Update from Homes of Hope – September 2024
(Excerpt from Homes of Hope newsletter – by Paul Wilkes, Executive Director) – The hopes and dreams of our girls were in Priya’s backpack as she trudged up the final rocky incline of soaring Mount Kilimanjaro last month. At 5,895 kilometers or 19,340 feet, Kilimanjaro is the highest free-standing peak in the world. Priya and Jai, her 19-year-old son, bundled against the bitter cold after their four-day ascent, were determined to make it to the top.
“To be honest we were so tired but knowing that we were doing this as a fundraiser for the girls at Homes of Hope, that just kept us going,” Priya told me on Zoom call from her home in London.
Priya, of Indian descent, is an executive for an international legal firm. Her story is one that I am beginning to hear more regularly because of our dramatic impact on the lives of so many marginalized girls in India, and our subsequent strong presence on the Internet. (If you enter “orphans” and “India” you’ll be directed to Homes of Hope.)
“I wanted to do something to help the plight of girls in India and when I found your site on the Internet, I said, ‘This is the one.’” Not that I am in the position to appoint anyone to any position, but I blurted out: “Priya, you are appointed Homes of Hope Ambassador to the UK.” Priya smiled and graciously accepted this great honor.
The day before my talk with Priya, I had another Zoom call with Sudarshini and Mansi, two young Indian women who are computer engineers with a prestigious Wall Street financial firm. They too found us on the Internet. It wasn’t long into my talk when I could begin to see an unmistakable look come onto their faces; it was in their eyes. Let me use an old-fashioned term I learned in Catholic grade school to describe it: zeal. They were in the game. They wanted to do everything they could to help our girls. Where can we start? What can we do?
Mansi is traveling to India to visit relatives in Gujarat, and she jumped at the opportunity to visit with our girls and sisters at #31 Home of Hope at Gandhinagar. We now have two Homes of Hope Ambassadors to Wall Street and beyond.
Come to think of it: We are all Ambassadors for Homes of Hope. We have never done any fancy ad campaigns or sent out mass mailings. New people come to know us by word of mouth because YOU tell your friends, family, church, and Facebook friends about our powerful impact on the lives of marginalized girls in India.
Once marginalized girls who are now nurses, accountants, and business managers – young women with a sense of self-esteem, confidence – were loved, encouraged, and formed in a Home of Hope. Because of you.
Update from Homes of Hope – December 2023
Revathi, who came to Homes of Hope at the age of five after living in train stations, bus stops, and on the streets, now works on the promotion team at a multinational bank. Despite the traumas of living day-to-day in the streets of Secunderabad, the nurturing environment and excellent education at Homes of Hope has helped Revathi rise into her best self and illustrates how Homes of Hope helps breaks the cycle of poverty in the lives of young women in India.
Update from Homes of Hope – October 2023
