Greetings friends,
I greet you all with love and thanks for all the generous donations that have come into the mailbox of friends of Kakamega over the past few months.
The Care Centre re-opened January 1st, and once more the halls rang with the voices of children so happy to be back together and the sound of bare feet and flip-flops running up and down the cement stairs and laughter.
Each day led up to the big moment of returning to school, which then had to be put off an extra week due to a teachers' strike. (The teachers earn a base salary of 10,000 Kenya shillings a month or about $145, whereas the parliament ministers have voted to give themselves salaries of 200,000/ or $2860 per month). Meanwhile, new school uniforms were made, desks were built (Yes, you have to provide your own desk) and new class assignments were made. When the big day came, the children were ready to roll!
New children have come into the Care Centre. As the new boys dorm has meant for space opening up in the girls sleeping quarters, 5 new girls were brought in January 1. We are all very grateful for the safe haven and refuge that the Care Centre gives. Meanwhile, two new boys have moved into the boys dorm, filling the beds there. To make new bedroom space for more emergency cases, the library shelving and books have been moved down into the dining hall, converting the old library into a bedroom.
The Drought and Food Crises in Kenya is Severe
It is estimated that up to 10 million people are facing starvation in Kenya due to a very serious food shortage. News reports are that people are starving to death every day, due to the drought which has lasted for years and has dried up stream beds and other sources of water so cows and other animals are dying everywhere. The drought also was the cause of a very poor maize crop, which was compounded by the post election violence which meant many people were unable to plant maize because a half million people were displaced due to the violence.
Seed and fertilizer costs skyrocketed following the clashes making them out of reach for poor people who depended on raising their own food. When the rains finally did come last year, they were unreliable and many seedlings were killed off from torrential downpours and hail. Then the drought moved in again so much of the crops failed. Now the cost of maize is at least twice what it was before the election violence. Calls for international food aid have been made but it is hard to meet them due to corruption. The rains should have begun the first week in February, but there is no sign of them yet. People all over Kenya are on their knees praying for rain.
Self Help Project of Seed and Fertilizer
To help the children who are home-based sponsored in the program, the Kakamega USFW women who oversee the Orphan Project decided that purchasing seed and fertilizer would be the most effective way of assisting these families who face such severe poverty. They did an assessment of the 89 children currently in the program and found that 50 of them had the land and labour that could make planting possible. People in the US had already contributed $2500 for a "Self-Help Project" and this money has now been spent to purchase seed and fertilizer for 25 families.
We have room for 3 people who are interested in the service project going over this July/August. Contact me: sukierice@suscom-maine.net or Tracy Booth: TDBooth@earthlink.net if you are interested in going with us. Obama T-shirts are treasured in Kenya. If you know of a source or have some to donate let us know so we can take them with us in July.
Once more, thank you to all who have been assisting in any way with this project.
Mirembe, (Peace) Sukie