For 39-year-old Veronicah Richards, an ambitious dream moved closer to reality when a head of state heard the idea and endorsed it.

The idea is the Imani Rescue Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization set up to be a shelter for women and children enduring domestic violence in Kenya, East Africa. (Imani is a Swahili word meaning Faith.)

As to the mission: Domestic violence against women is a serious issue in Kenya. Women are about half of Kenya’s population of 53 million. Veronicah says that more than 40% of Kenyan women have experienced domestic violence with many cases going unreported.

“Kenya is a wonderful country with wonderful people, but unfortunately has no programs to help those who are destitute,” she’s said, adding, “Due to a lack of resources and government programs to protect this vulnerable population, many women and children are stuck living in abuse.”

The Center will provide refuge to women living in abusive situations, education and skills training so the women can begin to earn an income to support themselves and become independent, and assistance for their children and area orphans.

“We have been dreaming of building a rescue center in southern Kenya for over a decade,” Veronicah has said, adding, “Our mission is to give hope to women and children of Kenya, to help them survive and thrive through food, shelter and rehabilitation from abuse,” she adds. “Our vision is to change one life at a time by giving a hand up not a handout.

The project has already raised three-fourths of their $160,000 startup goal.

Bagging big game

“We have received a lot of support from private individuals, our home church [RockChurch in East Peoria], foundations and more. One of the fundraising [efforts] has been bagging for tips at both Hy-Vee grocery stores,” she says. Last summer, “we had over 50 volunteers bagging groceries, raising over $15,000.

“We also need ongoing support.”

The dream became more real in December.

“We were in Washington, D.C., to renew my Kenyan passport and found out at the last minute that the Kenyan President William Ruto was speaking to Kenyans living in the U.S. — about a mile away. The guy who was processing our application asked, ‘Are you going?’ I was like, ‘Can we?’ He said, ‘Of course, the president is here to speak to us.’

“We arrived about a half hour or so before the president [was] to give his speech,” Veronicah says. “Towards the end of his speech, the president [said he’d] take questions. I raised my hand and boom! He chose me. When I got the mic, I cried because in that room were many people who could truly make a difference to the lives of women and children struggling, and here I was with an amazing opportunity.

“I told myself, ‘Get it together, Veronicah! Here is your chance.’ I took a big breath and said, ‘Mr. President, thank you for the opportunity. I am here to speak up for women, especially women going through domestic violence. They have no way to even call for help. No emergency number; nothing. Please consider us. The whole room erupted with people cheering and clapping, some crying. The President promised me change and connected me to one of his cabinet secretaries, his adviser on women’s rights. We have been in communication and in March we had a meeting in New York City. We now have full support from the office of the President of Kenya and his government.”

Momentous occasion: You can watch the video of President Ruto’s speech and Veronicah’s question on the Imani Rescue Center Facebook page; for more information, go to www.imanirescue.org.

Support group

Local support has been indispensable, too, she says.

“Carol Marna, Chief Executive Officer at the Center for Prevention of Abuse, has offered so much help to us, including free training to help us prepare on this journey,” Veronicah says. “We are forever grateful for our wonderful community. Peoria has been a blessing to us.

“Greg Batton from [WMBD’s] ‘Greg and Dan Show’ is our No. 1 cheerleader,” she continues. “He dedicated his first [live] show ‘My Life in Boxes’ and donated all ticket proceeds to Imani Rescue Center. He’s family to us.”

Veronicah is a naturalized American, with dual Kenyan/U.S. citizenships. A mortgage loan originator by profession, she resigned her position after an eight-year career to focus on the mission she shares with her husband Terry. Born and raised in a small village in Kenya, she moved to America in 2008 after she married Terry, a 43-year-old central Illinois native who’s worked as a utility line clearance foreman and played as a bassist and vocalist in the ’80s progressive/metal band War Hammer.

Missionaries

The couple met in Kenya in 2005 when Terry was there on a mission trip, Veronicah says.

“It was love at first sight,” she says. “Our story is one of those stories that could be in a movie. Our main communication from 2005 to 2006 was through letters. It would take two weeks for me to receive a letter from Terry, and it would take him two weeks to receive a response, [so] we had one communication a month. We got to learn about one another this way for a year.”

Veronicah learned about battered women as a child.

“When I was about 10 years old, I remember hearing screams in the neighborhood,” she recalls. “It was a regular thing. Without a working emergency number, the only way one would call for help was to scream, with hopes that a good neighbor would hear you and come to your rescue. This time, we heard the scream and my family and I ran towards the scream. When we got there, we found the neighbor lady beaten badly by her husband.

“She was on the ground with the husband holding a giant brick about to drop it on her, yelling, ‘Today I am going to finish you off!’ Her ‘crime’ was questioning the husband for coming home drunk, spending all the money on alcohol, while the kids had nothing for food,” Veronicah continues. “By the Grace of God, we rescued her. The following day, she was apologizing, defending the husband: ‘He was just drunk.’ She stayed.

“I thought to myself, ‘There must be a better way. No one deserves this,’ ” she adds. “If we did not show up, she could have been killed. I knew I wanted to help, but I did not know how. Now I have a way to help. I will wake up knowing that I will make a difference in a community in desperate need.”

They bought a five-acre piece of property in 2018, and now activities are accelerating.

“We just received the shipping container that we have been looking for,” Veronicah says. “Now it’s time to start packing. Our goal is to be there this summer to get the project started.”

Imani Rescue Center will be the first women’s shelter in Kimana, population 10,000.

Initially, the project will install a groundwater well for free fresh water, a solar-power system since power is unreliable in that area, and an irrigation system to begin growing food for people they help.

Also, building the rescue center will require permits, architectural design and engineering, a sewage and septic system, plumbing, etc. Plus beds and furnishings, first-aid kits, and sanitary supplies must be purchased.

“We are all the voices of those hurting and hungry while they can’t always speak for themselves,” Veronicah has said, adding, “We all need help every now and then. This is a universal concept no matter where we come from or how far. We all have an opportunity to change someone’s life.”