How a Group of Young Kenyans Fought to
Transform Their Slum and Inspire a
Community
 |
The poignant and inspiring true story of three
young Kenyans who fought to transform their slum and improve the lives of those
around them.
Korogocho is one of
Kenya’s darkest slums, plagued by gang violence, food and water shortages, and
rampant pollution. Most children have no future except for scavenging through
trash piles or resorting to lives of crime. One day, a boy named Daniel
Onyango decided to do more, creating a band called the Hope Raisers to inspire
the kids of Korogocho. His friend, Mutura Kuria, quickly joined in.
In The
Hope Raisers: How a Group of Young Kenyans Fought to Transform Their Slum
and Inspire a Community, Nihar Suthar tells the amazing story of how Daniel and
Mutura turned the band into a platform for change. They started teaching
children on the streets how to express themselves through art and established a
skating team after finding a pair of rollerblades in the dump. Suthar closely
follows the story of one rebellious girl, Lucy Achieng, who refused to get
married off at a young age and instead used competitive rollerblading to reach
for her dreams. Lucy continues to inspire girls to stand up for themselves and
challenge the longstanding practices in Korogocho of early marriage and prostitution.
The Hope Raisers is an eye-opening look
into a world of poverty and violence where children receive only a basic
education and are left with little to no means to get out. Yet it also reveals
the remarkable impact that a few determined individuals can have on their
community, even in the most challenging of conditions.
Part of the proceeds from all book sales will be
donated to the Hope Raisers and toward improving the slum of Korogocho.
As a result of his
observations, he had a big idea to inspire people around the globe by writing a
book (which was strange, because he always hated reading books. Why would he
ever write one?). With the support of his family and friends though, Nihar ended
up debuting his first international book, Win No Matter What,
with Balboa Press in May 2013.
Since then, Nihar's work has
taken him to both distant parts of the globe and down strange alleyways. For
his 2016 release, The Corridor of Uncertainty,
Nihar traveled to the United Arab Emirates and received threats from the
Taliban, as he sought to chronicle the miraculous story of the Afghan cricket
team. To deepen his understanding of the Middle East region, Nihar also studied
Pashto, one of the official languages of Afghanistan.
Nihar graduated cum laude from
Cornell University, where he studied applied economics and management, with
concentrations in finance and strategy. He currently calls Tampa home. His
newest book is about three young Kenyans who fought to transform their slum and
improve the lives of those around them. Sign up HERE to receive exclusive content (early
drafts, behind the scenes content, etc.) regarding Nihar's next release, The Hope Raisers.
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