Beacon of Hope has its genesis in the desire of one woman, Jane Wathome, to move out of her comfort zone and to share the love of Christ in a practical way.  The desire to serve amongst the less fortunate women began in 1996 while Jane was serving as an intern with Nairobi Chapel.  Two years later the Lord put a desire in her heart to pursue further training in counseling and Theology so that she could be more effective in her work of service amongst women.

Through the support and encouragement of the leadership of Nairobi Chapel, Jane pursued an M.A. degree in Biblical Counseling at the Nairobi International School of Theology (NIST).  It was during her studies that connecte with MAP International for her internship training.  While at MAP International, Jane was exposed to the world of HIV/AIDS and through that experience, her desire to reach out to women who were infected and affected by HIV/AIDS within poor communities grew.  She realized that God had equipped her with gifts and talents to bring hope, significance and self-worth to those women.

Old BOH Building	The Current Office Buildings

After her graduation at NIST, through a contact at MAP International, God led Jane and a small core of friends to the Ongata Rongai area in September of 2001.  There, they met an already existing group of women who had taken initiative to deal with HIV/AIDS, which was afflicting their families.  Beacon of Hope was born in 2002 May, when the needs of the women of Ongata Rongai combined with Jane and her friends’ aspiration to help.

Our Calling:

BOH is a registered Faith based and community non-governmental organization instituted to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic among women in poor communities.  This is achieved by setting up programs to assist in the prevention and management of the disease .BOH was registered in 2002 when it commenced its operations in HIV/AIDS work in Ongata Rongai.

Our Mission:

The mission of BOH is to bring hope to women living with and affected by HIV/AIDS within poor communities by empowering and equipping them to meet their spiritual, physical, emotional, economic and family needs in a sustainable way.

Our Objectives:

• To assist women infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in poverty reduction through sustainable income generating activities.
• To provide training and appropriate business skills to women affected and infected by HIV/AIDS.
• To provide counseling services, support groups, and pastoral care to such women.
• To assist orphans and children of infected parents with education and health services, as well as conducting HIV/AIDS prevention among vulnerable children, mobilizing the community to respond to children orphaned by AIDS, and providing for their physical and social needs.
• To provide short term food relief to women and children affected and infected by HIV/AIDS.
• To facilitate and strengthen such women’s accessibility to available resources through networking with other bodies and agencies addressing HIV/AIDS.
• To influence changes in the legal, cultural, economical structures and practices that lead to discrimination of women infected with HIV/AIDS.
• To assist in the establishment of home based care programs within the community where said programs do not exists, by way of partnerships with organizations that are already involved in said programs.

(The term “women,” include women that are infected with HIV/AIDS, women who maybe negative but whose spouses are suffering from HIV/AIDS or have died of the same, and women who are caring for HIV/AIDS patients.)

Our Core Values:

BOH in its entirety submits to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and is committed to applying Biblical principles in all its operations.  In addition, the organization embraces the following values:

• Commitment to serve,
• Integrity
• Confidentiality
• Team spirit
• Compassion
• Professionalism
• Excellence