$ 50 per month provides a full scholarship, covering school fees, uniforms, clothing, and family support. It ' s the kind of small, steady act Annie describes on the organization ' s own website:“ A small act can have a great impact, just like a seed can grow into a big harvest.” Martin Omach is one of the clearest examples of what that giving can do. Long before Kids Fest existed, he was a boy raised largely by his grandmother in Kibera. With sponsor support, he became a CPA. Today, he ' s the organization ' s Financial Manager, keeping watch over the same kind of giving that once paid his own school fees. Local support has shown up in other ways too, including an event held at Martin Ranch Winery in Gilroy and the countless friends and supporters who ' ve opened their own homes for the cause.
Annie is quick to point out that none of this belongs to her. She describes Wonders of Hope as belonging to everyone who has touched it. From Mwaniki and Grace to the volunteer teachers who show up to sweep the floors each weekend in Kibera. From her closest friends and family to the generous supporters and donors from Gilroy to Morgan Hill and beyond. All give what they can. The program and its success are a reflection of their generosity and sacrifice.
Mwaniki ' s trip to Gilroy this summer, hosted by Annie, was about sharing how a small community ' s support, given dollar by dollar, has become a lifeline for hundreds of children thousands of miles away. Annie calls it rewriting lives, one at a time. In her words:“ If at the end of any of our lives we could say we changed one child ' s life, at the end of the day, that ' s all that matters... A little bit of effort here can change an entire life there, and a rewritten life eventually changes the world.”
Annie Fortino and Martin Mwaniki present Wonders of Hope the Gilroy Rotary Club. Pictured with Club President, Karen Aitken.
Wonders of Hope is a registered 501( c)( 3) in the U. S. and a registered community organization in Kibera, Kenya. To sponsor a child, donate, or learn more, contact Annie Fortino, Wonders of Hope, 777 1st St., PMB 151, Gilroy CA 95020 or call: 408-781-1080. Follow on Instagram @ wondersofhopekenia / Facebook @ AndreaFortino
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