Twiga Kids Relax ...

Abused Kisii Girl Needs Urgent Sponsorship

We have today been informed that if Esther (13), a Gusii girl who is lodged at an orphanage in Kajiado is not taken in by Twiga Children's Centre very soon, she will be taken back to her parents.

This is not good news. Esther's parents sent her out to work as a house girl, where she suffered beatings and other cruelty in the hands of her employer. This will happen again if we do not offer Esther accommodation.

We need a sponsor who can help this girl to lead a normal life, attend school and regain the right to be a child.

3,000 Kenyan shillings (about UK£26.00 or US$40.00) a month will ensure that Esther is placed with a caring family, is fed, clothed and attends school.

Please, is there someone who will help us to rescue this girl from a life of abuse by donating 3,000/- a month?

You can donate through PayPal, or you can contact Vincent at the Twiga Centre in Kisii.

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Twiga Children's Centre has been contacted by an orphanage in Kajiado, asking if we can take one of their children, a girl called Esther.

Esther (13) was transferred to the Kajiado Children's Home from another orphanage, but she is of the Gusii tribe and there is no one in Kajiado who speaks the Abagusii language, and she does not speak the Maasai language. Naturally, Esther is very unhappy and wants to return to her traditional homeland of Kisii.

We would be happy to help and to make this child happy, but we really are stretched financially.

If anyone reading this can help by sponsoring Esther so that she can return to her people, please do not hesitate to contact us at Twiga Children's Centre through our website.

Kenya to declare food emergency

Here we go again!!

The BBC reports that the Kenyan Government is to declare a national emergency due to drought.

President Mwai Kibaki's government warned that nearly 10 million people - more than a quarter of the population - were at risk from food shortages.

But even where food is in reasonable supply, prices have already shot through the roof during the past couple of months and we are struggling to feed our kids, despite the fact that Kisii is situated in one of the most fertile areas of Kenya, supply and demand, I suppose.

Food shortages are believed to be caused also by suppliers hoarding, forcing the prices up - some people are willing to make a quick buck out of other people's suffering - not just in Kenya, but the world over.

We need help to buy food and also to get the River Cottage Kenya farm up and running. I am sure that we could be self-sufficient by this time next year with a little help.

Can you help us? Do you know someone who can?

Malaria Kills 3,000 Children Every Day

Shocking isn't it? And most of these deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa, including Kenya.

And what is just as distressing is that these deaths are unnecessary. Malaria can be controlled. Drugs are available to cure people who have contracted the disease.

Unfortunately, many people cannot afford them, or live too far in the bush to be able to get to a clinic or dispensary.

KCIS is planning a major drive in the New Year to combat the malaria problem, with drugs for those who have malaria, and an education and training program to help control where mosquitoes can breed. If we can control mosquito breeding, we can reduce the instances of malaria.

Our education program, aimed primarily at schools, will make people aware of unnecessary standing water where mosquitoes breed, and eradicate them.

BUT WE NEED FUNDING!

We need funding to buy the drugs, funding to set up dispensaries where they are not available, funding to employ people to work in the dispensaries, etc.

Please, if you can help, visit our KCIS website where there is a PayPal account where you help save the lives of children.

Even if you can only give a few Dollars/Pounds/Euros. If enough people give just a little, it will amount to a lot. If we can get this project started, we ... you ... will be saving lives!

New Name for the Children's Home

After a lot of discussion, mainly by email and Skype, we have decided to call the children's home "KCIS Child Support Centre".

As we grow as an organisation, we hope to be able to offer support to children who are not necessarily orphans, for example, those who used as child labour, those whose parents cannot afford a school uniform and therefore cannot attend "free" school, etc.

There are many aspect of child care that are not tackled by orphanages, and we hope to fill that gap.

Of course, none of this will come to pass unless we have benefactors, people who are willing to donate a little money. We are not asking for someone to donate thousands of dollars/pounds (although that would be nice), but if ten people each donated $10 (or £5), that's $100 (or £50) which we can put to good use.

Think about it. Talk to your friends. If between you, you can raise $100, you are helping 38 kids in Kisii and 17 orphans in Watamu (on the Coast).

Or, you can "adopt" a particular child. Take a look at our website to see who is there.

http://www.kcisupport.plus.com/ and click on Child Welfare.

[We have PayPal in the site]

Some of Our Kids

Let me introduce a few of the 36 kids who are on the Mercy Gate register.

I will start with the two who I help to support. They are living with Abigael and Vincent, the directors of Mercy Gate.

Josephat (4 years)

Jojo was abandoned at birth by his schoolgirl mother and was left in the care of his grandmother. She was unable to cope with the rather sickly baby and he arrived at Mercy Gate at the age of about 6 months. He is very small for his age, probably due to an intestinal parasite, for which he has now been treated.

He is a lively, active little boy, very confident and with a big smile.

He is attending baby class in a local school, where he is doing well.

He has an enormous appetite and I hope that now he has been treated, he will put on a growth spurt.

Benta (5 years)

Benta is a happy little girl. She is quiet (most of the time) and studious.

She likes to do crafts, and she is a dab hand at housework! I was shocked at first, but then realised that she does what every little girls does, copying her "mother", the difference being that here (UK/USA), a little girl will have a toy vacuum cleaner.

Benta doesn't have one and Abigael doesn't have a real one!

So Benta sweeps the floor, just like Mamma. She also likes to look after Abigael's baby daughter. And she helps with the clothes washing and cooking, just like Mamma.

A perfectly normal little girl, except that she is in the care of the orphanage.

Edwin & Dennis

These boys are brothers, Edwin (left) being the older.

Their mother died and their father eventually re-married. He moved away from the area and the boys now live with their adult sister, who is a single mother.

They are a couple of good kids, but Dennis in particular is mischievous, especially when he is in the company of Henry.

Both boys are doing well enough at school.

Dennis has a problem with chiggers, a small flesh-eating insect, which has infected his feet, the treatment for which is expensive.

The food crisis in Kenya is taking every penny from our funds, just to feed the kids. Medical treatment has become a luxury.

Henry

This 11 year old is as cheeky as they come. He has mischief written all over his face! But he is also active, good-natured and popular.

He is often seen in the company of a younger lad, Davis and also Dennis (above), and when the three of them are together, watch out! Nothing naughty or malicious, but, pranks and jokes are never far away.

This kid can turn any melodrama into a comedy.

Henry was born in 1997. His father died after suffering chest pains. He has a mother and two brothers, Nelson and Eric, who are both older.

Davis

This kid is a walking smile. I have never seen him without one on his face.

Davis has an older sister, Vanessa, also on our register. Their father died in a road accident in 1999 the same year that Davis was born. His mother is unable to look after Davis and Vanessa as she has no income.

Davis works well at school and is developing well.

Vanessa

Vanessa (on the right) is the older sister of Davis. She is about 12 years old. She is also very, very shy.

When the kids get together, she is often seen with her friend Divina. And that is when I have seen her come out of her shell. The two of them like skipping, and they were skipping together in almost perfect synchronisation.

How about that for a new sport? synchronised skipping!

... and on to Watamu

March 2008

As well as the Mercy Gate Home in Kisii, ACIS also supports a school in Watamu, Coast. This is a private, fee-paying school run by Janet and Allan, but it is also home to 17 orphans and vulnerable children.

My visit to Watamu had two goals, to see how the school was getting on, but also to see my girlfriend and her children. We were able to use the visitor apartment at the school during my stay, which meant that our kids only had to cross the school yard to get home, which amused them. It also meant that they could invite all their friends "home", so the apartment seemed to be full of kids after school.

During my stay, I took several photos of the kids living there, candid shots showing them carrying out their chores, playing, etc.. These will be added to the school's website here and our own.

One little boy, Brian, is six and has been at the school for about a month. Due to his family circumstances, he had never attended school before, and spoke no English.

He came up to the apartment after school and I talked to him in English, asking questions that had to be answered in English. The kid was like a sponge. His face showed that he really wanted to learn.

But unfortunately, the time to leave arrived too quickly, and I had to take the bus back to Nairobi.

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!

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.