating dams and repairing water pans.

Food for the Hungry opened operations in Kenya in emergency response to the drought of 1976. Over more than three decades, efforts expanded not only to help communities become less vulnerable to drought but also to mobilize churches, leaders and families in addressing food security, water and sanitation, health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, education, income generation, and social issues.

Over 30 million Kenyans are grouped into more than 70 ethnic tribes, creating both a vibrant culture and a source of conflict. Eight out of ten Kenyans, mostly farmers, live in dispersed rural settlements. The remainder live in crowded urban areas, concentrated in Nairobi (the capital) and Mombassa. High unemployment, crime, and poverty plague many. Most Kenyans live on less than $1 a day, making it impossible for most families to receive adequate food, clothing, education and sanitation. Ethnic division, drought, and HIV/AIDS add to a daily struggle for survival.