Hope 4 Women Art Show Preview

I hope you enjoy this preview video of our upcoming art show benefiting Hope 4 women International. These are photos of SOME of the art you will be able to purchase on October 24th. We'll be located at the West end of Main Street at the Shops at Norterra. You will find the Shops off of I-17 and Happy Valley Road in North Phoenix. The fun starts at 5PM.

Art 4 a cause. . . Blues 4 relief

The shops at Norterra
2460 W Happy Valley Rd
Phoenix, Arizona 85085
Phone: 623-979-5516

Hope 4 Women International of Hope 4 Kids International is holding an art show at the shops of Norterra. Artists from around the country have donated their work to be sold at this event. There will be raffle items--Ugandan art--and handcrafts created by the women of Uganda.

Blue Daddy band will be playing; information on Hope 4 Women International will be available. You will see photos of the women of Uganda whom we strive to raise from poverty to self sufficiency through skills training, education, business start-up capital, God's love and much more. All donations and purchased art will help empower the voiceless women of Africa.

Coming soon--a list of all the artists, their websites & details of the art! Check back soon!

For more information contact me: Rachel@h4ki.org

David Van Gorder--Artist

I met David Van Gorder yesterday. He was twenty-two years old when a construction accident paralyzed him leaving him without the use of his arms and legs. A determined young man studied until he received his doctorate in clinical psychology. He taught and established a respected clinical Psychotherapy practice.

In 1998 David began painting and drawing. David uses special tools that adapt to his arm and shoulder movements.

My friend Wendy talks about David all the time and when we decided to hold an art show to raise funds for Hope 4 Women she asked David to donate a piece of his art.

We went to his studio and I found myself in awe of David. Not because he’s in a wheelchair and is an incredible artist. Not because he has overcome many adversities to become a successful psychotherapist and motivational speaker. I saw his heart. I heard his quiet laughter. There was no self-centered arrogance--he was at ease with himself and I immediately felt at home with him.

In fact I was so drawn to him I didn’t realize I was shadowing him until he stopped and asked if I wanted to sit down.
I said, “No thanks. I’m just following you around.”
He pointed and said, “Okay. I’m going over there next.”

A young girl around eight or nine years old bounced into the studio. “Where’s David?” were the first words out of her mouth. When she saw him she ran to him, hugged him and talked animatedly with him. I thought, she sees his heart.

My husband Robert and I were so honored to meet David and when he presented his beautiful impressionistic painting of St Francis of Assisi to Hope 4 Women International I asked, “Why are you donating to Hope 4 Women?”

“Because Wendy told me too!”

I said, “We get a lot of funding that way.”

“Coercion?”

“Yes.”

See more of David's work click on the title of this article--it will take you to his website.

Victory Gardens from Uganda to Iowa

Victory gardens became popular during WWII when the president’s wife encouraged people to grow crops in order to feed their families. They once more became popular in the US as our economy seems to be suffering.
Hope 4 Women decided to try victory gardens in Uganda and provided funds to Smile Africa, one of our Ugandan partners, to purchase seeds and supplies. Pastor Ruth called together 300 women and discussed how to plant and care for the gardens. The women were then given seeds and sent out to plant their crops. An overseer visited the gardens offering advice, spraying, etc as the crops came into being.
Each woman has been instructed that at the harvest she is to bring in 5,000 shillings from her profits and set aside enough money to fund next season’s garden. The 5,000 shillings ($2.50) from each woman will be put into a fund to pay for the person who goes around to the garden spraying for bugs, etc. It will also pay for the spray. With each harvest Smile Africa will be able to front more women with seeds.
We are seeing the harvest coming in and the women are filled with joy as they show off their beautiful crops. One woman sold her vegetables and had enough money left over to pay back the ministry and to rent a larger plot of land for her next crops!
As they prepare for the next season of planting Smile Africa will have a walk-behind motorized plow to aid them in plowing bigger plots.
Hope 4 Women provided funds this season to Outreach to Africa in Western Uganda and are looking forward to seeing how the crops do in that part of the country.
Our goal is to have 1500 gardens in one year. The ultimate goal is for Uganda to feed its children.
My husband Robert promoted the idea of victory gardens in Uganda and was thrilled to see a community garden in Forest City, Iowa. We visited the garden and were told community members are free to come to the garden and take what they need for their families. I’d love to see more of these here at home as well as in Uganda!

A hero--a Ugandan widow

My friend, Wendy Stokes, is extremely involved in our projects at Hope 4 Women. When I am unable to travel to Uganda with our Hope 4 Kids' teams Wendy is right there and organizes our outreaches to the women of Uganda, checks on widows and tries to meet many of the overwhelming needs.
The following is one of her reports:
In May before the first team left for Uganda we learned from Pastor Ruth Kahawa at Smile Africa Ministries of a sick child named Diffasi. Pastor Ruth explained the plight of this young boy from the village whose bladder was malformed and coming through his abdominal wall. Both he and his mother have the smell of urine all the time. His mother is a destitute widow with 4 other children who was desperately looking for help for her young son. Generous donors provided Hope 4 Women with money to seek initial exams for this young child before we reached Uganda.


Diffasi and his Mom were among the first people Pastor Ruth took us to see upon arrival. When we visited we met a true hero. Another widow named Apio supporting and caring for 4 children (two are hers, two are her deceased brother’s children whom she has taken in). Apio lives in a shack with no income but she saw Diffasi’s mother's desperation for her child and took them in to live with her determined to help her find care for this boy. She touched us all deeply. A widow with nothing, offering so much to help another desperate widowed mother. We learned that this isn’t the first time she had done this, Apio has a history of helping widowed moms with sick children. She truly is our hero.


Through team member support we were able to raise money to help with the costly care, surgery and transportation to Kampala for the series of surgeries required to get Diffasi well. Pastor Ruth Kahawa met with representatives from many agencies requesting their help. Heart of God partnered with Hope 4 Kids to close the expensive gap on needed surgery costs and World Vision sent a representative to help Diffasi and his mom through the maze of medical care that lies ahead in the big city of Kampala.


We couldn’t forget about our hero Apio. Through team member support H4WI was able to honor this generous widow who took them in. Apio is being moved to a better home, She has the first bed she’s had in years, new sheets, blanket and mattress. She is stocked up with groceries, and funding and support have been provided to help her start a small business from home. Hope 4 Women donors, Hope 4 Kids team members, Heart of God, World Vision, Pastor Ruth and our hero Apio, God used them all to answer a widow’s prayer. God is good, all the time.

Thank you Wendy for being His hands and feet.

We just accepted Apio Beatrice into our women's sponsorship program. For $36 a month you can support her as she is trained in business management, Godly principals of business, and much more--she will even have a bank account for the first time in her life!

If you would like to sponsor Apio for one year contact me at Rachel@h4ki.org