We are raising money to build a barn which will serve as our temporary house on The Shire (our 11.5 acre farm), as well as finish the fencing, buy a generator, and water tanks. We need help, not only with money, but with getting the word out. Together we can help create A Future and a Hope for children here in Kenya.
Why a barn? First of all it would be temporary housing for the Brooks tribe, all 16 of us, while we develop the Shire's farming potential. Planting season begins in March 2014.
Second, once we move out, it will store tools, the harvest, and house livestock.
Why a fence? We need to keep neighboring cattle from consuming our crops. $5k will help us to finish the 3 sides of chainlink fencing remaining. That price includes parts and labor for about 2,000 feet of fence. That's less than $3 a foot! Not bad considering in the States, a fence costs $16-$20 per foot.
Why water tanks? They help us store water for irrigation and household use. About $1,000 for a pair of large tanks.
Why a generator? Power, pure and simple. Even though electric power lines are slowly being constructed to this area of Kenya, we need the generator for the barn and household use.
PERKS
Our friends are matching TREES for your donations!
Here's the perks for this campaign:
For every ...
- $1 - $99 your name will be painted on a wooden ornament and hung in one of our trees.
- $100 - $299 a small sapling tree will be donated to us from African Forest in your honor, and we'll paint your name on a wooden plaque or rock to mark it.
- $300-$499 A medium sapling tree will be donated to our land from African Forest in your honor, and we'll mark it with your name on a wooden plaque or stone.
- $500+ a GIANT sapling donated from African Forest, planted on The Shire with a stone that has your name painted on it under the tree.
- All $1-$20,000 donations will have the donor's name painted on our giant stone 'memorial' as a reminder of your help. You can see the large stone in our photo gallery with some of the children climbing on it.
- Quilt Wall Hanging The next person to donate $500 gets to choose a jewelry set (necklace, bracelet and earrings made with swavorski crystals and sterling silver--one of a kind, made by my mom) or a quilted wall hanging also made by my mom, Sheryl White. Photos of each are in the photo gallery.
- Stay in The Hut $1000 or more, you can stay with us in Kenya with free room and board! *You must pay travel expenses and your personal costs outside our home.
Top 5 FAQ.
- What's the Shire?The Shire is our beautiful 11.5 acres of farmland we bought last year. We plan to live on it, farm it, and open more homes for orphans on it.
- How do you help kids?We have taken in 9 orphans into our home as our own. We are mom and dad to them. They are part of our family like normal kids.
- Where are you in Kenya?We live in Nakuru, which is in the Great Rift Valley. Our land, The Shire, is about 20 minutes from there, just opposite beautiful Lake Elementaita.
- How long have you been doing this?We have been living in Kenya and helping people for 9 years now, and we started taking in orphans 6 years ago.
- What's A Future and A Hope? A Future and a Hope is the name of our project, but more realistically, it's what we hope to acheive. We bring a hope for a bright future to those whose circumstances would otherwise prevent it. Our project reaches beyond just our orphans-no-more. We help people who have HIV/AIDS, and we reach out to folks who are in need ... like our orphans-no-more, their lives are radically different now that they have a family to love them, care about them, and stick up for them.