Mama Esther's Rescue Center
… so I will seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered… Ezekiel 34:12
Rev. Charles Maina is a modern-day hero in Kenya. He dedicates his life to preventing early marriage for girls as young as 12. In partnership with The Outreach Foundation and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa, Rev. Maina manages Mama Esther’s Rescue Center, one of several PCEA rescue centers for girls in that country. Girls from poor families in the Maasai culture have few opportunities and are often betrothed to older men for dowry money. Rescue centers offer these girls protection and hope through education. Rev. Maina recently shared the following story about one of the girls:
A desperate Maasai girl named Kiranda, accompanied by her single mother, walked over 50 miles from Magdi to PCEA Mama Esther’s Rescue Center. The mother, who lost her husband two years ago, was living with twelve children in desperate poverty with no help. The Maasai answer to this horrible situation includes marrying the girls off. Nine of the girls were below the age of 12 years old.
We are trying to protect these very vulnerable girls. We continue to educate the people in the area through the church. We have constructed five churches in this area. The churches support the rescue center with land and money.
Rev. Maina
54 girls have found their way to Mama Esther’s Rescue Center. They board and have scholarships for school. There are also 16 male day students who pay fees to attend the school. Mama Esther’s facility includes four classrooms, a dormitory, staff house, and Grandmother Linda Dining Hall (named for Stu Ross’s late wife, Linda). The foundation has been laid for two more classrooms. It is the only sanctuary for girls for many miles, and additional scholarships and facilities are needed for the girls that come daily for help.
The Outreach Foundation’s East Africa Mission Consultants, Stu and Annie Ross work with the PCEA and civil authorities in this rescue ministry. Each rescue center is connected to a PCEA boarding school so that the girls may receive an education and learn skills for future jobs. More dormitories, classrooms and scholarships are needed for all of the rescue centers.
We are grateful for partners in the U.S. who are helping these special girls have hope for a brighter future. For more information on Girls’ Education and Rescue Centers in Kenya, please click HERE.
THE NEED
The Outreach Foundation is seeking gifts totaling $70,000 for more classrooms and dormitories and $10,000 for scholarships to pay for the girls’ boarding and education.