A Stellar Woman's World

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HHFL@20 Celebrations: Honouring Mama Hanne – A Living Legacy of Love and Impact

This May, we celebrated not just the 20-year journey of the HanneHowardFund Lenana - Kids but the extraordinary woman behind it all; our beloved matriarch, Mama Hanne. At 78, she continues to embody the grace, resilience, and fierce love that built HHFL into a beacon of hope and transformation for so many of us. What she thought would be a simple birthday lunch with her loving husband, Ted Horton, affectionately known to us as Baba Ted or Papa Tango, turned out to be an unforgettable surprise. For five months, behind the scenes, the ever-dedicated HHFL management team, Lucy Kalu and Kirieri Njuguna together with HHFL alumni and beneficiaries, lovingly planned a celebration fit for the queen of our family. On the day, Mama Hanne walked in expecting nothing more than a quiet outing, only to be met by the joyful faces of her “children”, HHFL alumni & staff who had gathered to honour her legacy. The surprise was overwhelming. Tears flowed, hugs were shared, and hearts swelled with grat...

Dear wife, when you 'settle', don't settle!

Have you ever thought to challenge the idea that sometimes “ settling down” means settling in to roles that make us forget who we are? Today I choose to write for the wife who loves deeply, the mother who gives selflessly and the woman who sometimes disappears behind those beautiful titles. This is a reminder that you’re still allowed to chase your dreams. To glow. To grow. To evolve. Not in spite of your marriage or motherhood but right within them. There’s this unspoken notion that when a woman gets married, it’s time to “settle.” and for many, that word is taken quite literally. You get the ring, the man, the home, the children and suddenly, it feels like the chase is over. No more dreams to pursue. No more goals to grind. Just settle. Be a wife. Be a mother. Stay in your lane and when you decide to go against the grain you get unsolicited advise pleading with you to stop 'doing too much' and relax." 😆 But what happens when “settling” becomes self-ne...

3 Lessons at 3: What Marriage Has Taught Me So Far

Today marks 3 years since I said “I do.” Three years of learning, stretching, laughing, fighting, forgiving, and above all, growing (literally and figuratively). Marriage has been both beautiful and humbling. It has mirrored parts of me I never knew existed, both good and not-so-good. It has amplified behaviours I thought I'd perfected. It welcomed we and stopped me at the door with one question: "So you think you've got it all figured out, huh?" As I reflect on this journey so far, I felt led to share 3 core lessons that have stood out for me in this season of becoming one. I call them “3 Lessons at 3.” - 3 years. Family of 3. 3 lessons. 1. Forgiveness isn’t easy, but it’s necessary Forgiveness for me has been so hard, I can't lie. I struggle to move on from an offense. It is one of the areas that still needs improvement. I hold onto offense for long and have a tendency of wanting to block and forget anyone who offends me. Marriage, however, doesn't give ...

BALANCING LOVE & LEADERSHIP: Running Stellar Generation Kenya with My Spouse.

It all began with two different passions that came together to create something bigger than either of us could have imagined. My husband was deeply passionate about mentorship for the youth. He spent countless hours planning youth rallies and mentorship programs, first in his church (in the city and in upcountry) and later in Nyakach Sango, his hometown - and now my home as well . Even today, he continues to be an advocate for young people, empowering them to become leaders and live better lives. I, on the other hand, was a young girl determined to empower girls and women. My journey started at Hanne Howard Fund in Lenana, where I worked to uplift and empower young girls to see a future they didn't think possible. From High School to Uni days, my best days were those I spent going for Community Outreach. Our paths crossed, and it was in that shared desire to create change and empower those around us that we founded Stellar Generation Kenya (SGK). Running SGK together has bee...

WHEN GOD FEELS SILENT - A Reflection from Judges 19

Lately, I’ve been reading the Bible, and I mean REALLY reading it from Genesis and targeting to finish it to Revelations; a goal we as the JET MINISTRIES INTL are seriously pursuing. I am currently on 1st Samuel where David was introduced and up to this point, I can say without a shred of doubt that the Bible is more than a thriller movie, it's epic to say the least! There were times I read how the Israelites set for battle and as I went through the narrations all I could think about was "What in the Vikings' Ragnar is happening here?" 🤣 I read the book of Judges, and let me just say - it was heavy!! 😥 One story that stopped me in my tracks was about the Levite and his concubine in Judges 19. It’s disturbing. Violent and painfully silent. You read it and wonder, where was God when all this was happening? Judges 19 brings to our attention a deeply tragic story that reflects the moral decay in Israel during a time when 'everyone did what was right in their own eye...

'For My Beautiful Teenage Girl' ~ A story of when my teenage hormones were off the charts.

As I read through this exceptionally written book by Rawder Kidula & Florah Kidula, I couldn't help but silently laugh at one vivid memory still etched in my mind of a time in my teenage hood when I thought the world, with no shred of doubt, revolved around me. Had I had such a book, my approach to life then would probably have been different, who knows? Now, having visitors was the norm while living at Hanne Howard Fund Lenana compound (aka The Project). Some volunteers would come to either teach us art, dance, boxing, taekwondo, others would come teach us how to express ourselves in English and the ones we'd mostly look forward to were those donors, local and/or international, who'd come with clothes and food. This particular week while we were all home for the August holidays there was a donor, beautiful Miss Sonia, who'd booked to spend her week at the project. She would portion her day in a way that ensured she spends time with all groups of kids, starting with...

'Kitchen Table Friends' - Stellar Women

'Every time women gather together in circles, the world heals a little more.' The forever First Lady, Michelle Obama, in her book 'The Light We Carry' recounts how over time in the course of her life and while at The White House, it became quite hard to meet, form or maintain female friendships. This was largely due to the line drawn between the intricate nature of life in politics brought about by being married to President Barack Obama and the friends' urge to maintain and live a private life, away from the razzmatazz of a political life. She says that making friends for her, albeit hard, had to be something she did intentionally. She would either make friends at her daughter's basketball games, at a book fair, in college, etc and purposed to make these friendships last long. She brags about her small group of 12 'Kitchen Table Friends'; a dedicated group of female friends that she has journey through life with from college days to now. Female friendsh...