Personal

Märt and Alta Vähi were married in 1970 and have three children and now already eight beloved grandchildren.

In 1991, during the collapse of the Soviet Union, Märt and Alta, feeling God’s calling, moved with their entire family to Estonia — to the place where Märt’s father’s home had been before World War II. As war refugees, his parents arrived in Sweden in 1945, from where the family later relocated to Canada.

Canada became their home and the country where they built their family, but during the 1970s they spent seven years transporting Bibles into Estonia and other former USSR countries. After that, they returned to Canada, where Märt founded Smythe Street Church in Fredericton, New Brunswick, serving there for fourteen years as pastor, dean, and provincial government chaplain.

After settling in Estonia, Märt Vähi played an active role in establishing the Estonian Christian Pentecostal Church (EKNK), founding new congregations, establishing a Bible school and launching its educational work, and together with colleagues he also founded the Estonian prison ministry. In 2005, Märt Vähi was consecrated as Bishop of the Estonian Christian Pentecostal Church. All of this work continues to this day.

In November 2000, under the leadership and initiative of Märt Vähi, the NGO Hope Village (Lootuse Küla) was established, and practical work soon began on building the rehabilitation village and helping people struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. As chairman of the board of the NGO Hope Village, Märt Vähi leads the rehabilitation center’s activities and development, and as Bishop Emeritus of EKNK he also leads the EKNK Hope Village Congregation. Märt Vähi is one of the founders of the Hope Village Rescue Society NGO.

Märt Vähi’s work has received several recognitions in the field of social work. In February 2014, the President of the Republic of Estonia awarded Bishop Vähi the Red Cross Medal, 3rd Class.

Together with his son, Andrew Vähi, Märt began establishing and developing Hope Village in Canada in 2006, where the first houses have now been built and the first men are participating in the program.

Alta has been a faithful companion to her husband throughout her life. Likewise, she constantly serves at Hope Village, showing great love, care, and attentiveness. In her quiet manner, Alta is always involved in welcoming guests, providing accommodation and meals, participating in church services, organizing events, and teaching young people. The Vähi family home doors are always open to guests.

Raiman Kukk came to the Hope Village program for help in 2012, having by that time a 10-year history of drug addiction. Raiman’s life changed radically, and within him arose a desire to help others suffering from addiction. In 2014, Raiman graduated from the Baltic School of Ministry Bible school in Latvia. He continued his studies in Hope Village’s servant leadership program, which he successfully completed in 2015.

Since 2017, Raiman has worked at Hope Village as the assistant executive director. In 2018, Raiman was ordained as a deacon of the Estonian Christian Pentecostal Church. Between 2017 and 2019, Raiman furthered his education at Tallinn School of Economics in the field of project management assistant studies. Since May 2018, Raiman Kukk has served as the Executive Director of Hope Village. In 2020, Raiman Kukk was ordained as a pastor of the Estonian Christian Pentecostal Church.

Completed trainings:

• 2024 – TBRI (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) training
• 2023 – Restorative justice and conflict resolution training
• 2018 – Motivational interviewing training
• 2015 – BKI support person training

Marilin Kukk married Raiman in 2016. Marilin studied for two years at Hillsong Bible School in Australia. She also worked for five years as an assistant to the leader of the Estonian Christian Pentecostal Church. In 2018, Raiman and Marilin welcomed their son Harman. In 2022, their daughter Harriet was born. Marilin is a strong support and help to her husband, and together they continue developing Hope Village.