Well, it looks as though we have found funding to hold two further workshops in Kimilili at the end of the month. Millicent and Ericah, our two business and economic graduates, who were our instructors for out last workshop, are coming to Kimilili to hold the next ones. We also are blessed to have two local supervisors, Wilfred and Samuel, to oversee the farming and garden training afternoon sessions.
We are very excited to inform you that various people have made donations of drip irrigation kits for families or small-scale garden co-ops in Kimilili. Dr. Thomas Winkler from Germany has generously donated the funds for a drip irrigation kit. Dr. Rikea Schoen from Germany held an open house for her veterinary practice and sold cake and coffee to all who came. The money earned on this day is also sufficient to buy a family drip irrigation kit.
Lia organised a Tea Party for Kimilili last weekend. Over fifty people came to enjoy the last of the sunny autumn weather. The donations given during this event will, hopefully, suffice to pay for the two planned workshops we are holding at the end of the month and three family drip irrigation kits.
The children and guardians of Community Breakthrough Support Mission had a very difficult time this past spring and summer due to food shortages. Now that it looks as though the drought conditions will persist into next year, the donations of drip irrigation kits will change the lives of the children from one threatened by hunger to a prosperous one.
Clayton, Francis, and an anonymous donor from the US have kindly donated funds to help pay for the teachers salaries and to pay for some school supplies for the children.
I am just about ready to send a care package to the children with the supplies. I decided to include a few items that might not be pedagogically useful, but certainly some fun. The list of the items to be sent are:
School supplies: pencils, scissors, tape, colouring pencils, chalk, children’s bible, math work sheets, pencil sharpeners, colouring stencils, paper cut out figures, and blackboard brushes.
The not so school supplies: water balloons, ping pong balls, and soap bubble kits.
I hope that the children and teachers enjoy the new supplies. Thank you very much for helping us.
When Rev Wasike, Millicent Aswata, Ericah Kiptoo traveled from Nairobi to Kimilili to give the CBSM women’s co-op their first business training workshop, they were hoping to teach a small group of business women how to set up their Village Phone Salons.
So, you can imagine their surpise when they arrived at the CBSM school at 7 am on the day of the workshop, to meet with over 20 persons. They all wanted to learn best business practices and could not be persuaded to leave. After much discussion, it was agreed that 21 participators could take part int the workshop and the others would be receiving another workshop as soon as the funds can be raised.
The women and men of our workshop worked very hard throughout the long day. Everyone was anxious to learn as much as they could. We are very thankful to Ericah and Millicent for preparing the learning material and for their wonderful instruction.
It constantly surprises and delights me that people from near-and-far are willing to help the children in Kimilili. Our needs are many and varied. We never quite know how much or how often we should make an appeal for help since there is so much still left to be done before our children have a safe place to live and learn in.
We have been blessed in the last weeks by donations from friends of the community both in Kenya and in USA.
Rev. Wasike, Millicent, and Ericah, of our fund raising committee in Narirobi, have been selling thank you cards to friends and neighbours to raise funds to buy food for the children. They have had some success and are determined to sell more of the cards in the proceeding months. The current nationwide food shortage will not be alleviated before the harvest season in September.
We have received two donations from Clayton H. to pay the monthly repayment f on the loan CBSM received at the beginning of this year to build temporary school facilities.
Lastly, Francis recently sent us a donation for the betterment of the school. His donation will be used to pay for school learning supplies, of which there is a great need.
Rev. Wasike and I would very much like to thank you all for having the needs of our children in your hearts.
We have thankfully received a second micro-loan from a private lender. With this money another women co-op group will be able to open up their own Village Phone Salon.
Our business team in Nairobi (hats off to Millicent and Ericah) are in the process of making up the training material for our first Village Phone Salon Business Training Workshop. If all goes well, this workshop will take place in the next week or so. After which, the two Village Phone Salons will start their business.
The Kimilili Village Phone Salon women’s co-op received a private micro-loan from an anonymous donator to start up our first Village Phone Salon. The donor has indicated that if the first VPS is successful and if our business and marketing practices are transparent, he would be willing to make another loan or two. So, we are setting up a business structure and practices that make it transparent to everyone that we are capable of creating future successful business ventures.
This donator’s terms of loan are generous (only 5% interest on the loan compared to the micro-financing agency’s 16-18%), but also follow along the same guidelines as normal micro-financing agency for the women’s co-op.
The Kimilili VPS women’s co-op consist of a team in Kimilili and one in Nairobi.
In Kimilili, the women’s co-op consists of active members who run the business day-to-day and silent members, who act as guarantors on the loan, as well as give moral support, advice and supervise the flow of income and expenditures.
In Nairobi, the supervisory and marketing team consists are responsible for building up and training the women’s co-op in best business practices, planning the opening ceremony for the VPS business, working on marketing concepts, and supervising the bookkeeping responsibilities.
If you would like to read more about our women’s co-ops practices and all the terms and conditions of our loan and how we are going to pay it back, please go to the Kimilili blog post outlining this.
We always rejoice to learn that we are not alone with our struggles and worries. It is very moving to know that others think about us. Such a moment of joy came this week when Kathleen H. decided to send us some money to buy Stella medicine she badly needs.
Stella is currently on and off in her attendance in school because of health problems. Now, Kathleen’s kindness and assistance will add value to her life. Doctors tell us that well use of antiviral medication and good observation of her diet will soon normalise her life.
On Stella’s behalf, may God remember Kathleen too for remembering others.
Immediately after Jennifer donated the money, I called the families through the one of board members and communicated about the donations and their intended purpose. When Kundu’s father received information about the donated seeds, it was God's timings that the father and Kundu plus others in the family seriously became engaged preparing their land for planting.
This gift really enabled this particular family to approach the year in a different style. Kundu and his siblings plus the father are without mother, and though they have land they have been compelled to hire out the same land at a small fee for many years since they never had means to farm the land themselves.
Now they could finally grow their own food. Since the family could not afford a tractor or oxen to come by to plough the land, they had to do it by hand (hoe). Even though this is a slow way of preparations, they had completed a big portion of their land by the time we went to buy the seeds.
Kundu, his father, and Rev. Wasike
Originally, I had wished to buy the seeds in Nairobi, but communication with the family forced me to go and make them select what type crop seeds they thought they could manage without more inputs from outsiders. They had very set ideas about what they wanted to grow. So when I was in Kimilili last week, right away Kundu plus his father and I went into town to buy the seeds in the Agrovet shop.
At this stage, I was a bit surprised with Kundu’s reaction. He did not indicate much happiness, but acted as if it as normal for him to receive the seeds. Then, I looked at Kundu’s father and was challenged when I saw tears flowing, upon receiving the seeds. In fact, he said that did not believe it would happen. He had done all the preparation not quite believing it would actually happen. When handed him his seeds, he wanted to leave immediately. He didn’t even want to stop to take a photo.
It was a cloudy day and showing signs of rain. He just excused himself, saying that he wanted the day's rain to find his seeds in the soil. Two or three hours later, I went to his home because I wanted to discuss with him a difficult situation that persisted for the last few months. And that was, he refused to let Kundu go to school and instead got Kundu casual work looking after cattle for the neighbourhood.
Upon reaching the home of Kundu, I was shocked to see everyone out on the plot of land planting the seeds. It was almost impossible for me to get Kundu’s father to sit down with me to discuss this matter close to my heart, even though I sacrificed time needed with other community members to go there.
As far as one could see, there was a beehive of activity on the plot of the land of Kundu’ family planting the seeds. The father and elder children plus Kundu himself were at peace; joyful and energetic to go the extra mile as long as it meant planting their own food.
I had a short chat with the father and he promised to send Kundu back to school when the school terms start again. Not, only do the seeds provide the family with food, they also enable Kundu to go to school. Among all those who received gifts from Jennifer, my personal rating noted that Kundu’s family saw God through the seeds.
Our garden project started as many project here start, by taking small steps with big hearts and strong wills. Since the plot of land that our temporary school stands on is too small, the planting was done in various places in the area; depending on the free portion of land donated for this season by the Kimilili community.
We managed to plant cassava plant, maize, cow peace, and kale (sukuma wiki). We are hoping to raise some funds so that we can purchase some land adjoining the school, as well as a plot of land 15 minutes walk away that is bordering on the river.
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