Poverty has a ripple effect that can last for generations. But transformation can have the same effect. When people are truly looking for change, one small breakthrough—one spark—can spread like wildfire. Hillary N’geno grew up in an impoverished family, and everything seemed stacked against him. His parents were alcoholics who brewed and sold a toxic moonshine out of their hut. They knew this was not a great environment for Hillary to grow up in, but they didn’t know how else to provide for their family. So they took Hillary to his grandmother’s every day to keep him away from the toxicity of their business. However, when he would come home for dinner, they often fed him this home-made brew because there was no food in the house.

This pattern continued until Hillary’s mother left. For two years they continued on without her, which was difficult with an alcoholic father. During this time Hillary finished 6th grade before having to drop out for lack of money. Then one day, his mother returned! While away, she had achieved sobriety and stopped brewing. This brought a spark of transformation to their family, but poverty’s grip was still tight and real change felt like a distant hope.

Hillary decided to take matters into his own hands by moving to an urban area and looking for work. But he struggled because few people wanted to hire a 12-year-old. So Hillary went to live with his elder sister for a year, until a pastor they met prophesied about a boy running away from home and then returning. Hillary and his sister felt this was a sign from God, so he went back. He finished 8th grade, but again the school fees became a challenge because the money was needed elsewhere. His mother struggled to take care of Hillary’s three younger siblings while his father remained a jobless drunk. Plus, his elderly grandmother could not provide for herself.

Hillary did what he could to help his family, but ultimately he had to rely on God. During this time, he would find refuge in a local church, where he would pray and ask God to bring real and lasting change to himself and his family. However, when Hillary shared this growing hope with his family, his father got angry, wanting nothing to do with God. His harsh reaction caused Hillary to run away again, this time to Eldoret, in search of that better life he was praying for. After struggling in his initial months there—with barely any food and no place to stay—Hillary finally had an answer to prayer. God opened the door for him to be a security guard; with this job he could not only afford food and shelter, but he also sent some money home to help his family!

Even while Hillary rejoiced over this provision, he prayed constantly for transformation to come into his father’s life. He cared deeply for his father and knew the importance of loosening poverty’s grip in this way. Finally, in 2018, his father came for a detox program at ELI’s Ukweli Training Center—he has been sober ever since! This brought uncontainable joy to their whole family after all the years of praying and believing God.

But the blessings didn’t end there. While the ELI staff was following up with the family after his father's detox, they saw Hillary’s hunger for transformation and offered him a position in the 5-month woodshop training to learn woodworking and joinery! According to Hillary himself, this was by far the greatest catalyst in his life. During that time, Hillary became a skilled craftsman who is now beginning to make a steady income for his family. Since graduating in July, he has already made enough money to rent a small room for his woodshop and purchase extra timber for his next projects. He just completed a bed frame and is working on making some doors because he sees the market for these things.

Besides learning a practical trade, Hillary was also poured into spiritually by many of ELI’s pastors during his training. And because of God’s hand on his life, he even became a spiritual leader among his peers, with many opportunities to share God’s word with them. Hillary says, "I am thankful for the opportunity to learn a lot about making home furniture and doors—these are basic things that my people back home buy from carpenters. God bless ELI and our sponsors who supported my training."

What started as a spark of transformation has broken into a wildfire in Hillary’s family! Both of his parents are still sober, and Hillary is now helping provide for their family with this useful skill. The ripple effect is truly astounding, but it wouldn’t be possible without partners like you to help provide so many incredible opportunities. Thank you for being a part of this family’s incredible journey of change. Because of God and you, poverty no longer has a hold on their lives. We’re excited to see where they go next!