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Ruth

Ruth Kemboi was one of the most notorious illegal brewers in her community. Because the police could raid her home at any time to look for illegal alcohol, she always slept in her clothes and made her four children do the same. Her aim was to earn income to be able to feed her family after her husband died. At first, she brewed a fermented corn brew, but that was not making enough money to support the family's basic needs. Once her children reached high school, the school fees became overwhelming, so she resorted to brewing a stronger, more deadly brew called changaa, meaning “kill me quick.” Jump to video of Ruth

What began as a desperate attempt to provide for her family turned life into a dark prison filled with problems and loneliness. Before long she was drinking the alcohol herself to cope with the stress of having dozens of customers drunk and fighting in her home every day. Things were falling apart, and even Ruth’s family members denied knowing her. The village leaders posted her name in their office as the “most wanted” brewer: someone to be arrested and shamed by others. Ruth’s heart grew harder and her life more violent as she dove deeper into brewing.

Peris did not live near Ruth but had seen her name in the chief’s office several times. She used to brew like Ruth but was now celebrating a whole new life: Peris had a reputable business after learning alternative skills during a week-long ELI training. Peris began visiting Ruth but was rejected several times . . . until Ruth’s son was hospitalized after a road accident. Finally, broken by the business and by life, Ruth agreed to come to an ELI training.


Ruth arrived at the training center intoxicated, but by the second day her mind began to clear and her eyes opened to see the possibilities of a different way to support her family. She also heard that God loved her, and those two discoveries changed the course of her life. By the end of the training, that same determination to brew had shifted 180 degrees; she went back to the village committed to being an agent of positive change in the lives of her children and community!

Although there were challenges with beginning a business, Ruth saw her children’s joy when she smashed her brewing pots and poured out all of her alcohol. This gave her even more courage to move forward on a new path with God. Then, the Kenyan donuts she had learned to make during the ELI training sold faster than she imagined. Within a few months, she was renting a room in order to expand production.

It has only been three years since Ruth’s bakery opened, but many wonderful things have happened. Her children are now thriving and helping mom with her business when they are not in school. She has reconciled with the family members who denied knowing her. She has built a wooden bakery room at her home and employs three youth from her community to help her make donuts and distribute them to small shops on the motorcycle she recently purchased. The 7-acre farm that used to be nothing but weeds is now growing potatoes, passion fruit, kale, and over 2,000 cypress trees that will be sold in 15 years when she “retires.”

Her enthusiasm for business leadership was recognized by the community that used to hate her, so she was elected as one of the few elders who help oversee the entire village area of 8,000 people. Women are rarely elected to this position, and within a year she was made the supervising elder over 26 other elders, expanding her influence even more.

She was so excited to share, “You cannot help but see and feel the love of God when you come to my home. Instead of taking changaa to people, I am taking Jesus, and now everything has changed. There are more people still suffering like I was, and I want to reach them all with the good news of God’s love and the opportunity to learn new skills from ELI.”

Ruth’s story is a powerful example of how changing the life of a mother can impact an entire family. At a recent ELI Training Center graduation, Ruth’s son Robert talked about the hard life his family had been living and how different it was from other children he knew. Then he shared how everything changed after his mother returned from the week-long training. Robert loves how peaceful their home is now, and he is so happy that his younger siblings have the opportunity to attend better schools. “Before I could only dream of having kind visitors come to our home,” he said, “but now it is a reality.” Ruth looked down in humility, but her smile was big and broad. This family is healing from their past.

Ruth’s story of transformation has become widely known. In fact, in early 2018, the governor of Ruth's county came to see for himself what had happened in her home. Other reformed brewers had the opportunity to share their stories as well, and the governor was deeply moved by what he heard. He invited Ruth to speak at a county government symposium addressing the brewing and alcohol problems in the area. This former notorious brewer shared with a room full of officials and leaders how the ELI training and God's power brought a dramatic change in her life.

This same governor then partnered with ELI to hold a one-of-a-kind event where over 1,000 reformed brewers were brought together to celebrate their change. They shared powerful testimonies, reaching over 2,000 people in attendance and hundreds of thousands over TV and radio. Ruth shared her incredible story of transformation, which greatly moved everyone who heard it. As a result of this gathering and the testimonies of village-wide change, other governors are now asking ELI for help reaching the brewers in their counties!

It is almost unimaginable: Ruth, who spent much of her time in hiding and shame, is now a well-respected leader in her village and nation. She has been vital to the transformation in her own village, and she also carries a deep desire to see other trapped brewers experience freedom. Ruth and more than 1,350 other women in Kenya have left their brewing pots behind—now they are truly WOMEN OF CHANGE! 





 
 

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(through monthly partnership)
Invest Now through a Special Gift

How You Can Impact One Person

$10 provides in-village awareness workshops

$60 provides 5 days of life-skill training

$35 provides a year's worth of coaching & mentoring

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Empowering Villages with Hope!


$25/month or $300/year empowers emerging leaders to impact their villages

(for every 25 people who give $25/month, another village can be empowered)

Invest Now with a Special Gift

Empowering Villages with HOPE!

$50 provides a life-skills workshop in a village

$90 trains a woman to leave illegal brewing

$250 provides a village outreach/evangelism weekend

$1,800 empowers a village cohort to lead a community

$8,000 provides Family HOPE to an entire village
Fundraise to Ignite World Changers

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Ruth

Ruth Kemboi was one of the most notorious illegal brewers in her community. Because the police could raid her home at any time to look for illegal alcohol, she always slept in her clothes and made her four children do the same. Her aim was to earn income to be able to feed her family after her husband died. At first, she brewed a fermented corn brew, but that was not making enough money to support the family's basic needs. Once her children reached high school, the school fees became overwhelming, so she resorted to brewing a stronger, more deadly brew called changaa, meaning “kill me quick.” Jump to video of Ruth

What began as a desperate attempt to provide for her family turned life into a dark prison filled with problems and loneliness. Before long she was drinking the alcohol herself to cope with the stress of having dozens of customers drunk and fighting in her home every day. Things were falling apart, and even Ruth’s family members denied knowing her. The village leaders posted her name in their office as the “most wanted” brewer: someone to be arrested and shamed by others. Ruth’s heart grew harder and her life more violent as she dove deeper into brewing.

Peris did not live near Ruth but had seen her name in the chief’s office several times. She used to brew like Ruth but was now celebrating a whole new life: Peris had a reputable business after learning alternative skills during a week-long ELI training. Peris began visiting Ruth but was rejected several times . . . until Ruth’s son was hospitalized after a road accident. Finally, broken by the business and by life, Ruth agreed to come to an ELI training.


Ruth arrived at the training center intoxicated, but by the second day her mind began to clear and her eyes opened to see the possibilities of a different way to support her family. She also heard that God loved her, and those two discoveries changed the course of her life. By the end of the training, that same determination to brew had shifted 180 degrees; she went back to the village committed to being an agent of positive change in the lives of her children and community!

Although there were challenges with beginning a business, Ruth saw her children’s joy when she smashed her brewing pots and poured out all of her alcohol. This gave her even more courage to move forward on a new path with God. Then, the Kenyan donuts she had learned to make during the ELI training sold faster than she imagined. Within a few months, she was renting a room in order to expand production.

It has only been three years since Ruth’s bakery opened, but many wonderful things have happened. Her children are now thriving and helping mom with her business when they are not in school. She has reconciled with the family members who denied knowing her. She has built a wooden bakery room at her home and employs three youth from her community to help her make donuts and distribute them to small shops on the motorcycle she recently purchased. The 7-acre farm that used to be nothing but weeds is now growing potatoes, passion fruit, kale, and over 2,000 cypress trees that will be sold in 15 years when she “retires.”

Her enthusiasm for business leadership was recognized by the community that used to hate her, so she was elected as one of the few elders who help oversee the entire village area of 8,000 people. Women are rarely elected to this position, and within a year she was made the supervising elder over 26 other elders, expanding her influence even more.

She was so excited to share, “You cannot help but see and feel the love of God when you come to my home. Instead of taking changaa to people, I am taking Jesus, and now everything has changed. There are more people still suffering like I was, and I want to reach them all with the good news of God’s love and the opportunity to learn new skills from ELI.”

Ruth’s story is a powerful example of how changing the life of a mother can impact an entire family. At a recent ELI Training Center graduation, Ruth’s son Robert talked about the hard life his family had been living and how different it was from other children he knew. Then he shared how everything changed after his mother returned from the week-long training. Robert loves how peaceful their home is now, and he is so happy that his younger siblings have the opportunity to attend better schools. “Before I could only dream of having kind visitors come to our home,” he said, “but now it is a reality.” Ruth looked down in humility, but her smile was big and broad. This family is healing from their past.

Ruth’s story of transformation has become widely known. In fact, in early 2018, the governor of Ruth's county came to see for himself what had happened in her home. Other reformed brewers had the opportunity to share their stories as well, and the governor was deeply moved by what he heard. He invited Ruth to speak at a county government symposium addressing the brewing and alcohol problems in the area. This former notorious brewer shared with a room full of officials and leaders how the ELI training and God's power brought a dramatic change in her life.

This same governor then partnered with ELI to hold a one-of-a-kind event where over 1,000 reformed brewers were brought together to celebrate their change. They shared powerful testimonies, reaching over 2,000 people in attendance and hundreds of thousands over TV and radio. Ruth shared her incredible story of transformation, which greatly moved everyone who heard it. As a result of this gathering and the testimonies of village-wide change, other governors are now asking ELI for help reaching the brewers in their counties!

It is almost unimaginable: Ruth, who spent much of her time in hiding and shame, is now a well-respected leader in her village and nation. She has been vital to the transformation in her own village, and she also carries a deep desire to see other trapped brewers experience freedom. Ruth and more than 1,350 other women in Kenya have left their brewing pots behind—now they are truly WOMEN OF CHANGE! 





 
 

Change the Future

Forever impact moms, dads, and children
Invest Now on a Monthly Basis

Empowering Villages with Hope!


$25/month or $300/year empowers emerging leaders to impact their villages

(for every 25 people who give $25/month, another village can be empowered)

Ignite World Changers

How many people do you want to empower each year?
(through monthly partnership)
Invest Now through a Special Gift

Empowering Villages with HOPE!

$50 provides a life-skills workshop in a village

$90 trains a woman to leave illegal brewing

$250 provides a village outreach/evangelism weekend

$1,800 empowers a village cohort to lead a community

$8,000 provides Family HOPE to an entire village

How You Can Impact One Person

$10 provides in-village awareness workshops

$60 provides 5 days of life-skill training

$35 provides a year's worth of coaching & mentoring

Learn More

Fundraise to Ignite World Changers

Create a Campaign

Start Your Movement

Host a Gathering

Sign Up Here
  
I want to ignite World Changers and give families HOPE!
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