February 2014

This years visit by Carolyn and Bill was, as usual, busy with visits to schools, homes and meetings with other like minded groups in Nanyuki. Our main aim during this visit was to clarify exactly in which direction we thought the charity should aim, it is always easy to just provide money for individual causes when in Nanyuki, but we wanted to establish a common goal with homes,schools and other groups in the area. After visits and meetings we have drawn up our list of challenges for the future;

a) Partnering  with Simama Project. (full details are available at; http://thesimamaproject.org)

b) Partnering with Ndio Home Group in Nanyuki (Ndio, is a community based charity consisting of over 6,000 local people who have joined together to assist ALL children in Nanyuki)

c) Assist the British Army and Royal Air Force detachments based in Nanyuki.

SIMAMA

The Simama Project supports educational opportunities by sponsoring children and supporting them with the costs associated with attending school. Often this includes providing a variety of services such as paying for school fees, tutoring, mentoring services, uniforms, school supplies, food, healthcare (when appropriate) and other types of services that all children need to be successful in school regardless of where they live or their socio-economic status.

Matt Orcutt,  founder of the charity, has lived in Nanyuki for four years, we have had many meetings with Matt since meeting  him last year and have been in regular contact since our last visit. Matt is deeply passionate about his work with the children and we have no hesitation in assisting him with his endeavours to remove children from the streets of Nanyuki and provide them with full time education. Matt is also in contact with an English lady, who left the U.K to live in Nanyuki only recently and is also passionate about assisting the children in the town. Our charitie’s aim is to assist them, where and when possible, to achieve their objectives and provide education and shelter for the most vulnerable children of Nanyuki.

One of the projects that Simama are involved with is the “food programme” for Likii Primary school. Likii is a deprived area in Nanyuki with over 750 children attending the school. As is usual, food is a main concern as there are limited funds and many children attend school with out even having breakfast, The school has over 6 acres of undeveloped land and it is Simama’s intention to turn this waste area into a sustainable Shamba (farm). As this is a long term project “Nanyuki Childern’s Charitable Trust” has purchased an 8 metre long poly tunnel (green house) complete with irrigation system. The idea is that the school can begin, as soon as possible, to grow cash crops which will provide funds for the purchase of seeds, tools etc. for the cultivation of the land.

NDIO HOME GROUP

Roughly translated “Nanyuki is My Home” was set up by like minded individuals, with in the town, to assist ALL the children of Nanyuki no matter their needs or their situation, whether they be in school, on the streets or vulnerable with in their own home. The group has now expanded to in excess of 6,000 members with a common goal.

During our visit to Nanyuki we were pleased to visit “Likii Special school” with some members of the group. Likii Special school is dedicated to those children with severe physical and mental problems and provides education, accommodation, physiotherapy and vocational training. One of the main problems,with in the school, is lack of good teaching rooms, so Ndio have been busy fund raising in order to provide a new wing to the school and to this end we have pledged our assistance to provide some funds for the building programme. We are very grateful to “Stone House Rotary” (Gloucestershire)  who have kindly donated 66,000 Kenya Shillings (£500) towards the project, this amount will greatly speed through the construction process.  It is hoped that construction will commence before the end of February.

One of the activities of the children is to painstakingly produce bead necklaces which they intend to sell but have not, as yet, found a market for these goods. Carolyn purchased half of the stock of necklaces, the other half of the stock was purchased by Liz Bywater, who joined us on our visit to Nanyuki.

A visit was arranged by Ndio to Ndurui school, this is a state school with some 600 pupils and our charity has, recently, provided some uniforms for those children whose parents cannot afford them.  In order to attend school a child must have a uniform, but this means that children can be excluded from school for the sake of a uniform.

In attendance at the school were the volunteers from the Royal Air Force Tactical Wing (based in Nanyuki) who had been busy refurbishing the class rooms at the school, this involved stripping back the old wall covering, repairs to the ceilings (in some cases providing ceilings) redecorating and the glazing of the windows. Our charity has provided funds to assist Ndio in carrying out this work. Our grateful thanks must go to the RAF team for doing such a first class job in difficult circumstances (it can get extremely hot in those rooms with tin roofs!!!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One final deed, we provided food to Hope and Home school and the Vassco mission as we did last year, both local organisations provide for the children of Likii area.

Once again our grateful thanks to all of our sponsors who have supported our charity for many years. Your contributions are making a difference to the children of Nanyuki whether they be on the streets, in school or living in poverty with in the area. We were pleased to have met up with some of the boys, who were once residents of childrens home/s in the area, these boys (whom the charity has assisted over the years) are now either in work, in further education or about to leave school and enter the job market. We wish them all the very best for the future and are proud to be associated with them.