THE CLOTH AND THE MUD #43
FALL, 2010
NEWS FROM FABULOUS AFRICAN FABRICS
A 501 (c) (3) ORGANIZATION
727-946-5322,
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
and www.fabulousafricanfabrics.org Laura Salazar, editor
Our Mission: to support agencies working with AIDS widows and orphans in Africa and to educate others about the AIDS crisis in Africa.
COMING EVENTS:
October 16: Craft Fair at Dunedin 1st United Methodist Church
Dunedin, FL
October 25-31: Schuler Books and Music, All Grand Rapids, MI sites.
Buy books and FAF gets 20% of sale price. Be sure to mention FAF when you check out.
November 12 and 13: Jubilee International Craft Fair, 1st Presbyterian
Church, Spokane, WA
WE DID IT! $4771 from 80 donors. Thanks to all of you for your very generous donations to FAF through www.globalgiving.org Project 6163 “Send Orphaned Teens in Kenya to High School.” Now we are continuing members of the Global Giving family. More about what this means to FAF at the end of this newsletter.
NEWS FROM AFRICA
The folder of information to share with you is bulging, but no information is as important as the report FAF advisor and board member Sheba Onchiri shared with us after she returned from a visit to The Good Samaritan Home in Nairobi, Kenya this August. Most of the rest of this newsletter is devoted to her report.
FAF: SHEBA ONCHIRI REPORT ON THE GOOD SAMARITAN HOME VISIT
AUGUST, 2010
Current situation and challenges:
1. School fees: Tuition fee [$1050 per year] was mentioned as one of the greatest challenges the home is contending with currently. Eunice Wambua, (a social worker with the home) explained that tuition fee for students especially those in high school is an uphill task. Currently the home has 120 teenagers in high school. I was informed that 10 are on the waiting list. At times, these kids get a few sponsors to buy some school requirements. Mercy Thou also mentioned a Dr. Michael Johnson from Indiana who has been buying some food (dry maize and beans) for the home and paying tuition fees for 13 girls doing courses in Information Technology (IT), Food Processing, and Mechanics at Limuru Agricultural Center.
2. Influx of children: The home continues experiencing a huge influx of needy children. I was informed that the problem has become more pronounced due to the 2007/2008 post-election violence in Kenya. It is worthy to note that some of the IDPs (internally displaced persons) affected by the biolence are yet to be resettled. Children from such families are vunerable to social ills like child prostitution, trafficking and abuse. The home is a rescue place for them. Mercy asserted, “you can’t send such children away when they show up, you must look for ways of accommodating them.”
3. School visitation: In Kenya, boarding schools usually schedule visiting days for children learning in their schools. During such days, every child looks forward to seeing family members or guardians. The children whose family members do not show up feel left out. Since the home does not have enough personnel to visit each and every child in such boarding schools, some children have to cope with the situation. I was told the same problem is experienced during the “academic days” (similar to parent-teacher conferences in the US) when guardians and parents are required to visit to make a follow up on their children’s academic progress.
4. Workers pay/understaffing: The home wishes it could have enough money to compensate their workers. As Eunice put it, “payment is a cry.” I was informed that the home is as well understaffed. Good Samaritan has two cooks, one social worker, 2 caregivers for young children and a security personnel. The home wishes it could have an additional 2 cooks, 2 watchmen/security, 3 caregivers and at least 3 social workers. Eunice argues that all is about “touching the children.” One caregiver I talked to explained that when small children are brought to the center, she or her other colleague are required to take the baby for medical checkup. If it happens that chld is HIV positive or is severely malnourished, the caregiver is forced to stay in hospital with the baby until the baby is discharged by a doctor. Thus, this would mean that only one caregiver would be available at the home taking care of the other children. I was told that sometimes it becomes overwhelming for one caregiver to cater for all other children who are at the center.
5. School uniforms: Although the government provides free tuition for primary school children, it does not buy uniforms for them. The parents are required to buy uniforms and sometimes desks for their children. In the case of Good Samaritan Children’s home, children who join the home have to stay out as Mercy makes preparations to buy them these requirements. That means uniforms; desks and other required supplemental textbooks have to be bought for them. Mercy explained that sometimes, they do get well-wishers who provide uniforms for a few children. Eunice also mentioned cases of high school students who are sent home for school shoes, thereby losing quality learning time. As Eunice put it, “school shoes have been a challenge.” She gave examples of children who should be in primary schools but have been retained in the home for about one and half years awaiting availability of these school essentials.
6. Health care: Most of the children who join Good Samaritan home are either malnourished or HIV positive. Such children need extra care and a special diet. According to Mercy, although the government provides medicine for them, it does not provide the much needed food. I was informed that some French volunteers have also given the home free medicine for malnourished children but not food. The home is thus in a constant need of nutritional foods for such children. Mercy has been able to get milk from cows raised within the home. Currently, the home has 19 cows being raised in “zero-grazing” cattle units. Mercy explained that the home has enough milk and that all children are able to drink milk. However, she wishes she could be able to provide fruits, eggs, and vegetables to the children. Occasionally she gets a well-wisher who provides one or two of these items. I was informed that when schools are on session, children associated with Good Samaritan eat from school. Although the government has offered to donate food for children from Good Samaritan, the home has to provide fuel wood, cooking oil and pay for the school cook. I was informed that Good Samaritan normally pays respective schools for food preparation.
7. Other immediate needs: I was told that there is a dire need for tissue papers, show polish (Kiwi) for school shoes, body oils (Vaseline), 30 scientific calculators for high school students and Oxford geometrical sets.
8. School bus: Good Samaritan home owns one old pickup truck. According to Mercy, the truck has been a valuable asset not only to the home but to their neighbors. She recounted that a number of times, sometime in the middle of the night, people in need of medical attention ask for help to be dropped off in hospital. She also explained that small children are either dropped off at school using this truck or when it is not available, somebody has to walk them to school. The home wishes they could have a school bus at some point.
9. Making the followups/home visits: I was informed that due to lack of time and transportation means, it becomes hard to make follow-ups on children who stay with their relatives. Good Samaritan buys exercise books, pens, and school uniforms for them but encourages them to stay with their relatives (e.g. mother or grandmother). Most of these children are so vulnerable because their parents or relatives may not provide the best care for them. Mercy wishes that Good Samaritan workers could make home visitations just to make sure the children are not suffering. She informed me that sometimes relatives discourage the children from attending school and even go with them to the streets to solicit for money. Mercy considers it crucial to develop close ties with these children’s family members whom they have been able to trace. This is especially true given matters of property/land inheritance. However, due to the time/resource constraints, Mercy reiterated that the home has not been able to do meaningful follow-ups.
10. Feeding costs: I was told that a satisfying health feeding per day for each child will cost approximately $2.00 (i.e. about 140 Kenyan Shillings).
What the home is doing to sustain itself
a) Income generating projects:
Good Samaritan Home has initiated income generating activities such as dairy keeping, cattle and pig rearing and rabbit raising. During my visit, older boys from the home were busy constructing a structure where they plan to raise the rabbits. I was informed that sometimes the structure is rented out to groups like church goers.
b) Youth acrobatic shows:
Apart from meeting their needs, the home encourages and supports development of youth skills in acrobatic shows. Whenever they get a chance, youths from the home stage performances for people at a fee. They are also involved in drama and theatre enlightening people about HIV/AIDS, problems related with drug abuse and domestic violence.
c) Garbage recycling:
Though not on a large scale, youth of Good Samaritan home are involved in
garbage recycling and environmental conservation. These activities not only in raising some income but also instill in them the virtue of being responsible citizens.
d) Weaving and embroidery:
For the rehabilitated youth, school leavers and single mothers, the home provides skill training in basket weaving, hairdressing and embroidery. During my visit I was luck to meet young women who were attending a hairdressing course sponsored by Revlon Professional institute. The young women shared with me their appreciation for such an opportunity.
Sheba Onchiri
GLOBAL GIVING NEWS: Visit our site for updates: Project # 6163
BENEFIT OF GLOBAL GIVING’S PLATFORM: Since 2002, almost 115,000 donors have given over $31 million to over 3,000 projects ( as of Sept 2010). For more up-to-date information check GG website homepage.
MEDIA OUTREACH ON GLOBAL GIVING: New York Times columnist Nick Kristof promoted HeroRats in an Op Ed article in May 2010 and encouraged hundreds of donors to check out GlobalGiving. The article resulted in over a quarter million dollars in donations to GlobalGiving projects! Visit GlobalGiving’s Media Room to read other news stories spotlighting GlobalGiving:
http://www.globalgiving.org/aboutus/media/ This article inspired Margaret Carlson to urge FAF to become a part of Global Giving.
