HIGH POINT, N.C., Aug. 11, 2009 – High Point University rising sophomore Rebekah Hollar truly has a philanthropic heart ? she’s spent the past two years working diligently to help the children of Kenya. She even recently visited the children overseas to not only help, but to teach them as well.
Specifically, Hollar, who is majoring in education at HPU, has been helping children who attend the Mercy Care Centre in the Mathare Valley in Kenya.
Her mission began in 2007 after her sister, Laura, and her father, Mark, went to Kenya to minister in the heart of the worst slums of Nairobi.
“They returned with many heart-breaking pictures and stories of their experiences,” Hollar says. “One particular picture stood out to me each time I saw it. The picture was of a little girl wearing a tattered jacket and mismatched shoes. I began thinking about how I have shoes for every occasion, and this little girl did not even have one matching pair.”
She then decided to initiate a shoe drive, collecting new and used children’s shoes. After many months of sorting and packing shoes, more than 1,000 pairs of shoes were shipped to Kenya.
She says many of those shoes were shipped to a school called the Mercy Care Centre. Not long after, the headmaster of the school visited Hollar’s church to talk about Mercy Care. After listening to the headmaster’s burden for the children at the school, she felt compelled to do something to help.
“I knew I wanted to raise money for the Emergency Cornmeal Fund at Mercy Care, which feeds not only the children at the school, but also the street children of Nairobi,” Hollar says. “I began a ‘Sponsor a Child for a Month’ program, where people could receive a picture of a child at Mercy Care, write a letter to this child, and then give a $10 donation. I was able to speak at my church, as well as several others, to promote this sponsorship program. With the help of sponsorships, a fundraiser meal, a VBS offering and other donations, around $4,400 was raised for the Mercy Care Centre.”
Hollar and her father were able to personally deliver the check during a recent mission trip to Nairobi.
While there, she had the chance to practice what she loves doing – teaching.
“I was able to teach many incredible students who truly value their education,” Hollar says. “The average classroom at Mercy Care is in a 10-foot-by-10-foot building with a dirt floor that has no electricity. It holds around 50 students. Even in these unbelievable circumstances, the children are eager to listen and learn. I saw kids and adults with so much joy in their hearts despite the fact that many of them live in a slum with hardly any food to eat. We are so blessed here in America. … The school has so much potential, though, and I want to do all I can to help them succeed even more. I would love to go back to visit Kenya and teach at the Mercy Care Centre again sometime soon. I received such an amazing blessing from my trip. My heart was touched in remarkable ways.”
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people. HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with 3,700 undergraduate and graduate students from 50 countries and 44 states at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report No. 5 among comprehensive universities in the South and No. 1 in its category among up-and-coming schools. Forbes.com ranks HPU in the top 6 percent among “America’s Best Colleges.” HPU was included in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work For” 2009 listings. The university offers 68 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors and seven graduate degree programs. It is accredited by the Commission of Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at www.highpoint.edu. Chris DudleyVice President for [email protected]