OUR TEAM
Called to Bring Hope
Rev. Dr. Bishop Joseph Ochola Omolo – Director
Hope for the Destitute was started in 2005 by Rev. Joseph Ochola Omolo and his wife Ruth. Dr. Ochola Omolo grew up as an orphan in Kisumu Kenya and struggled to receive an education. Through philanthropic donors in the Lutheran Church, Dr. Ochola Omolo received an education and became a pastor in the Lutheran Church.
Education in Kenya is not free and thus many low-income families and orphaned children often do not have access to it. Lack of access to education leads to generations of illiteracy and poverty. Hope for the Destitute strives in its mission and vision to provide educational access and the gospel of Christ to orphaned children and low-income families.
Dr. Omolo currently serves as the Arch Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya is in table fellowship with the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS)
Rick Imel – President of the Board
I’ve been blessed to be able to be a part of our church’s (Aboite Lutheran) involvement with HFD for over 14 years (we call it Mission Kenya). I’ve also been blessed to have been able to travel to Kisumu, Kenya on a couple of mission trips in 2004 and 2009 (I’m hoping to make another mission trip very soon).
I agreed to join the board because I wanted to be more involved in helping raise awareness and increase support for the overall mission of Hope for the Destitute.
Dianne Moellering – Board Treasurer
After having met Pastor Ochola Omolo and having heard his selfless passion for ministry with the orphans and widows, I am drawn to support those efforts through Hope for the Destitute.
Monica Hartman – Develop & Program Manager
My father, now the Archbishop of the Lutheran Church in Kenya, grew up as an orphan. Life could have closed every door for him, but God, in His mercy, used the generosity of well-wishers and donors to open the path of education. That gift changed everything. It not only gave my father the tools to build his future, but also equipped him to become a servant of God and a leader to many.
About 15 years ago, I joined my father in this God-given mission. Together, we serve through Hope for the Destitute—offering orphaned and vulnerable children in Kisumu, Kenya the same life-changing opportunity my father once received: access to education and the life-giving message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Through this work, we have seen lives transformed—children finding not only knowledge, but also hope; families touched by the love of Christ; and communities strengthened in faith.
May the Lord richly bless all who pray for, support, and partner with us in bringing hope to those the world has forgotten—but God never will.
Alicia Herman – Secretary
I agreed to join the board because I wanted to be more involved in helping raise awareness and increase support for the overall mission of Hope for the Destitute.
Jocelyn Moellering – Communications Coordinator
I agreed to join the board because I wanted to be more involved in helping raise awareness and increase support for the overall mission of Hope for the Destitute.