Key People: Herma and Jerius
On 28th September we had the privilege of visiting Herma and Jerius at Camp Moriah. We spent time talking with them before we went on a tour of the facilities. We then walked down the road about 10 minutes to another plot of land they have where they are growing crops to help minimise food costs and teach the young people farming skills.
Currently in Kenya the university lecturers are on strike for better pay which means the students are not attending. We spoke to one of the previous students of Equip who was planning on starting his university studies but at his school they had falsely advertised the costs of study and made them much more expensive once students had enrolled. So, the students were protesting delaying his start. Because of this there is currently a bit of unrest at the universities.
Cultural beliefs of the Luo tribe are strong in the Moriah village. There are several beliefs about ways of doing things that if not followed are believed to cause death of an individual or their children. This can restrict people from moving out of certain cycles. Herma said that another part of the Kenyan culture is not allowing the expression of emotions. If a child cries because they are hurt they can get punished and parents do not tell their children that they are doing well.
Herma and Jerius shared their story with us about how they came to be full-time at Moriah. Both Jerius and Herma are lawyers but now Herma is full time in ministry and Jerius is running his own law firm from Moriah. The couple that was managing Moriah previously decided to leave and so Herma and Jerius came to fill in until they were able to find a new couple to take over. Two years later they still here running Moriah which they are loving but for a couple of different reasons would love to find the right couple to come on board and be the live in day-to-day managers and campus mumma and pappa.
Since taking over Herma and Jerius have been working hard to make numerous positive changes within the camp. We were really impressed to see their commitment and passion for both the students and the ministry.
There were two name changes to note: They have changed the name to Camp Moriah to shorten it and make it easier to say. They have also changed the name of the discipleship training to Nurture which we think is well suited.
The 2025 Nurture Program began on 5th January, and the students were commissioned on 30th May 2025. A total of 32 students attended the program, of which 28 were commissioned. Four students did not complete the program for different reasons.
Overall, the program ran well. 21 students became Christians. Two did not, although there is still hope that they will. The rest were already believers when they came to the program. 19 of the students were baptised by the end of the course. Five previous Nurture and Equip students returned as mentors to help throughout the program. They shared responsibility over the students, the kitchen and storeroom, the office and its equipment, the library, the farm and farm tools, the animals (sheep and chicken), and school ministry (primary and secondary schools). Their time as students in the program equipped them well as mentors and ensured the program ran smoothly.
The second Equip cohort also went well with 13 students. The three females were all solo mothers; one having left an abusive marriage. One of the men had struggled with a drug addiction. They witnessed great change and healing through the prayer ministry.
They incorporate a one-week Business Training at the end of Equip where students learn to set up a small business, even from their own homes, to support themselves. They would like to extend this to the local pastors as the village cannot afford enough to support their salaries, and they are needing some extra income to support themselves.
Herma and Jerius are working very hard to become self-sustaining or at least decrease the cost of living and operations. They have established a large garden onsite which includes vegetables, fruits and herbs. They are also trialling sheep and chickens so they can have access to eggs and meat. They would like to also get a dairy cow to have access to milk which has increased in price. Dairy cows are expensive though and require someone to watch over it.
During the first Equip outreach the students spoke to a boy name Elijah who gave his life to Christ. Elijah came from a very poor family and used to come each weekend to eat. He then enrolled in the Nurture program and following that came to the last Equip program. He has offered to stay and help Herma and Jerius anyway he can until the end of the year. We had lunch with him, and he was so passionate about Christ and spoke about the change in him since following Him. He hopes to study food and hospitality one day but currently cannot afford the fees.
One other student grew up in the Mathare slum. She fell pregnant young and struggled with depression. She joined the Nurture Program and during her time there her depression lifted, and her life has changed.
Elizabeth shares: "Equip program is a powerful tool that God used to point me back to the cross of Jesus. I was bitter with life. I had given up with God because I felt God had disappointed me. I felt in charge with my life and I can revenge anyone who causes me pain. Forgiveness was a forgotten word that never came across my mind. In that state, God by His mercy and His grace, found me through the program that I did not even want to go to...(I felt forced). Through teachings, healing sessions, prayer and sharing I was able to forgive others and to forgive myself. I was able to let go and allow God to take charge. It was not easy but God's grace was sufficient. Since then, I have been walking in the freedom of God's forgiveness and am the happiest mother now that God has restored me and made me more beautiful."
We were able to meet with a number of students who had been involved with both the Nurture and Equip programs, and all have spoken very highly of them and noted that it has contributed to the formation of their identities.
Herma noted:
- Clearly changed lives amongst the students with a commitment to continue in their faith.
- The students are going into the community to minister and help out. They teach in the schools which have been neglected by the government and virtually abandoned by the teachers who are supposed to be teaching there.
- The students helped build houses for some of the widows in the community and raised up a water tank tower.
Short term their plans are for new staff members. They see this as the most pressing issue. Also, short term they are needing to get a new sink area for washing dishes as their current set up is not sufficient and often floods. The farms have proved very successful in growing sweet potato, but they are needing fences to stop thieves and animals grazing in the fields. They also need to install a wooden ceiling in the storeroom as the tin roof makes it like an oven which means the food is going off quickly.
Long term their goals are the completion and improvement of infrastructure and working towards self-sustainment.
Electricity is inconsistent and is often cutting out. Solar power could be a good solution to this.
Water is not regular. They collect water from their roof into a tank which they use for drinking. This is normally sufficient until the raining season begins again. The rest of the water comes from a neighbouring church borehole and is not reliable as it is inconsistent. They would like to have their own borehole eventually.
Their most urgent challenge is staffing. They are needing a couple to be the live-in managers of the program.
The house that is to home the couple that comes to manage the camp is too small so bit by bit, when they have available funds, they are extending it. Herma and Jerius hope to eventually move into this dwelling while the new couple could live in the current main home.
Another challenge can be the diversity of the students. They are all at different places in their faith journeys but all need to sit through the same lessons, some requiring more support and some ready to move through to the next sessions for growth.
Food and living costs continue to rise. The freezer and fridge funded by Bright Hope World is helping as they can buy in bulk at one price with no increases.
The two farms outside the compound need to be fenced as people are coming in and stealing the food and also allowing their animals to come in and graze.
Prayer1) Staff – a couple to take over for Herma and Jerius in their current role so they can move into more of a management role.
2) For provision to continue improvements around the camp.
3) For continued good crop yields, and success with their chickens.
4) For the provision of partnership organisations to transition students to for outreach.
1) Praise for the passion, love and skills that Herma and Jerius bring to the camp.
2) Clearly changed lives of the students
3) Successfully organising the farm and the increased produce of greens, tomatoes and sweet potatoes, which are all reducing their food costs, giving the students skills in farming and providing them with more nutritious food.
I was very impressed with Herma and Jerius, they are such an incredibly passionate, friendly and onto it couple. It is evident that they are doing a really good job at the camp and their values of moving towards self-sustainment are in line with Bright Hope World's values which makes me confident in the investments we are making to get them to that point.