An overview of updates and stories from Kenya from Scott, our Co-Founder

November 2024

Alice's Triumph: A Journey from Heartbreak to Hope with Project Lucas

At just 13, Alice's world was shattered. Her mother, her source of comfort and strength, passed away suddenly, leaving Alice and her younger siblings reeling in sorrow. Not long after, their father abandoned them, leaving Alice to shoulder the unimaginable responsibility of caring for her family. In the face of such tragedy, she became a caregiver while still a child herself, her innocence swept away by the demands of survival.

As they struggled to make ends meet, whispers of early marriage began to circulate around Alice. In her community, young girls facing hardship are often married off to relieve the family’s financial burden. For Alice, marriage felt like an inevitable fate until her aunt, who loved her dearly, intervened. Despite her love, however, Alice’s aunt was financially unable to provide the support they desperately needed. The shadow of early marriage loomed over Alice’s future, and hope seemed distant.

Then, Project Lucas entered Alice’s life, bringing with them a light that shattered the darkness. They not only offered crucial support to Alice and her family but also shared the gospel with them, introducing Alice to a love that would never abandon her. Through Project Lucas, Alice began attending discipleship meetings during school breaks, learning about God’s boundless love and strength. In those gatherings, she found resilience, comfort, and a renewed vision for her future. She discovered her worth in God’s eyes and grew closer to Him, finding courage in His promises.

Today, Alice is thriving in school, active in her church, and feels a calling to support young girls facing similar struggles. She credits her journey to God’s intervention through Project Lucas, and she now shares her story to inspire others, showing that even in the harshest circumstances, hope and transformation are possible.

Alice’s story is a testament to the transformative power of the gospel and education working together. Her journey reminds us that with the right support, and most importantly, the power of the gospel, children living in extreme poverty in developing nations can discover a future filled with promise.

March 2024

1. Bigger Campus
Our Landlord in Kenya where the Project Lucas School is located has offered to give us the lot behind our school for free, which will double our land usage. We are very excited about this. Opportunities like this in Kenya are extremely rare! This will help us build some new classrooms or even a chapel.

2. John: Full-Circle Moment
John, one of our former students, has been in the Project Lucas Sponsorship Program since 2007. He has seven siblings. Over the years, John has gone through many hardships. In 2011 his youngest sister disappeared and has never been found. In 2015 his mother was arrested and was sent to prison for several years. In 2018 tragedy struck yet again, and John's older brother was killed in a robbery.

After his brother's death, John was devasted to learn that his brother was a professional thief. To say his childhood has been traumatic is an understatement. John's brother's death changed John’s perspective, and shortly afterwards he surrendered his life to Christ.

Over the last several years John has grown into a Godly young man. He is the only one in his family to have graduated from high school and college. He told Scott, our founder, a few years ago that he wanted to help other children escape poverty and give them hope like Project Lucas gave him.  

Since that conversation John has served as an intern with Project Lucas. Most recently, a position within our executive team opened up for an assistant scholarship director. John applied, got the position, and is thriving! We are praising God for this full-circle moment from going to a sponsored child at age 7 to now, at 23, a full-time staff member giving back to his community!

3. New Playground
Due to the legacy of an amazing Project Lucas volunteer here in the United States, a new playground was opened at the Project Lucas School in January. It is providing our students with joy and tons of smiles within their busy school days.

From Feburary 2024

Dear Project Lucas Family,

If you have been a part of the Project Lucas Family for a while, you understand the importance we stress on education along with the power of the Gospel in helping children begin to escape the cycle of poverty. We want to report some exciting news to you!

In Kenya, students take a national exam in the 6^th grade, 8^th grade, and 12^th grade. These exams rank the students and our school within the National School System. We are excited to announce the majority of our 6^th graders received the highest grades possible, and the rest scored very high. We also had one of our 12^th graders qualify to attend a university. This is the first student in our 18-year history who has qualified to attend a 4-year university.

We are so proud of our teachers, who are committed to excellence in teaching a Christian worldview education to our students. Their commitment and hard work are paying off. We are seeing tangible results of our prayers and the power of the gospel at work right before our eyes! 

I want to personally say thank you to everyone who prays, sponsors a child, and financially supports Project Lucas. Because of your prayer and support, children who live in extreme poverty are rising and breaking the cycle of poverty. They are on track to change their lives and those of future generations through the power of the gospel. To God be the Glory!

In His Grip,

Scott Dishong

From Kenya, November 2023

In Kenya, our preschoolers, 6^th graders, 8^th graders, and 12th graders currently taking their national exams. These exams are extremely important to their future. The exams are used to help determine each student’s placement in future education. Please pray for our students as they await the results. 

The Project Lucas School in Ruiru, Kenya, is excited to start construction on a new playground. This playground will bring so much joy and happiness! It is being donated in honor of Eva Jo Dove. Eva Jo was a faithful volunteer to Project Lucas who transitioned to heaven last month. We are extremely grateful for the life and legacy of Eva Jo and her family and friends that donated the funds in her honor to build the playground.

October to December is always a busy season of ministry for Project Lucas. Our 2^nd Annual Project Lucas Golf Scramble was a huge success! We‘re so thankful for all the sponsors, volunteers, and golfers that participated that day! It was an amazing event. Our Christmas Concert featuring Alisa Dishong and Ryan Flug is December 15, 2023. To purchase tickets or learn more visit projectlucas.org/concert 

I want to thank you all so much for your prayer, support, encouragement, and sacrificial giving that helps us do ministry in Kenya. We could not do it without each one of you. We are eternally grateful. If you have any questions or comments concerning Project Lucas, please reach out to me at any time.

In His Grip,

Scott Dishong
Executive Director/Co-Founder

In Kenya. September 2023

The Project Lucas is thriving. Our preschool through 6th grade students are in school for their 3rd term. Our 6thgrade students are also preparing for their national exams. These exams will be used to rank and place the school in the entire country of Kenya. Our Table Banking program is growing and helping our mothers pay bills, pay school fees, and start businesses.

One major praise that we are celebrating is we had four students in our school who were part of our sponsorship/scholarship program. Their mothers were able to get financially stable enough to sustain their families and even be able to pay for their children’s school fees. This means that the support- spiritually, emotionally, and physically- provided by the Project Lucas Scholarship has enabled to them be financially stable on their own.

Dear Project Lucas Family,

I want to share with you honestly about the journey I have been on the last several months. 

Honest Struggles
Over the last 6 months I have been wrestling with the Lord on the direction and next steps for Project Lucas. I believe and understand our vision and mission, but I was struggling on how to carry it out the next few years.  I spent hours and hours praying, fasting, and begging God for direction.

A Breakthrough
In May of 2021, God gave me an idea to pursue, but I struggled to understand how to carry it out. After months of praying and researching, I believe God showed me the method He desired for Project Lucas to carry out our mission.  The Margaret Dishong Scholarship Fund was launched, with the goal to educate and disciple 250 children in 2022.

I began to work with our Kenyan team to see if we could carry out the vision God had given me. This would be the biggest initiative that Project Lucas would ever attempt to accomplish.

Time to get to work
After several weeks of crunching numbers, I became overwhelmed and, honestly, a little doubtful. How could we raise this amount by the time we needed it? That number was $131,000. We have never raised that amount of money in a short amount of time (by April 2022.) I asked God again if this was right plan for Project Lucas. I have always believed this was not "my" ministry, it was God’s. Therefore, if He gave direction, He would provide.  After praying some more, I felt an overwhelming peace that this was the direction we needed to go.

Time is running out
By now it was mid-November. We had Giving Tuesday, our Christmas concert, and year-end giving coming up soon. I decided I would "work like it was up to me and pray like it was up to God."

People stepped up
I am excited to announce that, through our partners, God has provided $113,648.18 for the Margaret Dishong Scholarship Fund.   We are ONLY $17,351.82 from our goal.  Once again, God shows who He is and that He will provide when you follow His lead.

If you have given to the scholarship fund, I want to say THANK YOU. Because of your sacrifice, 250 extremely poor Kenyan children will be guaranteed to attend school every day and be taught God's Word on a weekly basis! A BIG THANK YOU!

We have just over 3 months to raise the additional $17,351.82 by April 1, 2022. If God leads you to give, you can go to projectlucas.org/donate.  You can also mail a check to:

Project Lucas
P.O. Box 64472
Virginia Beach, 23467

You can make a one-time donation or make a recurring monthly donation. Every gift helps and will go directly to the scholarship fund!  To learn more about how the scholarship program works in Kenya, go to projectlucas.org/marge.

In His Grip,

Scott Dishong
Co-Founder/Executive Director
Project Lucas

Dear Project Lucas Family,
 
2020-2021 has been quite a year and a half. Will it ever end?  We at Project Lucas have one word to describe the past 18 months- OVERWHELMED!  We are simply overwhelmed at what God has done through Project Lucas. But on the human side, we're also a little overwhelmed. Let me explain.
 
Overwhelmed by God
When Covid-19 hit, we were like the rest of the world and not sure how we would continue our work in Kenya. God directed us to mix it up. We did things we've never done before, reaching people we have never reached before, sharing Christ, feeding people, and meeting needs! It was amazing!
 
Kenya schools were closed for 10 long months but are finally open again. The Project Lucas Academy is now at full capacity, and we are having to partition classrooms to meet the need. Over the last 18 months we have added 56 new sponsorship children into our program, started mission trips up again, saw seven high school students and single mothers surrender their lives to Christ, distributed 1,000 backpacks to needy children, and much more!  ONE WORD: OVERWHELMED
 
Humanly Overwhelmed
To be honest, our team in Kenya is a little overwhelmed by the needs the last 18 months has brought us!  Our current offices and systems are not able to handle this volume of children and families. They are concerned about the record upkeep that is required by local and national government agencies, the ability to follow up with and meet needs of our sponsorship children and families, along with many other tasks that need to be accomplished on a daily and weekly basis.  WE NEED YOUR HELP! 

We need to purchase office space, new computers, office furniture, filing cabinets, accounting and database software, plus hire an office accountant.  To meet these needs, we need to raise $25,000 by the end of the year. Will you help us?  Would you consider helping our general fund by making a one-time donation or becoming a monthly partner in order to meet this need so our team in Kenya can continue to serve others and share Christ?
 
Donations can be made at 

Project Lucas 
PO Box 64472 
Virginia Beach, Va 23467

We know God will meet this need because of His proven favor over the last year and a half. Please ask God how He would have you be a part of what He is doing through Project Lucas. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at [email protected]
 

In His Grip,

Scott Dishong
Project Lucas
Founder/Executive Director
 
P.S. If you live in or near Virginia Beach say tuned for the Project Lucas Christmas Concert featuring Alisa Dishong and Ryan Flug coming in December.

In His Grip,

Scott Dishong
Co-Founder/Executive Director
Project Lucas

COVID-19 A YEAR LEADER
I want to write an update on what the situation in Kenya  is like a year later since the COVID-19 pandemic hit our world. 

Schools Reopened
The Project Lucas Academy is open again. Life is back at our center in Ruiru Kenya. Our staff is working hard to serve our children, and our community. Although they are  very concerned about the effects of the pandemic. Let me share with you some quotes from news article done on the educational system and Kenya on how Kenya handled the pandemic.

Education experts believe Kenya is the only nation to have gone so far as to declare the entire school year a total washout, and order students to start over.

When the government shut down schools in March, it introduced remote lessons streamed over radio, television and videos posted on YouTube. However, for the vast majority of students, many in poor and rural households, remote learning was not an option. They didn’t have access to television, laptops, or the internet, or even the electricity to power these gadgets.

 Here is a quote from Mutheu Kasanga, the chairwoman of the Kenya Private Schools Association

“As a country, we needed to rally around our poor people and ensure that every household is able to cater to the education of their children,” she said. By not doing that, she said, “We have failed as a country.”

But the move, she said, is “likely to be devastating for children” because the poor will be at a disadvantage and some will not come back when schools reopen. In addition, she predicted there would be more teenage pregnancies and, without school food programs, more hunger.

 Kenya’s government acknowledge the challenges inherent in closing schools, including unequal access to learning platforms, a possible increase in domestic violence against children and the likelihood that dropout rates will rise.

These excerpts were taken from an article in the New York Times in August 5, 2020.  Our staff in Kenya have unfortunately shared with me over the last few months that they have seen a rise in teenage pregnancy, domestic violence against woman and children and several emotional, social problems and lack of education on our children. The Kenyan government has truly failed their children and teenagers.  Project Lucas is responding to this crisis.

Project Lucas’s Response
We believe now more than ever we must reach out our community in Kenya and help children and families effected by extreme poverty.  We hope to incorpate several new programs to help come along side our community to help

We are planning this year to start the following programs to help families

1. A program for high school graduates to find direction and purpose and give resources for them to continue their education or start small businesses.
2. A clothing “thrift store” where families and children earn credit for clothes from good grades and community involvement.
3. Job Training Semiars for our Sponsorship Family (COVID prevented our 2020 launch)
4. Expand our Table Banking program (a program where sponsorship parents, load each other funds to start business, and pay school fees)
5. Expanded our feeding programs for grandmothers who cannot find work and that are raising their grandchildren.
6. Saturday Morning Discipleship classes for our sponsorship children.
7. Reaching out to teenagers girls that have been affected by rape and enrolling them in our sponsorship program.
8. Hire more teachers/counselors at the Project Lucas Academy

(Our school has fortunally expanded from 65 students to 115 since school has reopened. Parents are flocking to our school because so many schools have closed or public schools are so over crowded.)

All of this could not happen without our precious church partners! Thank you for your encouragment, prayers, and support!  We are all in this together!  Matthew 28:19-20

In His Grip,

Project Lucas Executive Director
Co-Founder

Dear Project Lucas Family,

The business of the holiday season has fallen upon us. I hope you all are doing well and staying safe! Eight days ago, the company we use for processing donations on our website updated their giving platform and failed to let us know, causing an unexpected shutdown of our donation processing server. Unfortunately, this means that we have been unable to receive donations for those eight days. On Monday night we were able to get the system updated and receive donations safely and securely. If you attempted to give a donation for Giving Tuesday or any time in the last eight days, we are truly sorry.

If you are a child sponsor, a monthly partner, or a member of Project Kumi, your monthly gifts are being processed a few days late. Once again, we are so sorry. Next month they will be deducted normally as scheduled.

You may receive emails from a company called Kindrid regarding setting up a user profile, a donation receipt for this month, and/or a recurring donation schedule for next month. I hope it doesn't feel too overwhelming. Our goal is to keep our giving family updated and involved. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

Now that our website is back up and running, we ask you to pray for us as our year-end campaign continues. Please feel free to make a year-end donation to help us continue to change the world one child at a time in Kenya. Also, please share our posts and upcoming videos on your social media sites.

Here is a great story of a life changed: Click here

In His Grip,

Scott Dishong
Co-Founder/Executive Director
Project Lucas

Dear Friends of Project Lucas

We are so thankful to each of you that encourage us, pray for us, sponsor a child, partner with us monthly, share or like our posts on social media ,and give financially to Project Lucas. We are overwhelmed at what God has done the last several months during this global pandemic. We have reached more in our community in ways that we were never able to do before. We are feeding hundreds in the community of Ruiru through our monthly food distribution programs. We have been able to share the gospel with hundreds of people. Last month we were able to supply new beds and bedding to families affected by a fire in a slum near our center.

Earlier this month I was talking online with one of the high school students in our sponsorship program. He shared his thankfulness for the food we provide for his family. I asked him if the food was enough for an entire month. He said, "Yes, but it never lasts because my mother (who is a single mother raising seven children) always gives away food to others in our village who don’t have any food or support like we do."  I was humbled to hear this story about how our families, who have so little, are caring for others who have even less than they do.

Words can't express how thankful we are for our partners and sponsors. Your giving is helping more people than we may ever know. Thank you so much.  We are hoping that the Kenyan government will open schools very soon. This will help families greatly since children will have access to food and parents be able to look for jobs. We will keep you updated. Thanks again to all who give, pray, and encourage us!

If you haven't been to our website in a while, check it out at projectlucas.org. Also, please follow us on Facebook (Project Lucas Inc) or Instagram (@projectlucaskenya). If you have any questions about our work in Kenya, feel free to email me at [email protected].

In His Grip,

Scott Dishong
Project Lucas Founder/Executive Director

Even when I don't see it, You're working. Even when I don't feel it, You're working. You never stop, You never stop working.  Way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, Light in the darkness, My God, that is who You are.” 
-From the song "Waymaker" by Leeland

Dear Friends and Partners:

As I sit in my office, the song the “Way Maker” is playing on Spotify. The words of this song are so true as I think over the last few months of what God has provided through our partners.
 
When we started Project Lucas, our goal was always quality over quantity. We have always desired to do the best we can for every family that we serve. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Kenya, we began to pray and seek God for wisdom on what would be the best ministry we can do to serve families in Ruiru, Kenya.
 
I, along with our Kenyan leadership team, believed that our first priority should be caring for our sponsorship children and their families. We decided the basic need of food for each family would be the best thing we could provide. 

During this pandemic parents have not been able to work, children are still not able to go to school (the Kenyan school calendar is year-round), and the majority of stores and markets are closed. This makes food and supplies challenging to get, and prices are rising weekly. Most Kenyan children get their main meal at school. With schools being closed, food and nutrition has become a major problem for most families. I was not sure what we could do and how long we could help. But because of the response of so many, we were able to provide more than I thought we ever could.

 Since April 2020:
 
8 food distributions for our sponsorship families 4 food distributions for the community of Ruiru, Kenya
 
175 families have received food and heard a gospel presentation during the food distribution there making approximately  equally 775 people

1,550 meals served
 
50,834 pounds of food distributed
 
8 children have entered our sponsorship program
 
13 families have received rent assistance from Project Lucas. (Landlords are not showing mercy to tenants during COVID-19. Several landlords are taking the doors and roofs off of tenants’ homes who are unable to pay rent to make life uncomfortable and remind them they have not paid their rent.)
 
1,750 homework assignments have been photocopied and delivered to our sponsorship children that do not have cell phones/internet access to receive school assignments (copies/transportation costs add up!)
 
We have been able to pay the salaries for our schoolteachers at the Project Lucas Academy. (Over 300,000 private school teachers have not gotten paid since March 2020. The government will stop paying public school teachers in the upcoming months)

We are overwhelmed by the response from so many of our partners. We will continue to love our sponsorship families and the community of Ruiru by sharing the gospel because of your giving and support. Thank you so much! We are eternally grateful!  

Scott Dishong
Founder/Executive Director

The Project Lucas Center is an exciting place once again
Kenya follows a yearlong school schedule, with 4 months off in April, August, and November-December.  So school is back in, and the Project Lucas Center is an exciting place once again! We have 103 students enrolled this term compared to 75 last term.

The public education system in Kenya is underfunded and, in many communities, struggling to help students obtain a proper education. I read a statistic recently that the average public-school teacher in Kenya has a 47% absentee rate in their classroom.  The Project Lucas Academy (pre-school – 4^th grade) is providing a strong education, daily Bible lessons and discipleship, and a meal everyday for every student that attends. Most of these children are oprhans or children effected by extreme poverty. 

We are so thankful for our donors and sponsors that enable these children to attend the academy. It has become a beacon of hope in the community of Ruiru.

Our high school students are also back in school. High school education is not free and is not mandatory for students to attend. The scholarships that are provided by our sponsors make a huge difference in the lives of each student and their families.  Our high school students are involved in tutoring and discipleship programs on Saturdays at the Project Lucas Center led by Benjamin (one of our staff members) and a local IMB missionary.

A last-minute miracle
Mercy is a young lady whose family was struggling to collect school fees for her first year in high school. The Wednesday before school was to start her dad told her she would probably not be able to attend. On Friday, just two days later, someone was led to sponsor her after reading her story on our website. Our staff was able to tell her on the following Monday morning that she received a sponsor who would enable her to attend high school that week. 

Because of her sponsorship, Mercy and her family are witnessing the gospel at work. Mercy now has an opportunity to attend school and be part of the Project Lucas High School Sponsorship program. She will now receive free tutoring plus discipleship and attend summer camp. In the third world, education leads to hope, hope leads to the gospel, and the gospel changes everything.

The Best December Ever
We in the “office” are overwhelmed by the generosity of so many of you. We had the best Giving Tuesday and year-end gifts we have ever received in our 13-year history. Because of the generosity of so many, we will begin the process of developing our job training program for our sponsorship parents very soon.  Praise be to God!  Thank you all so much.

Project Kumi Update
Project Kumi was part of our year-end campaign that encouraged new donors to give $10 a month to help the Project Lucas Center stay open. We made it to 86% of our goal, which is awesome. We are so thankful to everyone that joined!  The T-shirts will be shipped the second week of February! 

Want to go on Mission?
Join Project Lucas July 12 - 25, 2020 as we go to Ruiru Kenya to serve at the Project Lucas Center. This trip will  include distributing backpacks while sharing the gospel to hundreds of families, working at the Project Lucas Community Center assisting our Kenyan staff, loving and caring for our sponsorship children, visiting sponsorship families, light construction, church planting (new to 2020 trips) and many other opportunities to share Christ’s love. It also includes a two-day safari, shopping, and a visit to Kenya’s oldest tea farm. Deadline to sign up and pay the $100 deposit is February 17, 2020. If you have questions click here or email me at [email protected]

Please follow us online:

Facebook:   Project Lucas Inc
Instagram:  @projectlucaskenya
Vimeo:        vimeo.com/projectlucas
Email:         [email protected]
Website:     projectlucas.org

In His Grip,

Scott Dishong
Founder of Project Lucas