Our Story
During ‘Lockdown 2020’ Hannah and her two sons wanted to do something to help their friend, Evanson Njeru in Kenya. Hannah had met Evanson some 5 years earlier when she and a friend set up a charity, having both recently sponsored children in Kenya through Compassion International. They came across Evanson by chance – founder of the grassroots organisation Compassion CBO (finding his website instead of the Kenyan branch of Compassion International) and he helped them set up the charity. (Subsequent circumstances led to the charity not being sustainable.) Evanson was the director of Compassion CBO and the headteacher of a school he set up in one of Nairobi’s slums.
Hannah and the boys knew that life was tough in the slum but knew that in Kenya during the Covid-19 crisis it was going to be even harder. They desperately wanted to help their friend. The boys decided to sell homemade lemonade and cookies, and some homemade keyring and bookmarks, at a (socially-distanced!) stall outside the house, hoping that walkers in the hills nearby and local friends would come and support them.
Five days later Evanson was able to deliver a bag of food and soap to 16 of the most in-need children that were on his school roll (currently closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic).
One of these children was a 10 year old girl. She had no home and lived outside, with a couple of plastic bags as a roof. She had an old, thin, dirty mattress and a broken plastic chair to her name. And she was raising her 18 month old baby brother… Her mother was unable to raise her children due to very sad circumstances, was an alcoholic and was currently working as a prostitute. The little girl’s kindly neighbours allowed her to use their stove when she had food and they often cared for the baby when she went to school.
She was instantly taken into Hannah’s heart and she knew that this was the beginning of a new journey.
She began investigating how she might be able to help further, researching the internet and having discussions with various close friends. She was reluctant to begin a charity on her own and wanted to see what alternative options there were.
Meanwhile, Evanson and Hannah set about working towards a plan to rehabilitate the little girl’s mother so that they could become a family again. They came up with a 6 month plan, by which time mum would be better able to provide for herself and her family.
A house was rented (a 3m x 3m tin shanty in the slum), and Hannah began sponsoring the little girl so that they could afford food. She and Evanson helped mum to find alternative work by helping her set up her own business; they provided her with family planning assistance and arranged some counselling; and funds were procured from Hannah’s generous friends and family to set up the house with some essential items.
They provided a second delivery of food and soap to the same 16 most in-need children. They also arranged a sponsorship for a 10 year old orphan girl being raised by her grandmother (the sponsor subsequently became a trustee of the charity), and also gave her some clothes and a new mattress.
After a profound phone conversation with a trusted friend (and a CEO of an established charity), entailing a metaphorical kick up the bum, a recital of The Starfish story, some encouragement and some love, Hannah began the task of registering a UK charity.
Exactly one month later a sofa seat was delivered to the new house, to join the table, mattress, bed frame, gas stove, clothes, food, utensils and toys that had been provided throughout that month. Their house had become a home. The little girl’s mother had worked so hard during this month and Hannah’s heart was filled with joy to see her nurturing the baby she so loved, and to see her daughter playing as any 10 year old should.
The very next day Hannah had the news that they had been accepted by the Charity Commission and The Janna Foundation was now officially registered as a charity.