Hellen's Heros | plusdesign

The Need

Young women of extreme poverty have great potential when given the opportunity. Yet, they often lack certainty about reaching their potential. Such uncertainty precipitates a lack of motivation, feelings of hopelessness, and a propensity to give up. The psychological residue that challenges young women of abject poverty often suggests that they are worthless and helpless. The young women need mentors; mentors like Hellen who encourage them to pursue dreams, to take risks, and to set goals. They need mentors to help them plan ambitiously, prepare persistently, persevere courageously, accelerate fearlessly, resist temptation tenaciously, and serve generously. They need mentors to help them overcome the uncertainty and to overcome the scars suffered from neglect, abuse, abandonment, and loneliness.

10/10 Mentor

Ten young women will be the recipients of the Hellen’s Heroes Project. These young women just began their high school education in 2017. Education is the vehicle to rescue them from poverty. However, the education must include more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. It must also include the development of leadership qualities required for the young women to assume roles and responsibilities important not only in their own life experiences, but also roles and responsibilities important to changing the life-experiences of others.

The Outcomes

Five specific outcomes will be delivered through this project. The Mentor team from AR will complete the first 3 steps, the Kenya leadership team will help with steps 4 and 5 in April and afterwards. At the present time, Hellen's Heroes: Mentors Matter project concentrates on Arkansas women, our future plans will include women mentors from all over the country.

Hellen's Heroes:

Mentors Matter

each one reach one

Who is Hellen?

There are two Hellen’s in our story.

There is Hellen, the co-founder and co-director of Seeds Ministry in Kitale, Kenya. She is also hero to 220 children rescued from the Kipsongo slum and several hundred more children schooled at the Seeds Academy, fed at the Seeds Bread of Life Center, and provided medical care at the Seeds Stone Medical Clinic. Hellen and her husband, Pastor Richard Makani, discovered Helen, an orphan who had been abandoned in the Kipsongo slum. Baby Helen was one of many rescued from starvation, disease, homeless, abandonment, and neglect.

Today, Helen enjoys the tender, loving care of the Seeds Children’s Home. Pastor Richard and Hellen Makani strive to educate, motivate, and inspire the orphans to succeed. Success does not come easily.

The Hellen’s Hero campaign is developed to provide education, motivation, and inspiration for 10 high school aged young women from the Kipsongo slum. It is designed to engage successful women in the states who have the mind, heart, and spirit to serve as mentors for the young women.

Interested in learning more?

The 10 Mentor Groups

Diana Salome

is a 15-year-old high school student who attends Seeds High School in Kitale, Kenya. Diana describes herself as very attentive, self-disciplined, and friendly. She has also overcome a variety of difficulties that include living without shelter, food, and education. Presently, she enjoys the tender loving care at the Seeds Children’s Home and loves high school. Diana admires mom Hellen and is very motivated to work smart. Diana hopes that she will never feel looked down upon again. Her biggest dream is to be a journalist and help orphans, widows, and the homeless like mom Hellen and Pastor Richard. She also wants to bring peace and unity to Kenya.

Beryl Cheptoo

is an 18-year-old high school student who attends Seeds High School in Kitale, Kenya. Beryl describes herself as a hard-worker, self-disciplined, and friendly. A most difficult time in Beryl’s life was when her grandmother died and she faced some difficult circumstances. However, Beryl’s life changed when she moved to the place she could call home – the Seeds Children’s Home. In addition, she has found great opportunities to learn at the Seeds High School. Beryl admires most mom Hellen because she is a hardworking and responsible mom. A desire to be a more trustworthy person motivates Beryl. Her dream is to be an accountant or lawyer as well as a person who makes Kenya a better place.

Stella Chepkemoi

is a 15-year-old high school student who attends Seeds High School in Kitale, Kenya. Stella describes herself as very hard-working, courageous, and friendly. Life without shelter, clothes, enough food, and schooling made life very difficult in the beginning. Now, Stella enjoys three meals a day, schooling, and the Seeds Children’s Home for tender, loving care. Stella admires so much Pastor Richard and mom Hellen. According to Stella, the Makanis work very hard to make her a successful person in the future. Stella hopes to resist laziness and become a doctor in order to make Kitale, Kenya a better place.

Babrah Obai

is a 15-year-old high school student who attends Seeds High School in Kitale, Kenya. Babrah describes herself as responsible, self-disciplined, and friendly. Babrah remembers some difficult time when her mom struggled to find food and she went to sleep at night hungry. Babrah said that she had a very strong love touch her heart when Pastor Richard and mom Hellen rescued her. She now enjoys many friends at the Seeds Children’s Home and enjoys many fun times. Babrah admires doctors mostly because she dreams about being a doctor. She is very motivated to be a doctor who cares for poor people. Babrah is determined not to let a lack of education prevent her from reaching her dream. She hopes a better education will help her make Kenya a better place.

Susan Achieng

is a 15-year-old high school student who attends Seeds High School in Kitale, Kenya. Susan describes herself as hard-working, self-disciplined, and friendly. Susan is challenged mostly by people who talk badly about other people and by people who leave her alone. There was much quarreling and feelings of hopelessness in Susan’s life before she lived at the Seeds Children’s Home. Now, people treat her as a very important person and she lives a more peaceful life filled with people who care about her. Susan admires Pastor Richard and mom Hellen because they have touched so many lives. Challenges in school have also been a difficulty in her life at times. Susan life changed at the Seeds Children’s Home when people began to treat her as a very important person. Susan is motivated to try her very best and to have a strong faith in God. Her biggest dream is to be a professional surgeon and do operations and help people with mental problems. Susan hopes to never let failure stop her from making Kenya a better place by helping the needy.

Fiona Barasa

is a 16-year-old high school student who attends Seeds High School in Kitale, Kenya. Fiona describes herself as self-disciplined, organized, and trustworthy. During her earlier years, Fiona found most difficult the death of both parents and the rejection felt by others. She remembers dropping out of school and going to bed without food. According to Fiona, it was the hardest life imaginable. Her life changed when she joined the Seeds Children’s Home family. She began attending school, eating well, dress nicely, and enjoying a relationship with God. Fiona admires mom Hellen because of her hard work, responsibility, and kind heart. Fiona has seen too many people die of cancer. Therefore, she dreams to be doctor who cures cancer. Fiona expresses with confidence that Christ who strengthens her will help her overcome all obstacles. She plans to work hard and change the world by helping orphans and widows. Fiona wants to encourage the broken hearted and help set up schools and hospitals to help them.

Sherry Akaran

is a 14-year-old high school student who attends Seeds High School in Kitale, Kenya. Sherry describes herself as friendly, self-disciplined, and hard-working. Sherry felt most challenged and desperate when her beloved uncle died. Her life just didn’t feel very good or admirable. Sherry began to feel a sense of comfort when she moved into the Seeds Children’s Home. It was a time she began to reach her goals by working smarter. Sherry admires Dr. Ben Carson because of his determination and hard work. She wants to live a long life in order to accomplish her missions. Right now, Sherry dreams to be a better person and one day the most admirable person in the world. She says that working smart will help her reach the dream. Sherry hopes that each person she reaches will also reach someone and all will show their heart prints.

Debrah Lokhato

is a 15-year-old high school student who attends Seeds High School in Kitale, Kenya. Debrah describes herself as friendly, responsible, and hard-working. A most difficult time in Debrah’s life was waking up every morning searching for food. Dying seemed better compared to no food, no uniform for school, and no shoes. Debrah felt like God answered her prayers when Pastor Richard and Hellen rescued her from such a terrible life. Suddenly, Debrah found a safe place to live and the opportunity to get a good education. Debrah admires mom Hellen for being such a loving mother and thinking mother. She also expressed much for God because He brought mom Hellen into her life. Debrah dreams of being a doctor and wants badly to believe in herself and know she can become a doctor. In the end, Debrah wants to work smart in school, get a good job as a doctor, and help those in need.

Everlyne Agiza

is a 16-year-old high school student who attends Seeds High School in Kitale, Kenya. Everlyn describes herself as hard-working, responsible, and friendly. The biggest difficulty in life for Everlyn was when her mom died and she became responsible at 10-years-old to take care of my smallest sister. It was a very hard time for Everlyne because her grandmother was too old to take good care of the family. Life changed when she began to live at Seeds Children’s Home. There were so many friendly children who helped remove her unhappy thoughts to happy thoughts. Everlyn admires Wangari Maathai, a hard-working woman who planting trees for the environment in Kenya. Her biggest dream is to be a teacher or lawyer and believes there is no obstacle big enough to prevent her from fulfilling her dream. Ultimately, Everlyn wants to make the world a better place and also to tell people how much they should love their country and world.

Susan Ekunoit

is a 15-year-old high school student who attends Seeds High School in Kitale, Kenya. Susan described herself as being courageous, serious, and self-disciplined. Susan’s greatest difficulty at the present time is being sick too often. She prays for God to heal her from such sickness. Susan faced some difficult times worrying about how her entire family could continue living. Her life changed once she began living at the Seeds Children’s Home. She began to settle down, study, and think about her future. The person who Susan admires the most is Mercy Masika, a musician who sings gospel songs that touch her heart. Susan says that she never wants to drop out of school. She wants to work extra hard in school so that one day she may change her family’s standard of living. Her biggest dream is to become a lawyer because she wants every citizen to obey the law and do what is right so that Kenya may be a good place. She is very confident that God is going to help her finish her studies and fulfill her dreams.