For those of you who have been connected to the charity for a long time you will know that we support the Farm of Hope.  This is a place where ex-orphanage and homeless boys can come and get help.  The Farm of Hope team hear about potential residents and go and find them in railway stations, sleeping rough or living underground.  They bring them back and offer them clothing, food, shelter and above all love.  When the boys learn to trust again they help out on the farm learning to grow food and aquiring skills that will help them get a job when they leave.  When they arrive they are distrustful and difficult but gradually change as they are loved back into society again. 

This worthwhile project continues to grow from strength to strength under the able leadership of Tinel. This project is gaining respect and support through it’s involvement in community activities too. Tinel’s vision for this community is

 “New people, new relationships, new skills, new attitudes, new destinies”

The boys on the Farm of Hope learn construction skills which enable them to help in the building of the new house.  Once this is finished then more boys will be able to join the farm

 In the last Newslink we highlighted the new Dormitory we were building to accommodate the young men. Through everyone’s hard work, the roof is on, insulation, electrics, plumbing and radiators are in and water is being pumped to the house from one of the 2 new wells. The top floor is habitable and now they’re working on internal walls on the ground floor.

Despite the severe drought last year the farm managed to produce good crops both in the fields and the polytunnels, providing food for the boys and also to barter for items such as wood for stoves and pipes for irrigation.  

Last year we also highlighted the ponds the boys were digging. These were dug and cleared and had begun to fill, but due to the drought, dried up so they were unable to stock them with fish. The water in them is now over 3 meters deep, so they hoped to have it stocked this year to provide another valuable food and income-generating resource.

In the latest report received it was said, “The boys are really well and developing skills and independence. They all feel at home there and you can feel their self assurance growing from year to year, as well as their abilities. The social workers there are doing really well!”