Update

I have just received an email from people who run a nursery school here in the UK, offering a bagful of toys for the orphanage, which I have accepted gratefully.

If things carry on like this, I will need my own aeroplane to get everything to Kenya!

Doctor Benta

After Vincent had told me about Benta's ambition to become a doctor, a nursery school here in the UK has offered me some toys, including a "doctor kit" for the kids in Kisii - coincidence, or have they been reading this blog?

I can imagine Benta's face if I were to give her a doctor's kit. And I can already hear the babble of delight. Sorry, to me it is babble, she speaks Swahili and I don't. But it would be delightful babble. I am quite used to African kids getting over-excited and talking in joined-up scribble.

My only concern is that I am collecting rather a lot to take with me. I get the impression that things like my clothes will be at a low priority. Still, who needs a lot of clothes in Kenya?

Weekly News from Kisii

As usual, I had my weekly long "chat", via Skype with Vincent, who runs the children's home.

He was amused earlier this week when he was watching two of the youngest children, Benta (5) and Josephat (4) playing.

Josephat has a small scratch on his hand and Benta was cleaning it up for him

"I am going to be a doctor when I grow up," she announced.

Not wanting to be outdone, Josephat announced that he was going to be an airplane pilot and that he was getting a plane after school. Then he would take all the kids at the home for a ride.

He then ran round the compound, arms outstretched, flying his plane.

Davis has been very constructive. He has built a truck from an old plastic container. Many African kids do this. But Davis's truck was a tipper truck, and it worked. By working a lever, the back of the truck tips up and empties its load. Neat!

Generally, there is no change in Kisii. It is quiet, as always, the refugees are still there, and food is still hard to come by - no change there then!

Pleading to Aid Agencies

I spend all my spare time ploughing through the plethora of aid agencies working in Kenya and email them stating the plight of the refugees in Kisii. So far I have contacted all the big boys, Red Cross, UNHCR, etc. but had forgotten Oxfam.

I fired off an email on Friday, whilst holding a conversation with my man in Kisii, Vincent, on Skype.

An hour later, I checked my emails and Lo! A reply from Oxfam. It didn't say much, only thanking me for my mail and signalling the problem to them. They would be sending my email immediately to their centre in Nairobi, and they would reply.

As I said, it is not much of a reply, but it is a reply, the first acknowledgement that anyone has read an email from us. Cause for a minor celebration, I think. I celebrated with a cup of tea.

No, not really, I would have had the cup of tea anyway.

I also fired off a press release to our local newspaper, praising the people of this area for their efforts in raising emergency funds to feed the kids at the home and also donating their old cell phones, which will provide much needed shoes for them.

Because food prices shot up as transport problems hit Kenya, the "Christmas" fund at the home, usually used to buy shoes, had to be raided to pay for food. So the kids received nothing last Christmas. ever mind, when I arrive, we will sell the phones and every child will have a new pair of shoes.

And there should be enough to get some clothes for those who need them most.

Aid in Kisii

Since the troubles started in Kenya, there have been about 300+ refugees camping in Kisii, mainly women and children.

No aid has been sent to the town and the refugees are being supported by the local community, putting a strain on their resources.

I have contacted every major aid agency in Kenya, bit to date, have not a received a reply from any of them.

Is it that these big international organisations, including the UNHCR, are just too self-important to take any notice of the people on the ground who have first-hand knowledge of the situation and the local people?

Or is it that a mere 300 women and children are just not important enough to worry about. After all, Kisii is off the beaten track to Kisumu and Eldoret, and not quite so easy to get to, although I managed it is a small sedan, so I am sure a 7-tonne truck can do it.

I have even offered to drive a load from Nairobi to Kisii myself! My people there can help with distribution. We are, after all, an NGO. This is what we do, just not on the same scale as the big boys.

Daily Dose

I got my almost daily dose of news from Kisii as usual, by Skype. This is my friend and colleague, Vincent, who, amongst other things, runs the Mercy Gate Children's Home.

As always, little Josephat asked Vincent if Dad Mzungu was coming today, and as always, he was disappointed. Never mind, I will be there soon.

When I met Josephat, a 4 year old orphan, he was recovering from a bout of malaria and to me, resembled an anorexic stick insect. But he is lively, friendly, even to the Mzungu who gave him such a shock, and has a ready smile.

Vincent and I are planning on starting up a business in Kisii, the idea being that I will have a modest income, it will supplement Vincent's income and the rest can supplement the home's food bill, which is now over £600 a month.

I am hoping to find a suitable house to rent. I don't need a palace, but electricity and running water would be nice. Vincent assures me that I can rent a four-bedroom house in a secure compound for about £150 a month. That seems reasonable!

Why four bedrooms? Well, for starters, I would like my girlfriend and her children to move to Kisii (although there is some resistance at the moment), and then there is the influx of OVCs - that is, orphans and vulnerable children. Vincent thinks I could house 3 or 4 if my house were big enough!

So many elderly grandmothers are now finding that they have outlived their children and are the only family remaining to look after their grandchildren. They have no income to speak of, so the whole family live in terrible conditions in dilapidated mud huts.

The family shown here are typical of families all over Kenya - all over Africa even - with the HID/AIDS pandemic taking so many working age adults.

Kids cannot go to school. Although schooling is free, children cannot attend unless they are wearing something approaching school uniform. Most families cannot afford this, especially when there are several kids to equip.

News From Nairobi

I got an email from my guy in Nairobi yesterday. It is rare to get an email from him on a Sunday as he doesn't have Internet access at home, so he was either in the office or a cyber cafe. AS this was unusual, I was worried. Was it bad news?

No. Not really. It was him just being over-cautious and advising me not to go out to Kenya just yet. I sometime wonder if there is a hidden agenda in keeping me out of Kenya. By all accounts, it would be safe enough for me to go, although geting to Kisii, where the orphanage is situated may be more difficult.

In any case, any violence is inter-tribal and it is distinctly obvious from my complexion that I am neither Kikuyu or Luo!

Other people, including Mzungu Chick seem to think that it is quiet for the time being, although I hear that the ODM is likely to call for more rallies. At least they will be "legal" as the "Government" has lifted the ban on public meetings. Oops! I am descending into politics ...


I have to get to Kisii soon though, because I have been collecting cell phones and my man there has already sold some of them. So I have to get there to deliver them. That will give every kid in the children's home a new pair of shoes, replace some school uniforms and probably buy some books.


I hope to spend about a week in Kisii, staying with friends there. We are looking at the possibility of starting up a business from which some of the profit will go towards the children's home. At the present time, with food prices rising, all funds are being used just to feed the kids, with help from the people in villages around here where I live.

So, this would seem to be a good time to say a big "THANK YOU" to the cusotmers of Woolton Hill General Store who have helped to feed our children this year.

And a special thank you to Sue and Raj, who run the store, for letting me plaster posters in their windows, and who were the collection point for the funds and phones.

Help from the UK

Since the start of the crisis in Kenya, Kisii, where the orphanage is located, has been reasonably quiet with only a few skirmishes in the town centre. But it has seen nothing like the violence that nearby towns have suffered.

However, the town has received over 300 refugees from neighbouring towns. These people are now camped out in the grounds of various churches.

Food is in short supply and local producers have raised their prices - naturally. So the orphanage suddenly found that they were struggling to feed the children properly.

So I launched an appeal in my village shop, asking people to put their change into a box.

So far, we have raised £95, which means that we were able to send the orphanage £85 after expenses. This is a lot of money n Kenya!

We are also collecting old cell phones. Not worth a lot here, they can be sold for a minimum of £20 in Kenya, and this money will buy every child a new pair of shoes!

Other people have been collecting clothes for the refugees, but I don't know how I am going to get them out there yet. I am not having a lot of luck with the airlines. One in partcular was very keen to help ACIS, but I can't seem to get any sense out of them at the moment.

And then there is the question of our vehicle, which was destroyed in the troubles. Being such a small agency, we don't have the funds to replace a vehicle at the drop of a hat.

Oh well, I am sure something will turn up.

Mercy Gate, Kisii

The following day, after breakfast and a photo-call, we drove to the site of the Mercy Gate home.

There is no home, just a plot of land, but this is where Vincent and his wife Abigael want to build their orphanage. It is a good plot with fertile land.

More and more kids arrived until there were about 20.

I had brought two frisbees with me and these were gratefully received by the children, who immediately put them to good use.

The children performed a couple of songs and dances for their visitors.

We amused ourselves for a while until the representatives of the Merlin NGO arrived. This was the reason for the trip. Merlin are charged with providing mosquito nets to children, but the home had not received any.

We discussed the problem, and eventually, arranged for the kids to be registered for anti-malaria HIV/AID and opportunist infection drugs. Mission accomplished.

After a lunch of fresh fruit, we set off for Nairobi, taking a rather shorter route through Narok, and arrived home at about 21.00.