Bringing Hope to Africa
By Matthew Hope, an EO Brisbane member, managing director of G.J Gardner Homes and CEO (Chief Energy Officer) of Raw Energy Cafes.
Three years ago, my construction company took on an adventure of a lifetime. Through our contacts in Kenya, we heard about the plight of 35 orphans who were going to lose their home and be thrown back onto the streets. I presented this dilemma to my team of builders at our annual conference, and without hesitation, people were pledging their support to build a new home for these children.
In the span of six months, we managed to raise enough money to finalize the project. That October, I led a team of 12 employees on a journey that would take us halfway around the world. Construction of the home had begun three months earlier, after we had purchased land and used local tradesmen to start the building process. When we arrived, the brickwork had been completed and the roof work was ready to begin. That would be our task for the next 10 days.