The
team had a successful two weeks in Embu, achieving what we set out to do and
more. There were three working groups, painting in three separate children’s
homes: Jomo, where we painted the kitchen and dining room. St. Stephen’s,
where the outside of the office block was painted; and Utugi, where a dingy room
was turned into a bright nursery classroom.
Our
young people enjoyed interacting with the children and the whole team was often
treated as honoured guests, particularly on New Year’s Day, at the church
services, where two of our number preached.
I
was particularly thrilled to attend the dedication service for the Gatondo
Health Clinic, that some of us had raised funds to build two years ago. It was
wonderful to see it open, and staffed with a nurse, lab technician, office
manager and cleaner. That may sound rather basic to us, but much fundraising by
the Canadian Rotary Club has enabled the staffing thus far.
At
Jomo, we had already paid to have tiles put down in the dormitories, dining room
and kitchen areas, to help wheelchair access. The work was complete when we
arrived and the place looked very smart and much cleaner than before. We had
also paid up-front for corrective surgery to take place in Nairobi, through CURE
International. I was delighted to be told that the first seven children will
travel to Nairobi for treatment on 23rd January. We eagerly await the
results!
Also
at Jomo, we bought a fridge, gave the children a party and left money for
transport to and from Nairobi.
At St. Stephen’s, the largest children’s home, 85 pairs of school shoes were purchased. For practically all of the children, this will be their first new pair since we did the same two years ago. We also bought a fridge for the kitchen.
At
Utugi, the greatest excitement was presenting all of the older children with a
complete football strip.
There
are now local children, as well as orphans, who can enjoy the cheerful
nursery-classroom. Some of us visited for a morning, and found
ourselves singing all of the
nursery rhymes we could think of!
Some
of us met up with our sponsor-children, others acquired new ones. There were
tears when we said goodbye, but we know we have helped in a small way to
brighten the lives of those very precious children.
Maz Allen
Child-Sponsorship in Kenya
Maz is always looking for sponsors for Primary and Secondary school children living at St Stephen's Orphanage. These children are either orphans or from families where they have been abused. The cost of sponsorship is £20 per month (Primary) or £36 per month (Secondary), which covers school fees, accommodation, board, clothing and medical care. Please see Maz if you are interested in becoming a sponsor.
In addition, there is a ten year old boy, paralysed from the waist down, who needs to attend a special school run by the Salvation Army. Until recently, Chelmsford Diocese have been sponsoring him, but this has now ceased. This is an urgent plea for help. £100 per annum would pay for school fees, whilst any extra would enable his mother to look after him correctly at home. Please see Maz if you can help.
Maz Allen has had a long association with the in Kenya. In 2008 a group of young people from Cheltenham and Chandler's Ford went out to Kenya to help with building projects.
Out of the 18 group
members, the following belong to our churches:
Maz, Jeremy & Nat
Hitchings, Julie & Emma Jefferies, Jean Smith, Katherine & Laura Stagg
and Ann Standring. In addition there were another five teenagers and four adults.
Please support Kenya Fundraising events whenever possible and please pray for the success of this venture.