For the second consecutive year, Justin Masterson, Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Indians, and his wife Meryl have partnered with Bright Hope, and WCRF Moody Radio Cleveland in an effort to bring hope to children in the Mathare Valley slum in Nairobi, Kenya. The Feed Their Future campaign continues through Labor Day to raise awareness of the plight of the extreme poor in Mathare and $250,000. Funds from the campaign will help to feed and educate 1,400 students in four schools, support their teachers, and promote local sustainability initiatives.
“When I visited Nairobi last year, I saw the incredible, positive effects that Bright Hope’s partnership with the local church has on poor communities,” Masterson explained. “Through visiting the schools, feeding the children, and talking with the people, I saw firsthand how difficult life is when growing up in the Mathare Valley slum. It’s an honor to be a part of Feed Their Future to not only provide two daily meals and an education to a child, but to know we are literally changing the future for these children.”
In such extreme poverty, families often must choose between sending a child to school or to the streets to beg for food. Support raised through this campaign eliminates the need for a family to make such a choice. Feed Their Future provides a child in Mathare Valley the opportunity to attend school where she will receive two meals a day, six days a week, school books, and uniforms as well as provides support for her teachers, such as teaching materials.
“Removing the need to make such a difficult decision enables the family to place the child in school and giving them the opportunity to break the generational cycle of poverty and consider the future,” said C.H. Dyer, Bright Hope’s president and chief executive officer. “Justin and Meryl have been avid supporters and we are grateful for their partnership to help fight extreme poverty.”
Masterson chose to partner with Bright Hope last year because he believes his strong faith in God should be lived out on a daily basis. Due to the generosity of Bright Hope supporters, last year’s campaign exceeded its $140,000 goal and raised close to $200,000.
For more information about the Feed Their Future campaign, please visit the Feed Their Future website: http://www.brighthope.org/get_involved/feed_their_future_2014#.U72OjKjDMeN
