Asante Sana!

It's hard to put into words the impact we experienced on our trip to Kenya. On one hand, we certainly made an impact with the progress of the orphanage, the trees we planted, the soil we broke, the grass we planted, and the fun activities we had planned with the children of St. Anns. But on the other hand, we ourselves were impacted by the immense amount of love and gratitude we experienced by the children and staff of the St. Ann's Children's Home. We saw the gratitude in the almost tears of the program's director as she gave us a tour of the orphanage we are building. We saw the gratitude within the children's smiles when we took them to parks to play/swim, had fun activities such as yoga and arts and crafts night, or even movie night at our hotel conference room. We were so touched by the smiles and open hearts of the children. Over the two weeks, we all fell in love with the children...their smiles, their laughter, and their beautiful hearts.

We brought the kids to our hotel for a movie night in the conference room!

On our trip, we were informed of the stories of how the children were brought to the orphanage. Some of the stories included a mother throwing her child in a river to drown after birth, a death of a mother during childbirth that left a child in a hospital alone while contracting meningitis where $20 saved his life,  neglect, abandonment, sexual abuse, and the list goes on. Our hearts broke to hear the intense stories that these children have lived through. But at the same time, our hearts were filled with love to see the life, the health, and the love filled within these children. We are blessed to be involved with such an inspiring children's home. We witnessed the amazing work they are doing with the children...some of whom would not be alive today without the help of St. Anns. We were inspired by their commitment to provide shelter, education, health, and love to the children.

When I first laid eyes on the orphanage that we are building, I was in awe of its beauty. But when I see the bricks, the walls and so forth I really see hundreds (maybe thousands) of hands that have been apart of making this project a reality. It really has been a profound experience for me to see our local community come together in order to help give back to those in need. When I started this foundation, I had no expectation of what it would turn into. All I knew is that I wanted it to make a difference, whether it be giving kids donated clothes, beds, books, or even building a home. I truly believe that through these last few years WE together have made a difference with our own two hands. You can see the impact within the walls of the orphanage, the tears of the staff, and the smiles of the children and that my friends...is a beautiful thing.

First tour of the orphanage!

Myself and Joel (our Program Director in Kenya) in front of the orphanage!

We want to say thank you to everyone that has been apart of our efforts. We still have some fundraising to go in order to complete this project, but we are excited with the progress thus far. I personally want to thank you for believing in us and our mission of creating an impact with our own two hands. From my heart to yours...Asante Sana (meaning "thank you")!

With love and gratitude,

Lindsey Pluimer

(Founder of WMO2H)

To contribute towards the orphanage project: 

http://www.withmyown2hands.org/#!donate

https://www.wepay.com/donations/operation-orphanage