Achievements from September- November 2007

Achievements from September- November 2007
 

After our recent visit to Kenya in September we returned extremely happy with all of the projects and their incredible success to date. We also saw the new Resource Centre which is an amazing building which will hopefully service the entire community for a lot of years to come.

However we returned with a list of projects that needed to be completed in order to finalise the running of the projects on a sustainable “year on year” basis.
This seemed like a very tall order as it included the need to raise approximately £7000.00 to pay for it all.

Despite this we started fundraising and once again everyone’s interest and generosity in the success of the projects and the “betterment” of these communities’ lives has been absolutely mind-blowing.

Therefore, I have itemised just some of the achievements but if any of you want any further information you can also look at the website which, thanks to the support of Mark Renleon, is being updated and will hopefully be an easier way of you all staying updated on the achievements of the projects.

I am sure you will all agree that the amount that has been achieved is incredible and it is all thanks to everyone’s support and generosity. Please remember though, we still have a small way to go so please don’t stop your support.

Electricity
Perhaps the most incredible achievement to date has been the connection of the electricity to the orphanage.
This has happened, finally, thanks to the generous donations from “The Jens Hinrichs Memorial Fund” and also a very generous donation for the final connection costs by our friends in Australia, Rod and Judy Grieve.
We urge you to look at this story on the website.

Donations
Ongoing pledge
We have just received the most amazing news that Dave Meldrum has pledged £400 to the Trust every month, through his company Meldrum Construction Services. This money will cover the overheads of the 11 staff we have working at the orphanage taking care of the needs of the children as well as some extra funds which will be used as a contingency fund to cover medical bills and other ongoing costs of the children not normally covered by the sponsorship fees.
This is the most incredible news which will ensure the sustainability of the orphanage and mean that any fundraisers monies can be used as extra funds to pay for new projects. A huge thank you to Dave for his generosity and his continual ongoing support of the Trust.

Posho mill
We received an incredible donation of £1000 from Tony and Rebecca Manuel. This has been used to pay for the purchase of the Posho Mill for the orphanage and the building of a hut to house it.

Boys latrines
We have received another incredible donation of £1000 from Peter Morrell which has been used to pay for the construction of the new boys latrines. Richard has decided that the toilets should be properly named and “christened” “Pete’s Bogs”.

Operations and Furniture
We received £902.00 from sponsorship for John Morrison running “The Great North Run” which included another large amount from his employer “Hydro Aluminium”. £500 will be used for operations and the remaining funds will pay to build some furniture.

Mandy, Khan and Ethan (friends of Rod and Judy Grieve in Australia have donated £500 for the care of the children living in The Unclemac Small Home and attending the Special Needs Unit at the Primary School at Ematundu which is next door to the orphanage.

Some colleagues of Rod Grieve have donated 100 Australian dollars- £50 for shoes for some of the children at the orphanage.

Hydro Aluminium and the family of Jens Hinrichs have raised approximately £150 by selling badges to commemorate the 1st anniversary of Jens tragic death.

Steve Adams’ has pledged £100 per month from his haulage business to help contribute towards the overheads of the running of the orphanage.

We have recently received a donation of £200.00 from Mary and Peter Henderson who have been keen supporters of the Trust to be used for some of our needs.

Give a Gift Campaign for Christmas
After starting our “Give a Gift for Christmas” campaign the following people have been very generous and donated the following animals.

1. Carol Palombo donated 4 cows to be named “Pat Gober”, “Mike Kuby”, “Libby Wentz” and “Subhro”.
2. Stephen Cowen bought a goat to be named "Chisum"
3. Linda Lamb bought a goat- to be named "Tammy"
4. Kevin Wilson bought a goat- to be named "Doxford"
5. Richard Young bought a goat to be named "Joy"
6. Richard Young bought 3 chickens to be named "Curry" "Rice" "Chips"
7. Lesley Almack has bought a goat to be named "Poppy"
8. Linda Lambs family have bought a goat to be named "Ellie"
9. Anne Young and Teresa Ward have bought a cow named "Daisy" and 6 chickens to be named in Kenya
10. Gail Ronan bought 6 chickens- (to be named)
11. Steve Hill bought a cow to be named “Copper”

Again please look at the good news stories which itemise the impact a gift like this has, not just on the family, but the surrounding community. These gifts really do have a lasting impact of lifting these families out of poverty for the rest of their lives by just a one off donation.
These gifts are also self-perpetuating as the first offspring of the animal donated is given back to the Trust and then donated on to another family.

Fundraisers
C2C
Richard, Peter Martin, Alisdair MacKenzie, Jim and Simon Rouse completed the Sea to Sea mountain bike ride over two and a half days and have raised approximately £2000.

C2C
Dave Meldrum completed the Sea to Sea mountain bike ride in the summer and although a final figure has not been announced yet the expected figure should cover most of the remaining infrastructure costs of the orphanage.

Basketball night
Lots of Trust supporters gathered at Newcastle Arena to raise funds for the Trust. The raffle is yet to be drawn but we raised approximately £600 on the night. Thanks to Angela and others for the organisation of this event.

Orphans at University
A very special mention to our first orphans who are being sponsored through their University education, Philip Eshiabwala, who will be studying Special Needs Education and Information Technology – sponsored by Rod and Judy Grieve and Bonface Oyaka, who will be studying Clinical Medicine. These two young men are extremely lucky as this is a massive undertaking and commitment by the sponsors.

Sponsorships
The following list was of the orphans that remained without sponsors in September 2007. Since our return we have warmly welcomed the following new sponsors, many thanks to you all and here’s hoping we can all support these children through their entire education and provide future role models in these communities.

1. Maria Aguti – 1996 – Standard 6 Primary - sponsored by Steve Gill
2. Derick Ambaisi – 1999 – Standard 2 Primary - sponsored by Veronica Stanton
3. Everlyn Andeso – 2002 – ECD (Nursery) - sponsored by Simon Rouse
4. Mercy Anyango – 1992 – Standard 6 Primary - sponsored by Judith Hamilton
5. Antony James – 1999 – Standard 2 Primary -sponsored by Jon Lee
6. Kibanda Makomere – 1998 – Standard 5 Primary - sponsored by Andy Batey and Sarah Threadgold
7. Samuel Muchuka – 1995 – Standard 4 Primary - sponsored by Michael, Sharon and Sam Cairns
8. Brian Okusimba – 2000 – Standard 3 Primary- sponsored by Lesley and Trevor Cornwell (Inwood)
9. Monicah Otinga – 2000 – Standard 1 Primary - sponsored by Janis Fraser
10. Silas Waka – 1998 – Standard 1 Primary -Sponsored by Lisa Douglas Taylor
11. Stephen Waswa – 2000 – ECD -Sponsored by Simon Rouse’s kids
12. Leo Emanuel -Sponsored by Alan Giverin

This leaves only the following orphans to be sponsored
1. Mourine Otuya – 1997 – Standard 3
2. Meshack Aluchio – 1990 – Form 3 Secondary
3. Jane Shikhaya – 1994 – Standard 5 Primary
4. Donald Omukoko- 1993 – Form 1 Secondary
5. Florence Inyangala – 1993 – Form 1 Secondary

Build a Bed Campaign
When we returned we needed 76 beds to ensure that every child has their own bed, mattress and mosquito net.
Thanks to the following donations we are well on the way and only need 33 more beds.
£250 from Next Step Fostering for 10 beds
£100 from Phil Dunn for 4 beds
£100 from Anne Young for 4 beds
£100 from Chris and Gayle Keith for 4 beds
£100 from Angus and Angela Wear for 4 beds
£25.00 from Teresa Ward for 1 bed
£25.00 from Jed Manuel for 1 bed
£25.00 from Tony Fleming for 1 bed
£50.00 from Paul Cottis for 2 beds
£50.00 from Tony & Patsy Bewick for 2 beds
£50.00 from John Munro for 2 beds
£25.00 from Chris Keith for 1 bed
£20.00 from Richard Young for 1 bed
£25.00 from Theresa Ward for 1 bed
£80.00 from Ruth Elliot & work colleagues for 3 beds.

Also a huge ' ASANTE SANA ' to 12yr old Chelsea Keith, who upon hearing her parents (Chris & Gayle) discussing the needs for beds at the Orphanage, decided to use her personal savings £25.00 (turned the Piggy Bank upside down) to purchase a bed for one of the children at the orphanage

Future needs
1. Dining furniture
The new resource centre has a dining room but we now need some dining furniture. At present we have two tables which sit 6 children and 100 chairs.
This means we need about 18 tables @ Ksh 1,500/= each and about 30 chairs @ Ksh 300/= each.
Total cost Ksh 36,000/=
2. Kitchen
Needs proper storage for different food items e.g. a separate store and shelves.
Too smoky – needs extra windows and chimneys
Total cost Ksh 20’000/=
3. Washing blocks
The report also highlighted that there are no boys and girls washing facilities. We need to build 2 washing blocks at a cost of Ksh 150’000/= each.
Total cost Ksh 300’000/=
4. Reinforce fence
Perimeter fence needs reinforcing but this is not priority. Amos to get cost of fencing the farmers land and football pitch then when funds are available they can use the current fencing around the orphanage for this and then get new substantial fencing materials for around the orphanage.
Ksh 40,000/=
5. Build a bed
We still need to build 34 beds which are £25 each to ensure every child has their own bed.
Ksh 110,000/=

Please accept this as a “pat on the back” and huge “thanks” to you all for your continued support of the trust.