Michelle Martin, president and CEO of Cypress Minerals and Sam Joshi, COO of Cepham, had the opportunity to see the transformative work of Wings of Hope first hand during a recent trip to Nairobi, Kenya. Together, they highlight the resilience of the girls, the community that fosters hope for a brighter future and what the cause means to them.
Promoting independence
Joshi and Martin discussed how Wings of Hope is teaching a variety of skillsets, such as mentorship, essential life skills like grocery shopping and cooking, as well as creative initiatives like bracelet making to build entrepreneurial skills aimed at promoting self-sufficiency.
They also emphasized the need for proper nutrition, particularly in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life in order to combat issues like childhood stunting.
Martin shared success stories of women transitioning to independence, showcasing how far community, health and education can go.
“There’s one gal who now works for Kenya Airways,” she said. “There are three girls that are in university, one for hospitality, cosmetology and then a journalist. And so we’re now taking upon ourselves helping to fund them and, you know, buy a computer or whatever they need to succeed in university.”
Deadline looming
While donations have helped secure food, shelter and more for these young families over the years, Wings of Hope is now in urgent need of funds for shelter. They are hoping to raise $140,000 by Sept. 1 to secure their home. If not, the girls and their children will be forced to vacate.
“And they don’t have another location to move,” Martin said. “It’s not easy to move 60 people, and so that’s the strong sense of urgency that I didn’t even realize until we showed up that they were on the verge of losing their property.”
Why should the industry get involved?
Joshi noted that while companies like Cepham and Cypress Minerals provide supplements around the world, there’s so more to health and wellness.
“Having a place which is safe, secure, that’s mental health, right? And that is wellness for future generations,” he said.
“Like Michelle [Martin] said, these babies, if you give them a great foundation and a starting point that leads to a potential where these babies can become the future leaders of our industry, right? So I think that’s really where we as an industry are, it’s a call to action. We need to step up instead of talking about it. We actually need to do some things which can actually support others around the world.”
The call to action invites individuals and organizations to rally behind this cause, reinforcing the belief that together, meaningful change can happen.
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