Dear Sponsors, Supporters and Friends April 22, 2026.
We are praying that all of you had a wonderful Easter Season and were encouraged by letters you received from your sponsored children. There was a bit of a delay in the Rwanda letters due to spring break, but the last of them went out this week. Kids in Rwanda returned to school on April 20th. Your support continues to make a powerful difference in the lives of our sponsored children.
Ten Years of Service to African Children: It is unbelievable to us that in just 5 months we will celebrate our HMA ten-year anniversary. It was in September of 2016 that four retired Sonoma County Law Enforcement Managers and their wives responded to the call for help from a dozen kids in Rwanda and a school in Burundi, all of which had been part of Asante ministries. The kids and school lost all financial support and their hope of a brighter future when Asante Ministries closed in 2016. Our founders pooled their funds and Hope Milele Africa was born.
Nearly ten years later the Burundi school remains open and is serving over 400 children every day with hot meals and a quality education. They hope to expand to provide secondary education. Many of those original kids from Rwanda as well as some from Burundi have either graduated from college or are currently enrolled in college. Baho Community is building a new school in Rwanda with limited support from HMA.
Your funds and prayers have provided education, medical insurance, special medical needs, home repairs, helped with food insecurity, and provided extra care when needed. You have provided spiritual care and Biblical teaching, bringing hope to those we serve. We fully sponsor over 200 children in Rwanda and Burundi, as well as provide full funding for the school in Burundi. Our smaller program is Kenya has gotten kids through school and one is in teaching college. While we have discontinued funding in Uganda, we were successful in getting three children through college and one through trade school. In ten years, we all have made a powerful difference, working together.
2025 income and expenses at a glance.
Burundi income $42,629.94 and Burundi expense $57,135
Rwanda Income $64,341.89 and Rwanda expense $62,870
Kenya Income $1877.20 and Kenya Expense $2,730.00
Rwanda income $64,341 and Rwanda Expense $62,870.00
General Fund Donation Income 2025=$23,488
Total Income for 2025=$127,190 with total expenses in 2025 as $122,735 Net income $5145
Program income and general fund income were down a bit from 2024, but expenses were also down. Fortunately, all project deficits and all administrative costs were covered by general fund donations. All money raised through sponsorship went directly to children’s program services and school funding. Excess funds at the end of 2025 will be used to cover the cost of audits of Rwanda and Burundi to ensure they implemented the recommendations that came out of last year’s comprehensive financial audit. Our Rwanda audit will also account for the expenses of our smaller project in Kenya.
Significant Accomplishments: In spite of some program shortages and a slightly higher than normal number of sponsors who dropped this past year, we finished the year with income higher than expenses. Several of our college students in Rwanda graduated which resulted in reduced program costs for tuition and lodging. The school in Burundi has a growing reputation as a quality foundational school for kids and enrollment has increased. Our work in Kenya has resulted in the founding of a small Community Based Non-Profit that will guide our continued work there. Over 500 Children and their families have been blessed directly or indirectly through your support.
Our Goals for 2026: 1. Streamline and simplify our sponsorship process. 2. Complete our follow-up audits to ensure auditor recommendations from last year have been implemented. 3. Increase sponsorship in each country by 15-20%. 4. Add at least one (hopefully 2) new board members this year. 5. Develop additional financial follow-up support to stay ahead of expired or declined cards. 6. Increase general fund giving this year to the degree that we can provide additional financial support for school building projects in Rwanda and Burundi.
Easter Letters: Easter letters from Burundi are already arriving and we should have letters from Rwanda soon. Having sent in gifts at Christmas we will not be soliciting children’s gifts at Easter.
General Fund Giving: This past year saw a drop in General Fund giving. General Funds are used to cover all administrative costs such as insurance, credit card fees, program shortfalls, and to carry children who may have lost their sponsor in any given year. General fund giving helps us to ensure that all funds raised from Child Sponsorship go directly to provide support for our sponsored children. If you wish to give to the General Fund just click on donate and scroll down to General Fund on this website. You can also mail a check to HMA, PO Box 414 Bodega Bay, CA 94923.
On behalf of the children we serve we wish you all the very best.
Sincerely, your very grateful Board of Directors.
Neil Church, Arden Lites, Jerry Lites, Theresa O’Connor and Patrick Parks
P.S. Many thanks to the churches that have helped us over the past 9.5 years. By opening their doors and hearts they have helped us touch many lives.