Mission statement: Bringing hope, changing children's lives: Making a difference in the lives of orphans and vulnerable children, one child at a time, community by community.

Who We Are
Graceworks: Hope Network for Children International is a Charitable Organization that seeks to improve the lives of children in Africa who have been greatly impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Currently, Graceworks: Hope Network for Children International is working through the Graceworks Kenya project which has been in existence since April 2004. The project helps orphans and vulnerable children in the rural community of Rwika, Kenya, by providing access to community-based services for affected children and families. The Graceworks Kenya project is currently helping over 100 orphaned and vulnerable children from the Rwika village community, most of who are living with elderly grandparents or with other relatives. In keeping with its mission of “Bringing hope, changing lives”, Graceworks: Hope Network for Children International strongly holds that orphaned children who have already lost so much deserve to remain within their communities if at all possible.

The goal of Graceworks: Hope Network for Children International is to provide grants to support community-based programs such as the Graceworks Kenya project which enable children affected by HIV/AIDS and by poverty to remain in their communities while having the children’s basic needs adequately met. The focus is on providing access to such necessities as food, school fees and supplies (so that the children can attend school), medical care, and spiritual/emotional support.

Bringing hope: How Graceworks came to be
The founder of Graceworks, Dr. Susan Njemanze, was born and grew up in a rural community near Embu in the Eastern Province of Kenya, Africa. She came to the United States in 1978 as a student.  She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development, A Master’s degree in Social Work, and a Doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology. Susan lives in Anaheim, California, with her husband Richard. They have four adult children; Wawi, Michael, David and Richard Jr. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Orange County, working with abused and neglected children in foster care.

Graceworks became Susan’s vision and passion after she visited her home village of Rwika in Kenya in the year 2000. She found out that there were many HIV/AIDS orphans there who were living with extended family members, especially elderly grandmothers often too poor to meet the basic needs of the children. Most of the children were malnourished and also were not attending school due to lack of school fees. Susan felt the need to help the children by at least providing them with access to education (by helping pay for school fees and supplies). Education is critical to an orphaned child in that it offers the only chance to break the cycle of poverty and also normalizes the lives of the children.

During a trip to Kenya in April 2004, Susan was able to help register a Community Based Organization (CBO) based in Rwika village called Giving Children Hope Kenya, working closely with the local community leaders and clergy there. The goal of the CBO was to provide assistance to children in the community who had lost one or both parents from HIV/AIDS or other causes and who were being cared for by relatives. Susan offered her commitment to assist in supporting the children through a project she named Graceworks Kenya. Upon return to the USA, Susan was able to secure a collaborative relationship with a Faith-based aid organization based in California in order to continue to help the children in Kenya. Graceworks operated under the umbrella of that organization until August 2007 when it became registered in the United States as a 501 (c) (3) Tax-Exempt non-profit Organization.

Graceworks: Hope Network for Children International has a governing board of 15 very capable and diligent volunteers with diverse backgrounds from the Orange County California area. The board has been very successful in getting out the message of the needs of the children and in soliciting funds to help children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Africa. Many of the board members have also taken the opportunity to travel to Kenya to see the wonderful work that the organization is supporting there and the difference being made in the lives of the children and the community. Graceworks: Hope Network for Children International desires to continue to expand the capacity of the organization in order to be able to reach many more orphaned and vulnerable children in Africa, bringing them hope and changing their lives as well.