REPORT OF VISIT JANUARY 2019
We have enjoyed yet another visit to Nanyuki, Kenya where we met all our old friends and some new ones.
Prior to our visit, Stonehouse Rotary kindly donated £500 for the purchase of some reusable sanitary products for the girls in the Nanyuki. As is often the case in Kenya girls who cannot access sanitary products due to cost, they cannot attend school during their monthly period. Use of the reusable pads makes life so much easier for these girls and ensures the continuity of their education. We ordered the packs here in the UK prior to our journey to Kenya and, on arrival at our hotel in Nairobi, the large box of packs was was waiting for us. We obtained them from an organisation called Huru International which is doing a wonderful job of providing work for the local ladies in Nairobi manufacturing these products.
During this visit we were accompanied by Pauline Lister who is the grandmother of a young soldier Jack Mitchell who was tragically killed here in the UK 2 years ago. Jack had been posted to British Army Training Unit Kenya and thoroughly enjoyed his time in Nanyuki. He was extremely touched by the plight of the underprivileged children in the town and he was also a huge rugby fan. Following Jack’s death his family, friends and Painswick Rugby Club, have worked tirelessly to raise funds in his memory and wished the funds to be used to benefit the children in Nanyuki. The Jack Mitchell Memorial Fund was initiated.
Gem Dennis is the local rugby coach and he works for the British Army Training Unit Kenya. He uses every spare moment of his time to coach the children in rugby and goes far beyond what a rugby coach normally does for the children. He is a firm disciplinarian with the children and recognises the talents of each and every one – both girls and boys. He has obtained scholarships for the high performing boys to send them to really good schools where their rugby talent will see them in good stead for the future. Sadly there are no girls rugby scholarships available in Kenya right now so any high performing girl has to find her own school fees which,, of course, is virtually impossible. That is where we have come in during this visit. Gem has got so many children back to school with the help of the Jack Mitchell Memorial Fund and Nanyuki Children’s Charitable Trust. Not only do the school fees for the girls need to be found, but for both boys and girls everything needs to be bought for them to attend school i.e.mattress, bedding, toiletries, wash bucket, books, pens, pencils, uniform, shoes and even toilet rolls!
Pauline meeting some of the rugby children prior to their admission to school. Photos also of the rugby boys and girls funded and assisted by the charity to be admitted to school.
We visited CEDC which is a children’s home which rehabilitates the children taken off the streets in the town. The day we visited, there was a rugby coaching session going on at the time and it was obvious just how much the children enjoyed it and just how well disciplined they were with Gem in charge.
Transporting the children to and from training sessions, and also taking them to and from school, is extremely time-consuming and quite expensive when you take into consideration the number of children he helps. We would very much like to be able to purchase and transport a minibus for him in the future. Should anyone know of someone willing to donate a minibus (here’s hoping) please get in touch with us.
Gem transports the children to and from training sessions, and also to and from schools, via Matatus, which are minibuses, and also by the boda bodas, which are motorbike taxis.
We visited Neema which is the infant rescue centre run by the wonderful Annie. We arrived at lunchtime so did not get a chance to see many of the babies as they were all being fed. We left a parcel of beautiful knitted jumpers crafted by a wonderful lady in the UK we know as Fiona’s mum . Fiona’s mum regularly sends parcels of beautiful little jumpers for the children for which we are extremely grateful.
A visit was also made to the Simama Transition Home and we took two cases full of shoes, some clothes and school bags for the children. They were so delighted with their new shoes. The children in Simama are so happy, which is a testament to the work of the, social workers and house parents of the home and our good friend Matt Orcutt who is the founder of the Simama Project.
A donation was left with Simama which will enable more children to attend school and also receive counselling during the holidays at the Centre of Worth in Nanyuki. The work Simama does with the children is truly outstanding.
A donation of five more computers was presented to Mr Gachoki, the headmaster of Annex Secondary School. Nanyuki Children’s Charitable Trust and the Jack Mitchell Memorial Fund have financed some of the computer desks in the new computer room at the school. We hope to obtain some more computers to ensure that every desk in Annex School has a computer in situ. A plaque was presented to Mr Gachoki and the students, and the computer room now has the title the Jack Mitchell Computer Room. This will be a permanent memorial in memory of Jack where friends and family can visit in the future. A donation was given to the school to assist with school fees for several of the students in need.
As many of you will know we have the privilege of sending out boxes via BFPO and several boxes had arrived during our visit which we delivered to one of the young army wives living in Nanyuki, Lindsey Edgell. This young lady, together with other Army wives, has started a group called Supporting Little Feet and they travel to outlying areas distributing shoes to the children. We delivered some boxes of shoes and school uniforms to Lindsey who will send some photos in due course.
AS ALWAYS WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK EACH AND EVERY ONE OF OUR SUPPORTERS FOR YOUR CONTINUED ASSISTANCE IN HELPING US HELP THE CHILDREN. YOUR DONATIONS REALLY DO MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE TO SO MANY CHILDREN’S LIVES. WE NOW HAVE 53 EASYFUNDRAISING SUPPORTERS AND HAVE RAISED A TOTAL OF OVER £1400 SO PLEASE KEEP SHOPPING ON LINE AND SPREAD THE WORD. IT REALLY IS FREE MONEY DONATED BY ON LINE RETAILERS AND SERVICES. Easyfundraising.org. WE HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL SUMMER AHEAD AND THANK YOU AGAIN. CAROLYN AND BILL
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