Sandy's Kenya Blog

Education

2012-01-20T06:52:00.000-08:00

I haven't written a blog since November. A lot has happened in that time. We received a cheque from St Hubert School in North Bay for $940.00 that the students and staff raised by collecting change. What an excited time for us since these funds will help build a classroom at our new school in Kasavai village. A couple was at the school Christmas assembly when we received the cheque and called me. I met with them and they gave me a cheque for $1250.00 from their family. The funds will help with school supplies for the new school and another classroom. While I was at their place his mom called and when she found out what the family was doing, she and her husband sent a cheque for $1000.00 and another classroom is on the way.

The picture above shows the beginning of the building of the new school. This school will have 8 classrooms, a teacher's room, a library for the school and community and hopefully a community room. I feel so blessed that people have responded to help this village in Kenya. We take education for granted here and it is such a priviledge in so many other parts of the world.

This is the new Neema Vocational School that was completed recently and on January 15, 2012 several at risk and street girls started. They will take reading, writing and mathematics to gain basic skills, three days of intensive sewing classes, 1 session each week on how to begin a busisness from nothing plus counselling sessions and basic life skills classes.

This is such an exciting project that we helped fund and is being run by Transformed International. This will give many young women a chance to have a decent life.

What can I do?

2011-11-22T15:35:00.000-08:00

I spoke to a Women's Coffee group yesterday in Powassan and this morning I was at a grade 4/5 class at Trussler School in North Bay. I love talking about the work Hope2Kenya does and enjoy answering questions about how people can help.

With Christmas coming up it dawned on me that there are many things that could be done to help the children in Kenya. A uniform costs $20.00 and that will enable a child to go to school. Many families can't afford that money so many children do not have the priviledge of attending school. Most of the families we work with are headed by widows or grandmothers and a chicken can be purchased for $5.00 and if it is a "layer," it can give the family eggs to eat and the rest can be sold. $25.00 will purchase school supplies for an entire classroom and $10.00 will purchase corn meal to make ugali and feed a family for a week.

There are so many things that we can do at Christmas to help make someone's life a little easier. Think of the people in our own communities who might need some help as well. Taking baking to someone who can't get out of the house; shoveling snow for a neighbour when the white stuff arrives; or visiting someone who is housebound. Remember it doesn't always have to be about money it can also be about giving of our time.

Think outside the box this holiday season and help others in some small way.

Another great craft show

2011-11-13T15:00:00.001-08:00

Today was another great craft show at the Best Western in North Bay. We did extremely well and that means more funds for the craft co-operatives that make so many of the articles that we bring back. It was great to share with so many people today what we are doing in Kenya. Thanks to everyone who came for a visit or purchased something from us. Thanks to team members Ada & Steve Dreany and Sandra Brownlee. A very special thank you to Brigit, Ada and Steve's daughter from Ottawa, who helped us out for several hours before she left to go back home. It was a wonderful day.

Another craft show

2011-11-12T14:54:00.000-08:00

This is a photo from the craft table at the Davedi Club last weekend. Today Kathy Hallett and I had a Hope2Kenya table at Trinity Church's Tea & Bazaar. We had a great afternoon and it is wonderful when people stop and talk and we are able to share with them about what we did in Kenya on this past trip.

Tomorrow is our last big craft show at the Best Western Hotel from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. We have saved a little of everything for all our craft shows and we have some wonderful things that would make great gifts for Christmas while benefitting the groups in Kenya.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased crafts from us.

Craft Show

2011-11-10T06:57:00.000-08:00

The team participated in the Davedi Club Craft Sale this past weekend. We did well selling the products that our groups make in Kenya. Funds raised from this sale will go back to the groups to help them purchase materials to continue with their crafts.

If you didn't get to see what we have, the team will be at the Trinity Church Tea and Bazaar on Saturday afternoon (12th) and at the Best Western Craft Show on Sunday (13th) from 9-4.

Hope to see you there.

kids who need help

2011-10-22T05:44:00.000-07:00

I have been working on all that we did in Kenya and organizing stuff to go on our web site when I remembered the young people that we met that needed help. Bryan is 9 and lives with his mother and his grandmother in a small house. We met him last year when he was 8 and nothing has changed for him. He has severe cerebral palsey and of course his mother couldn't afford to put him in a special school. He has not learned to do anything by himself. His mother had him assessed at the school while I was there and he was accepted. The cost is only about $650.00 per year. He goes 3 months and comes home a month throughout the year. If anyone is interested in sponsoring him let me know. You only pay by semester.

Trevor is a 5 year old boy that we met at Kasavai village near Kakamega. We discovered that he is deaf and his folks are very poor. We had just come from visiting St. Anthony's School for the Deaf when we met Trevor. He is being assessed and hopes to begin at this school in January. Here he will finally learn to communicate in some way and be with children who also are the same as him.

This is a picture of Trevor and he could use a sponsor to help him go to this school.

Craft Sales

2011-10-18T13:57:00.000-07:00

Want to keep people up to date on the craft shows that are coming up that we will participate in.

We have purchased many crafts from the groups that we help support and all the money we raise goes back to these crafts people.

We will be at the Davedi Club on November 5th and 6th and at the Unique Artisans Craft Show at the Best Western Hotel on November 13th.

Come out and see the wonderful workmanship of these fantastic crafts people.

First Presentation since returning

2011-10-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

Today Kathy Hallett and I presented to a group of Anglican Church Women in Sturgeon Falls. It was a great experience although I find I am quite emotional when I first return from Kenya.

Everything is still fresh in my mind and all the food distributions that we did seem like just a stop gap although they will provide food for a month or so for each family. We gave out food to over 500 women and that would feed over 3000 children. We also handed out food to 4 schools that would provide children with a lunch. For many that is their only meal of the day.

I have just finished doing a write up with pictures that will hopefully be up on the web site in a week. It is always difficult choosing pictures from over 2500 that we took. I am grateful to everyone who donated to Hope2Kenya so that we could once again provide food for many, finish a school, help to complete work on another school, provide school supplies for schools and teachers, and provide uniforms so that some children can now go to school. Without the ongoing support that we receive we couldn't do what we do. A very heartfelt thank you.

To the women in Sturgeon Falls today, thank you for all your support and for being so receptive to our message.

Back Home

2011-10-13T16:34:00.001-07:00

I don't understand why we couldn't get into my blog while we were in Kenya. We managed a couple of blogs and then the powers of the universe wouldn't let us in. We have been home a week and I think the team is slowly recovering. For the three who accompanied me, Steve, Ada and Kathy it was an eye opening experience. For me it was a very emotional trip, moreso than in past years.

I found it difficult to watch grandmothers have to come to the food distributions for food. For some it was very humbling and others held their heads high and knew it was for their grandchildren, but it was not easy for them. We gave out a very large mat made of milk bags, and when the grandmother realized the size of it, she literally bent her head in prayer. She and the children would now sleep on something other than the dirt floor. We also handed out blankets to many families so they could be warm in the cool evenings.

We won the lottery by living in Canada and not Kenya. There is really not much that we don't have and compared to the Kenyan women we met- we here are so rich. These women have such hope and faith and that is what sustains many of them.

The more blessed we are I think the more responsibility we have to help others in need.

Steve on Monday in Kitale

2011-09-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

7 am Monday
The house is starting to wake up. I’m in the garden with my coffee. It’s pleasantly cool. It rained yesterday, the chairs on the garden gazebo are tipped up against the table to keep them dry. A dog is sleeping on top of the table. He see’s me and realizes it’s time to get down from his perch.
The birds are chirping and dancing among the dew covered leaves, everything is damp and luscious. It’s very peaceful, but it’s a false peace. In a few minutes the house will be awake and active, and that will only be the beginning. Yesterday the maize was delivered that we will distribute, but is has to be divided into individual bags. That will take most of the day.
There are seven kids staying here at the Transformed International compound. They are here in faith based personal growth internships. They stay for three months and work on different projects within the community. Many of the projects that they take part in are funded by Hope2Kenya. While at the compound they have duties and responsibilities. One of the those responsibilities is to cook. We’ve had two meals prepared by them and both have been delicious. Right now the girls are preparing a hearty breakfast for us…apparently we’ll need the strength today.
Monday – Noon
Wow, we just finished bagging food that will feed about 130 families. Each will get 100lbs of maize and a smaller bag of beans. We had help from the TI group and several local people. The work is extremely difficult, and I don’t think I’ve ever been dirtier. It is however very rewarding.
The TI compound is at once very busy and very peaceful. There’s a group of 40 women in the garden being given classes on elementary business skill, sponsored by Hope2Kenya. This, along with a small amount of money will allow each of them to start their own micro business. They began their lesson today with a prayer and a song. There’s a awful lot here to admire.
We had lunch in the garden with the 40 women that are taking the classes. Lunch was beans, rice and cabbage. It was cooked over open fires in the yard. It was one of the most delicious meals I have ever eaten. The company and surroundings were magical. While we were having lunch one of the TI workers Mark saw a monkey in the trees. He was coaxed down with a banana. I’ve a couple of great pictures. Unfortunately the internet here is too slow to upload anything. I’ll post them later. There a few nice shots.
Monday Dinner
It’s 5:30 here now. We’ll be having dinner soon. I’m sitting in the garden writing this and the smell of dinner from the kitchen is wonderful. Don’t know what we’re having, but it sure smells good.
Tomorrow will be another long day. In the morning we will be giving out the food, and then we have another busy afternoon. Remind me later to write about the amazing amount of organization that has gone into this trip by Sandy. The three weeks here is merely the culmination of a year of organization and fundraising. It’s amazing.
Steve

Day One, Attempt Three

2011-09-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

Well let me try again. My first blog disappeared and I had a little mental meltdown so after everyone here consoled me and encouraged me…

I woke up to the strange sound of Kenyan birds and thought “Wow, we’re really here. “ Tonight at dusk writing this to the sound of Kenyan crickets singing, I think about how grateful and lucky I am…for my family, friends and everything I have been fortunate enough to experience.

We started this morning by going to a race sponsored by Sandy. This has given many athletes a chance to enrich their lives and develop as athletes. There were about 36 Kenyan runners. Sandy wore her “In my dreams I’m a Kenyan runner” t-shirt. Three were para-Olympic runners. One was deaf and one was blind. The blind runner had an elastic rope on his wrist pairing him with his team mate. There were also 6 women. To me, they were all winners.

This afternoon we went to visit a very special man, Daniel Juma. His story was inspirational and a tribute to the human spirit. He was afflicted with polio as a child and so, as per the cultural norm, he was hidden from society and denied any outside social activity or education. He tells of an American missionary who took him in gave him a home and an education. I hope she knows how many people’s lives this have benefitted. Daniel Juma is married to a women I was not fortunate enough to meet today. Together, they have 29 children. Seven, I think are biologically theirs and the others were orphans that they have taken in. Daniel is quite entrepreneurial and a very wise man. He has taken something given to him, monetary and otherwise, and he has grown this into so much. He is educating and giving a loving inclusive home to all these children. I imagine if they were to contribute as much to the lives of others as he has…

“To the world you may be only one person, but to one person you may be the world “

Well as someone in my life has encouraged me, I will try to take in and cherish every minute so that I can always remember. I am so blessed.

Xo ada, mom, gramma

our first full day in Kitale Kenya

2011-09-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

Well let me try again. My first blog disappeared and I had a little mental meltdown so after everyone here consoled me and encouraged me…

“To the world you may be only one person, but to one person you may be the world “

Well as someone in my life has encouraged me, I will try to take in and cherish every minute so that I can always remember. I am so blessed.

Ada

One more sleep

2011-09-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

We leave tomorrow. Although we have been organizing for many months it is hard to believe that we are finally going to Kenya. I am not packed yet although I tried and now have to empty my bag and begin again to try and get everything in and not be over the weight limit. I want to take everything I can for the folks in Kenya but I do need some clothes and supplies for myself.

I am grateful for all of the support that we have received for this trip. We have raised enough money to do 4 large food distributions and that will help many Kenyans feel better.
Thanks also for all the prayers and emotional support that the team has received.
Please follow our blog each day so you can keep up with our daily adventures and keep us in your thoughts each day. We will need all the help we can get.

Packing to go

2011-09-13T09:55:00.001-07:00

This morning the hope2kenya team, 2011 packed up for our trip to kenya. We are taking 9 bags each weighing 50 lbs. and still couldn't take everything that we wanted.

Steve Dreany, Sandy Foster, Kathy Hallett and Ada Dreany worked all morning sorting, and trying to fit everything in.

Here is just some of the stuff we managed to pack into

our cases. The team is excited about the upcoming trip.

Another day closer

2011-09-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how much there is to do before we leave on Thursday. I just brought all the things we need to pack from our storage unit. Running shoes, medical supplies, t-shirts, toothbrushes and toothpaste, soccer balls, pens and pencils, story books for a children's library, children's clothing, knitted dolls and knitted sweater, small quilts and the list goes on. We can each only carry two 50 lb bags and I am hopeful that we can get everything in. If we are overweight then we have to pay extra and we need those funds for food.

My downstairs looks like a store with eveything laid out. Tuesday is packing day so everyone cross your fingers and hope that it all fits in.

I will put up pictures of everything we are taking with us.

I have received many emails from the folks in Kenya. I just received an email from the women's group that we work with in the Maasai Mara. That is one of the areas that has been hard hit by the drought. They have asked us to help feed the women and their neighbours so we have added another food distribution to our list. People have been generous with their donations and I think we will have enough funds to do this extra project. I am reminded of how much we had here at home. As I ate my breakfast this morning I thought of the children around the world who have nothing to eat and it makes my heart sad. Being able to help, even just a small group, is something that Hope2Kenya can do.

Thanks to everyone for all your financial and emotional support.

One week to go

2011-09-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

I have been a bit overwhelmed this week since we leave one week from today. I still have lots of things to do and on Tuesday, September 13th the team comes here to pack. I will take some photos and put them up on this site so you can see how much stuff we can get into our luggage. I use the same bags each year and each team member can carry two bags with 50 lbs. in each bag. We also carry back packs that are full as well.

Each team member gets a small amount of space in one of the bags, for their personal stuff. We travel light!!

Because of the famine in parts of Kenya, and the opportunists who purchased corn when they saw their would be a need, we are doing food distributions in four areas. It seems the most important thing this year. We will also be checking in on some of our other projects and painting the new vocational school for our at risk girls program. One of the fun times will be visiting InStep baby home where we can spend the day holding babies. I love this part. They just hang on tight and absorb as much love as we can give each of them.

It will be fun handing out the dolls, sweaters, bubbles, crayons, skipping ropes amongst all the things that people in our area have donated.

Several people have donated funds for school uniforms so 30 kids will now be able to begin school. That is exciting for the children as well as the parents. They want their children to have an education.

I will update again next week after we pack and then a team member will be blogging each day that we are in Kenya.

Bonfield Talk

2011-08-26T05:27:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the priviledge of speaking at a fundraiser for the Bonfield Library. They had a ladies night out and had invited me to be a guest speaker and talk about my experiences in Kenya. I wore the hand beaded outfit that was made for me by the Maasai women's group that we try to support in Kenya.

The evening was great and it was wonderful to again speak about the work that Hope2Kenya does. Each time I talk about this, someone hears me for the first time and gets inspired to do something to make the world a better place. I always enjoy answering questions and helping people to understand that we have to help within our own communities but it is important not to forget those around the world who do not live in such a great country like Canada.

We leave in another few weeks and last minute things have to be dealt with. I have received requests for food distributions in other areas so we are hoping to provide food in small villages where crops have not grown. We are so lucky that we can go to the store, a food bank, or a soup kitchen and get something to eat. Over half the population in Kenya does not have that luxury.

In three weeks we will be on our way.

Comfort Dolls for Kenyan Children

2011-08-10T09:58:00.000-07:00

I am always amazed at the number of people who want to help out with what the Team does in Kenya each year. Some folks have funds to donate and others want to give something that will bring joy to a child's face.

Last year we were able to hand out hundreds of Comfort Dolls to the children we saw in Kenya. They were made by many women knitters in North Bay and area and brought pure joy and delight to each child who received one. In fact many older children wanted one as well, but we ran out of them.

This year again, many women put wool to needle and we have received many dolls to again distribute. Two women that I met at the YMCA, Joan Rayburn and Jean Arthur, worked together and this morning presented me with 100 completed Comfort Dolls to take with me. These women gave of their time and talent to bring happiness to a child in Kenya.

Many thanks to you both for your effort and for caring for children half way around the world.

Choral Society presents funds to Hope2Kenya

2011-07-08T09:11:00.000-07:00

Shelly Price of the North Bay Choral Society is presenting a cheque to Sandy Foster of Hope2Kenya. The Choral Society recently held their spring show and it was a resounding success. They sang a song called "Africa" during the show, featuring photos from the work done by Hope2Kenya. Hope2Kenya also had a booth at the show and people were able to see what we do in Kenya during the intermission.

The Choral Society gave a percentage of their door receipts to us and we received a cheque for $2100.00 which will go a long way in helping the children we work with in Kenya.

Thanks to all the members of the Choral Society for bringing hope to the children of widows of Kenya.

Students knit dolls for children in Kenya

2011-06-29T06:11:00.000-07:00

This past week I was priviledged to visit Helen Gobby's grade 5/6 class at King George Public School. She has 28 students and thought it would be a great idea to teach her students to knit. She had heard about the comfort dolls that people in North Bay were knitting for our team to take to Kenya and hand out to the children and thought this would be a great idea for her class. She enlisted the help of several women knitters in North Bay who came into her class to help teach the children.

Each student knit a doll, wrote a letter to the student who will receive the doll and included a picture of themselves with their letter. They worked hard on their project and were very proud and excited with their achievment when they presented them to me to take over in September.

What a great idea since children in Kenya rarely have toys. I am anxious to give these out to the students in Kenya to see the look of joy on their faces. Thanks to all these students and their teacher for thinking of children on the other side of the world who have so little..

2011-06-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

In a little more than two months I will be leaving once again for Kenya. This year's team is smaller than usual but there are three fantastic people going with me. Steve and Ada Dreany and Kathy Hallett, all from North Bay. We have a lot planned for this trip and I am hoping that everything will be accomplished.

I am always excited in the lead up to the trip each year: collecting what we are taking over, purchasing school supplies, deciding what projects we have funds for and making sure that all our paperwork is in order. It is a busy time but full of anticipation.

I will begin blogging on a more regular basis to let everyone know about our upcoming trip.

I have done a lot of speaking this year about Kenya, but mainly to church groups. Tomorrow I will speak to a grade 5/6 class in North Bay and in the evening to the Trefoil Guild. A week or so ago I drove to Parham and spoke at a small school of only 115 children. They were so excited to hear about the kids in Kenya and they have been busy raising funds all year. They are anxious for the strike to be over so they can send me their cheque. Their teacher Debbie Jones is one amazing woman and used the fundraising as part of her teaching.

We are so lucky to live in a great country like Canada and have so much.

Kenyan Craft Sales

2010-10-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving and it has been two months since my last trip to Kenya. I am so thankful that I get to go each year and I am thankful for Transformed International, the group that hosts us every year. The projects we have helped with are doing well and Veronica Home is almost completed.
It has been difficult for me returning home this time. Not sure why that is but I am always wishing I could be there. I always know that once I get back home I need to begin fundraising for the next trip. Fundraising is difficult yet we need the funds to do projects and we need to do fundraising to have the needed funds.

We will be at the Davedi Club in North Bay on November 6th & 7th to sell Kenyan crafts and at the Best Western Craft show on November 14th. This is one way we earn the necessary funds, and most of the crafts that are for sale are made by groups that we help support in Kenya. If you live in the North Bay area and are out and about on these days, do drop in and help support Hope2Kenya.

Referendum Day in Kenya

2010-08-04T12:04:00.001-07:00

I have been following closely the voting in Kenya today for a new constitution. My friend Daniel Lipparelli, from Kitale, has been posting updates on his blog dlipparelli.blogspot.com and so far there does not appear to be any violence.

Kenya is 7 hours ahead of us and a while ago the YES votes were leading over the NO votes. If this continues it means that there will finally be a new constitution, which was promised after the violent elections in 2007.

In 1012 Kenya will have another National election and hope is there that after this constitutional vote, there will not be any violence during and after that election.

My hope is that everyone stays safe in Kenya over the next few days while all the counting takes place and that people accept whatever the vote dictates.

2010-07-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Sandy and Kenya Youth Team,

My name is Sr. Mae Kierans and I am from North Bay. I was working in Kenya 2004-2008 with Sr. Carolyn Schan in Kibera and Ngong when I first met that amazing woman, Sandy Foster! One of my favourite activities in Kenya was to visit the staff and students at St. Aloysius School at least once a week. In the attached photo I am at the old school giving a class of St. Aloysius students pens donated so they can write their government exams.

I have returned to Canada to help my elderly father in St. John's for as long as he needs me but Sandy has continued to help as much as she can the people we were helping in Kibera and the Nairobi area, especially the children and their mothers. With so much to do, you wonder where to begin, but we just tried to help those we could see right in front of us.

When Sandy told me this morning that she brought you young people to Kenya I was thrilled! I am retired. There isn't much I can do now at my age to change global structures, so I help small groups and individuals in small ways. But you young people have the time and the vision to push for change in the social and political structures in the global community to eliminate the obvious injustices you have just witnessed. We have to start somewhere. If everyone on the planet lived the way we in North America live, we would need two more planet Earths. Won't happen. So we all need to make drastic changes in the way we in North America live ourselves.

Youth going to other parts of this small planet to see the true cost of our North American lifestyle will spread the word and will want to start to make changes so no one on our planet has too much and everyone has enough.

I love it when I hear young people have visited the people on this planet who live in the shadows. You have seen down and dirty what we all need to see. That was very courageous and generous of you! Congratulations to you and to Sandy and all the best!

Mae

We are back home

2010-07-31T11:56:00.000-07:00

As I write this blog today I have had two ok nights sleep after a very long and tiring flight home. We were so fortunate since no one was sick on the way home and everyone got to go into Amsterdam Square in Holland to walk around and spend a couple of hours before our final flight to Toronto

I am very proud of the team this year. The youth group was amazing. They got along well with everyone on the team and they never complained. I think that each of us on the team was affected by what we did and saw at one time or another and each of us shed tears at one time or another. We each were affected in different ways. I am glad that we had a taxi when we went to visit the Maasai women or we might have lost Sally there. She was so inspired by the women that we met and their way of life. We had to keep checking Sarah's bag to see if she put a small child in to bring home. Children were attracted to her and she spent hours holding them. When Steven is Prime Minister of Canada and can exert any pressure on the Kenyan government I know that he will change their education system so that all children are given the right to a free education. Sandra will move children to be the best they can be and they will follow her like the pied piper and Laura will bring a sparkle and bright light to everyone she meets. Kids and adults alike will enjoy helping her accomplish whatever she chooses to do and I know she will succeed in whatever she does. Emily will make a difference in the lives of everyone that she comes in contact with and will make a difference in this world of ours for the better. Cathy will continue to teach everywhere she goes touching lives with her sincerity and humour and Caren will forever remember this experience and help as many children as she can both here and in Kenya to have a chance at a better life.

With a team like that it wasn't difficult to accomplish all that we did. My hope is to have a write up and pictures on our web site soon. Our friend, Daniel Lipparelli, already has some of the things we did with his group with photos so go to www.transformedinternational.org and go to blogs to see those.

I will continue to blog about our upcoming events and I think the youth on this trip somehow started a facebook page for Hope2Kenya, although I am not sure how to get on it.

Aloysius High School, Kibera

2010-07-26T07:44:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone:

This is Sally. You will get another blog from one of the other team members about today as well, but I just had to write a little bit. We visited a secondary school today - almost all the students are HIV + and orphans, or someone in their family is HIV + and ill. But you sure wouldn't know it to see their smiles and their energy. The highlight for me was when the choirmaster started to speak with me about their choir. And then, the school secretary, Esther (with whom I spent some very interesting time !), organized the choir and next thing we knew we were listening to the most angelic voices singing the most beautiful songs. They have a sacred choir and a "fun" choir. They perform a cappella, but with pure heart and soul. Their rendition of The Lord's Prayer was stunning and very powerful. Their joy and excitement was contagious. It was easy to forget that these children are hungry and ill. Their school day goes from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Some of them walk 2 hours through the filth of the Kibera slum to attend school. They receive breakfast and lunch at school and usually those are the only meals they will have. They attend school from Monday to Saturday!

It was a fabulous way to end our time with "projects" in Kenya. Thanks to Sandy Foster for all her hard work in organizing this trip, supporting everyone through our personal ups and downs for the past few weeks and for allowing us all the privilege of seeing first hand where the hard fundraised dollars go and the good work that is being done here in Kenya. I will never forget the children, the folks here that toil year round for their well being and everyone back home in Canada who has taken these people into their hearts by supplying dollars that help feed, house, clothe and educate some amazing people.

Remember, we are all so lucky and blessed to be born in Canada. Be grateful for all that we have and share if you can. See you soon!!!

Sally

Day at the high school

2010-07-26T06:25:00.000-07:00

Today was at last day visiting a project. We went to St Aloysius Secondary School. All the students in this school were either infected or afected by HIV aids. The school use it be located in the Kibira slum, which is were all of the students live. They recently built a new school for them at the edge of Kibira. Although the school may be farther now for some of them the new school is much nicer and way bigger. We had a chance to see the old high school on friday. I was very surprised to see how small it is, the old hall was no bigger then a small classroom. Not to mention they didn't have electricity. Also the environment was very dirty and noisy, making it very hard for them to learn. But now the new school is large and very clean. They now have electricity, most of the time. And can learn much better in a quiet classroom. Each class has around 35 students and for the majority of their subjects the girls and boys are in separate classes.

Each of the youth from our team were pared up with a student from the same grade level as us. I just finished grade 11 so I was put in a form 3 class (in Kenya they call their grades forms). The name of the student I was with was Kennedy, he was 18 years old. First we stayed in the class, with no teacher. I asked Kennedy why there wasn't a teacher, he told me that because exams had just ended they were waiting for them to be marked. So instead of the teachers being in class they were off marking exams, this gave us some time to explore. For a while we sat in the class while many of the students asked me questions about my school and I asked about theirs. They were very interested to find out that in Canada we don't have to pay for secondary education, while in Kenay you do. We discussed many topics like what we wanted to be when we grow up and how many brothers and sister we had. I was interested to learn that many of them could speak 4-5 languages. Kennedy could speak key swahili, english, french, his mother tongue, and another mother tongue from his area. He also told me that many of the students make up their own languge that others can't understand. Kind of like how some people I know can speak piglatten. Ancay ouyay peaksay iglattenpay?

Once we got tired of sittin in class my new friends decided to show me around. We started on the bottem floor and worked our way up the three floors. aside from the closed in classrooms the school it open because they don't need to keep out snow or any thing like that. They pointed out the sience labs and the computer labs ( I even got to poke my head into a computer lab with students that had graduated form 4 and were taking computer classes). they pointe out were the elevator would soon be and the main office.

Next they took me to the hall for some entertainment. Many students were in the hall aswell as most of the Hope 2 Kenya team. We got to see a girl recite a peom she learnt in french. A choir sang a few songs for us, I liked it very much. We as a team decided that it was our turn to entertain them, so we got up on stage and sang acouple songs. While we were in the hall I have Kennedy a small gift (a small football with Canada on it) and I gave some candy and pencils to some of his classmates. I was very pleased then he gave me a small card saying I was a wounderful person.

After the hall we went to the art room and watched the art club work on some peices. Alot of the art work was impressive! I could help but buy one to take home to Canada. My new classmates kindly escorted me to the front gates, where we said our goodbyes. I really injoyed my day and will not for get my new friends in Kenya

- Sarah

2010-07-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

This blog is from Friday, July 23, 2010.

Last Friday we had another chance to go back to the Kibera Slums to visit the baby school completely funded by the Hope2Kenya

Kissed by a Giraffe ;)

2010-07-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

Thursday was a bit of a day off but it was definantly an exciting day for everyone. We started the day at The David Shedlrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage. We got to see about 20 orphaned elephants. It was super neat, as they talked about the orphanage and each of the elephants, the elephants were just wondering around sometimes getting close enough to the sides so we could touch them. The orphanage is only open one hour a day because they want to limit the human contact the elephants have so they can eventually release them back into the wild. It was pretty cool because on the way in we drove past a bunch baboons and wart hogs (they were like Pumbas).
After that we went to the Giraffe Centre. It was the coolest thing. We went up onto a platform where we were eye level with the giraffes. We got to feed them out of our hands, pet them and best of all kiss them. It was pretty frightening at first, to put food in your mouth and get a giraffe to eat it but after the first time everyone loved it and all kissed the giraffes several times. We also got to learn a bit about all the different kinds of giraffes. One time of giraffe grows to 6 meters tall.
Then we went to Matbronze. We were given a tour and got to see how they make each bronze thing. Sandy purchases necklaces from Matbronze and it was really interesting to see how they were made. It takes 6 weeks to make each item.
We went to a little shop called the Love Bird Curio Shop next. It was a very nice souvenir shop with many things that we hadn't seen anywhere else.
Unfortunately, Sally was still unwell on Thursday and was unable to join us. But today when she was feeling better Sally did get to go to the Elephant Orphanage and Giraffe Centre.
It was a really fun day and I am sure none of us will ever forget the day we kissed a giraffe.
Sandra :)

2010-07-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

Nilifunzwa kiswahili kwenye chuo kikuu cha Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya

2010-07-24T23:50:00.000-07:00

We have been a little behind on our blog entries, sorry to all. It has been a busy past couple of days. We will all be catching up over the next little while.

Yesterday we spent the day with Alister, Sande and the youth volunteers at Kibera Community Youth Programme. This is an outreach programme in Kibera slum that gives young people an opportunity to learn, be creative and connect with their wider community. They offer a number of programmes including nutrition, theatre, computers, solar energy, and a library, among others. These programmes offer learning opportunities for young people in their community beyond the classroom. We spent the day with many of the youth from KCYP learning about their centre and just hang out and playing games. We brought along Canada tees, board games, and soccer balls so after handing them out we all tried out some of the games. Scrabble was a big hit! Another outreach group of KCYP is a network of women who are all HIV positive. They are all single mothers with small businesses who come together to support one another. One great way they are contributing to one anothers businesses is the 'merry-go-round' method: once a week they each but 20 shillings into a pot and give that money to one of the women to help their business. Each week it rotates to a different member. I was so amazed by their creative and generous support of one another. It was an honour to meet these women.

Before lunch, Sande offered us a Kiswahili lesson. The lesson started alright until an argument broke out between Sande and Lillian (KCYP youth) regarding the meaning of the word 'Magharibi', even Zhebib came out of the kitchen shaking a rolling pin at Sande, we all had a good laugh! It was a pretty successful lesson which ended with the title of this post: I was taught Kiswahili at the University of Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya. Laura had a great opportunity to help with food preparation for the group. She went with two of the KCYP youth throughout the food market of Kibera to purchase cabbage, rice, pilau spice and beef. She learned how to cook the excellent cabbage we have been eating throughout the trip. It was delicious!

Our day was concluded with a performance from the theatre group. The group uses drama to address issues in the community such as domestic violence, sexual abuse, HIV/AIDS, and poverty. They present their plays to small groups in Kibera and then open up the space for discussion. Their goal is not to provide answers but to create awareness and to facilitate discussion in order to get people talking about important issues. We all enjoyed this performance and were very glad they could share their creativity with us. It was a great day. We have all made new friends at KCYP and are very glad to have spent a day in the life of a youth in Kibera slum.

Emily

Kenya - A Country of Disconnects

2010-07-21T07:06:00.000-07:00

Jambo from Nairobi!

As I am sitting in the comfort of the Rosa Mystica Spiritual Centre, and beginning to write this 'blog', I struggle for words to describe what we have seen and where we have been today.

This morning we were met by a remarkable young man, Alastair, and his friend, Sande, to head into the slums of Kibera. We decided to go by city bus - not quite as luxurious as those of North Bay or Toronto - but we were very safe and the travel was cheaper by far than taking taxis. As we approached Kibera we could see the changes from the bustling city to estate homes then open areas and then, finally into the roads and narrow paths lined with corrugated tin or mud homes that are Kibera. Words cannot describe the desparate conditions for the people who live there. Kibera is a world unto its own and is a true example of the cycle of slum poverty. People are born, some attend schools, some leave Kibera during the day to work as casual labourers (housework, factories, building) but all return to the same life at night. Wages are so small for these people that the very little they have goes to food and for rent, hence they are never able to earn enough to leave the slum. The people who live in Kibera often came to Nairobi looking for work and finding none began their lives in this area. Many are born, schooled, live and die without ever leaving this area.

The pathways through which we walked were strewn with garbage, human waste, mud and often small running streams of filthy water. Despite all of this, however, we were greeted with smiles from both the children and often the adults (especially the mommas) whom we passed on the way. We went into a mud and tin home of a family where the women(all HIV affected) gather and bead and make purses that we will be bringing back with us to North Bay. As poor as these women are, they gave us each a gift to say thank you for the support and for the visit. A touching gesture indeed!

A high point to our Kibera trek was a visit to an orphanage school that was absolutely remarkable! We approached a wall of tin, ducked under dripping laundry, stepped over mud and all, stepped around a small cooking fire, pushed open a tin gate and stepped into a small yard with brightly painted classrooms and walls and 45 exhuberant children from 3 to 7 all who have been impacted by HIV/Aids. The teachers were excellent and the children very cute and well behaved. Each child received a new outfit, a pencil but the best of all was the little bottle of bubbles that each one got! We caused quite the stir as we sang some of our songs for the children - we are now the 'hope2kenya traveling song troupe' - and did a craft with each one that they can now take and share and play with at home. Of greater importance was the shopping that came after. We bought rice, maize flour, beans, sugar and porridge for the lunches for the children, and new workbooks, markers and other school supplies.

As we walked out of Kibera, we slowly exited the slums and returned past the estate homes and into the bustling city again, which brings me to this moment where I am sitting here in the comfort of the Rosa Mystica Spiritual Retreat Centre, trying to fit the pieces of Kenya together.
For Kenya is a puzzle, but the problem is that none of the pieces fit. Kenya is truly a country where everything seems disconnected - slums within reach of commercial centres, people moving but never seeming to get where they hope or want to go, a police force that in the rural areas stops cars and will not let them pass without taking some money from the drivers, and yet in the city of Nairobi, the police would never dare to do such a thing.

Our journey and our experiences continue but we are all well, safe and feeling pleased with what we are doing and the growth of the initiatives that are supported by Hope2Kenya.

More to come.

Cathy

Nairobi Experiences

2010-07-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

We have an exciting few days in Nairobi. The most exciting was visiting with the Maasai group that was started by Sister Carolyn, who began the group and helped them until her passing two years ago. We were able to see Raymond that young Maasai boy that she had been raising.

The team was very moved by the women and the wonderful beading that they do. The drive out was an experience in itself over more very bumpy roads but the view of the Ngong Hills was worth the experience. The women work out of a small plot of land that they have fenced off and have a few buildings on it where they do their work.

After that visit we were able to go to the Unique Eco centre where Kenyans are recycling old flip flops into the most amazing and useful products. We were able to visit the pile of "garbage" that they use and then the different workshops where the articles are made.

After this we went to the Kazuri bead factory. It was started by an English woman and upon her death another English couple took it over. They employ 340 people, mainly single moms, and all of the beads are hand made. The clay is found in Kenya and mashed into a workable form and then the woman hand roll the beads in different shapes. There are many different steps until it gets to the jewellery phase. They also make and hand paint pottery. It was an exciting experience to see so many women employed.

We visited the Hope Bright Future School in Soweto. This is the school where we feed the children 5 days a week, 52 weeks of the year. The team was a bit shocked by the abject poverty and the despair that permeates this slum. I think everyone has begun to realize just how fortunated we are to live in Canada.
The youth on the team have developed a great singing repetoire and it has been amazing to watch them perform their songs for the children and adults everywhere we go. This has never happened before and the Kenyans have always entertained us in the past and they are so appreciative of the youth performing for them. It certainly makes me proud every time they get up to sing!!!

One of our team members, Sally, has come down with a bit of a bug and stayed in bed today. Hopefully she will be up and around tomorrow when we go off to see the Elephant Sanctuary and the Giraffe Retreat Centre. It will be a fun day with no hard work involved.

This really is just a great team of people.
Sandy

Goodbye Kitale, Hello Nairobi!

2010-07-19T10:39:00.001-07:00

Today we travelled from Kitale to Nairobi. We awoke at 4:45 to a clear, black sky filled with beautiful stars. But, we were all pretty bleary eyed. Imagine our surprise and gratitude when we saw Danelle had prepared her homemade banana bread for us one more time before we left the TI Compound. MMMM - we took some pieces with us, loaded all the bags and ourselves into the three vans and were on the road to Eldoret Airport by 5:45 a.m.! We were all feeling sad to leave our new friends in Kitale, but, fortunately, tired enough that there weren't any tears.

The 75 km drive from Kitale to Eldoret takes almost 2 hours! This isn't because of traffic - particularly at that time of the morning! But, because of the condition of the road - particularly from Moi's Bridge to Eldoret. Other travellers BEWARE!!! Personally, I think Kenya could market this road as a tourist attraction because the adventure is quite remarkable. Several team members have pictures and videos but as we are in a convent in Nairobi right now, we can't download them.

The sunrise over the plains was stunning and, aside from one flat tire that was quickly repaired, we all arrived safely at the airport. We checked in without any problems and awaited our flight. The flight was beautiful as the plane flies quite low and it was a clear day. We watched as the squalor of Eldoret became a pastoral scene of farms and fields and beauty and then settled in for the 45 minute flight. We had a clear view of Mt. Kenya on the way as well as several volcanic craters in the plain. That was just awesome!

We were met at the airport by Steven in a beautiful, big green bus!!! We all cheered to know that we were not going to be stuffed into another old matatu! It was soon apparent that Nairobi is very different from Kitale. A major city with a population of approximately 4 to 5 million people. We arrived at Rosa Mystica, a convent in a multicultural district of the city. We now all have private rooms with private baths. And we are missing our roommates!!! The grounds at Rosa Mystica are lovely and the rooms are nice as well. It seems like such luxury after the compound at TI, but we are all missing the proximity and comraderie we experienced there.

We had lunch at a restaurant at the mall and then headed off to the Maasai Market to do a little shopping. We managed to get past the "agents" at the gate who want to do one's negotiating, and then enjoyed bartering with the vendors. Each of us found a special "treasure" or two for loved ones back home.

Then, it was back for supper and an early night. Tomorrow, we visit the Maasai women. Now that will be a wonderful day!

Sally

Last day in Kitale

2010-07-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

Today was our day off. We started out the day by going to a 15km race of some Kenyan runners. It was so excited to see all these runners. They were so fast!
Then we had a bit of a break and made some good old Kraft Dinner.
Daniel then took us into town. We had talked a lot about what it is like in town but this was the first time we really got to see it. We had learned a lot about the street kids but actually seeing them was difficult.
We visited a wonderful man named Daniel Juma. He is dissabled and because of that he decided to take in orphanes. He now in his home has 21 orphanes and 7 of his own kids. He was an inspiring man and it was great to listen to his story and play with his fantastic children.
Overall it was a great day with many wonderful experiences. It was a bit sad to say good bye to all our new friends in Kitale but I am sure we will have many more fun experiences in Nairobi.

The Amazing Team

2010-07-16T09:32:00.000-07:00

I am finally doing a blog after all the team has written about their expereiences. Today was an emotionally exhausting day for the entire team. It is always a day during my Kenyan trips that I most enjoy. Today was food distribution day in Malie Saba, a very poor village area and Shimo La Toya slum, a slum that is known for alcoholism, prostitution and extreme poverty.

There were two truck loads of corn and beans delivered to Malie Saba. When we arrived we were greeted by the widows and children singing for all of us and it was so incredible to hear their voices. The Hope2Kenya team responded by singing a couple of songs for the widows and children and that had never happened before. They were laughing and so appreciative of the team's efforts and I was so proud of them.

WE handed out the food and then went to see the sewing project that the women there have been working at. Their small business employs 7 women and they are self sufficient. They did ask for a new sewing machine that does embroidery and we will purchase that before we leave. They are an incredible group of 7 women who are now earning money for support their families.

When we arrived back at the compound we had some lunch and everyone was emotionally drained. We left for Shimo slum and some walked and some of the team rode in the back of the truck with the rest of the bags of corn and beans. Shimo is a much poorer place and we were greeted by singing again. The team again responded but this place is difficult to see. Some of the widows had been drinking and the many many children were small and not very clean. It was difficult for some team members to see and they were saddened by the plight of the children. After 6 trips to this country I often feel that the children are a disposable commodity.

Tomorrow is a more relaxing day. My running team that the McCallums and us sponsor are doing a 15 kilometer race and we will hand out rubber braclets from Canada to all the participants and Canada pins. Cathy and I have some monetary prizes for the first few runners. We will then hand out the running shoes that were donated by local North Bay runners and collected by Active Running and cleaned to look like new by the Thomsens company. It should be a fun day and the girls are all happy that they don't have to wear skirts.

This team is incredible. They work hard and have a lot of fun in the evenings. The team is realizing just how fortunate and blessed their lives are at home. They all love children and holding kids and playing with them has become something that we all do well. They have not refused to do anything and are willing to try everything including the interesting food that we have eaten.

I am truly priviledged to be leading this team.

Oh What A Day Thursday Was!

2010-07-15T09:37:00.000-07:00

Everyone who knows me, knows that I am not techno savvy ... but I will do my best! We were up early and greeted with homermade pancakes to give us the strength we needed to face our morning's job - packing 40,000 pounds of food that will be distributed to over 300 families on Friday. Yes you are reading correctly - 40,000 pounds of maize and beans. Although hard work and extremely tiring, the morning was filled with wonderful moments. The girls from our street girls home, NEEMA, came with their teachers to work alongside us, and what fun it was! A young teenager whom I had met two years ago shared some of her story and her growth and success because of the teachers and support she receives at NEEMA, an original Hope2Kenya initiative! A second young lady spoke quietly to me as we filled our bags saying that she remembered when she first saw us two years ago when our team first came to her village, Kolongolo. This girl has now been living at NEEMA for one year. She is healthy, is working at a Grade 6 level, and even though she is learning to sew with our vocational teacher, she is more interested in agriculture and gardening. It was such a delight to see these girls who had been living in such horrible conditions doing so well and looking forward to learning more and to having a future. Other great moments were sitting and sharing lunch together in the back yard of our compound at TI and the rousing game of volleyball at the end!

The afternoon offered a new experience for all of us. We drove outside of Kitale to a baby home called In Step. This is an American NGO that takes in abandoned, not orphaned, babies and children. There are 81 children there and when I say abandoned that is exactly what I mean. The youngest baby there is one month old and was left literally at their doorstep.The home is clean and staffed by wonderful and caring women who diaper, feed, burp, hug, play and teach the children...and how many of us have complained and moaned about the challenges of raising a family of one, two or three!

The ride to this baby home was another example of driving on Kenyan roads. Overall the roads are filled with holes and bumps which make for some interesting moves by the drivers. A fifteen to twenty kilometer trip can take up to one and a half hours at times, but the drives through the countryside are well worth it. For all the poverty and dire conditions that we see on a daily basis, it is nice to be reminded of the incredible beauty of this country! With all of the rains Kenya has been having, the corn is high, the landscape is lush and green, and the flowers are brilliant. Kenya is truly a country of contrasts filled with many warm and caring people!

We are all fine. Our team is incredible and it is such fun sharing this experience this year with our exceptional youth group! The energy is infectious!

I have included some photos from the beginning of our day with our food packing, to our visit to the baby home and ending with a picture of a Kenyan landscape. When you look at the picture of the children at the baby home, I hope you share a smile as you see these cute children holding and treasuring their 'Izzy' dolls made by many of you at home who support again and again our Hope2Kenya dreams of bringing hope to the children of Kenya.

Enjoy!
Cathy

A Day at Sirende School

2010-07-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we visited Sirende Elementary School. Cathy and Sally provided teacher training while the youth entertained the school children. We started with grades 1-4, which, in Canada might have been 100 students total. As we walked toward the field ready to sing our silly songs and play some games we saw nearly 500 students eagerly waiting to meet the Mazungas! We sang the moose song, Jesus Loves Me (we will rock you style), the penguin song, boogaloo and many others which they all enjoyed. We brought out the soccer balls and tried to divide into teams which turned into chaos but we all had a great time. The grade 5-7 classes joined us next, again around 500 students ran towards us! They had fun with our songs and games. The soccer was a bit more organized, although one of the soccer balls got stuck in a tree. So, naturally one of the students climbed the 50 foot high tree to get it! We took a video of him on the way down, we will post this soon if we can get it working, it was incredible!

Here you can see him just under the leaves:

Here are a few more pictures from the day.

Overall, the day went well. It was hopeful to hear the story of Sirende school. Sandy has been visiting the school for a while now and they have come a long way, adding new classrooms and more teachers to the school. Although the students have so little they gain so much from their education. I was so grateful to have spent time with these students and have been filled with the joy they shared with us.

2010-07-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we visited Sirende Elementary School. Cathy and Sally lead teacher training while the youth entertained the school children. We started with grades 1-4

Bumpy Roads

2010-07-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Goodevening all!!!!!
Its been a very eventfull day begining this morning when we struck out for Kaibero at around 9 this morning.We required more oil in our van and then we were off on the long and crater-filled roads you have ever seen.Do not ever complain about the infrastructure at home PLEASE!!!!!!After a few hours we reached the school and the hildren came out to greet us.They are so young and full of life!We provided teacher training and the youth played with the students and sang songs.Sandi and Caren went to see MAMA Sally in Juakali .She is a very enterprising lady who handles our micro-buisness plus trains young ladies in tailoring. Sandi went to see Mary ,just one of her sponsor childen.We left to make the long ride home and had our meeting.Dinner and lights out.

Visit to the school for the deaf and Neema House

2010-07-12T22:00:00.001-07:00

Today was the earliest morning yet. We had to leave at 7:30 to drive for an hour and a half to reach our first destination, which was St.Anthonys school for the hearing impaired. I think it is needless to say that it was the quietest school I had ever been to.

First they showed us the dorms. The large rooms were crowded with bunk beds so close together you could barely walk between them. George (who was taking us around the school) told us that it was the parent’s job to buy the mattresses. He also said that some parents couldn't pay for the mattress so the children sleep on the bare wire. Next we were shown the vocational class rooms. The school only goes up to grade eight, so after that they work in these class rooms and learn things like wood work and sewing.

At the end of our visit at the school all the children assembled in the yard and we preformed a few sign songs for them. The kids were so thrilled to see that we had learned some sign for them. It was lots of fun and almost all of them joined in. After the songs we handed out suckers, I was surprised to see how well they all listened.

Around 11:40 (40 minutes after our planed leaving time) we left the school to head to our next destination, Neema house. Neema house is home to six girls, all of which were or would have become street girls. They were so happy to have us visit them. It surprised me to see how quickly they warmed up to us, in only minutes we were playing like old friends. We gave the girls all new out fits and they tried them on right away. It was a great day at Neema.

- posted by Sarah

Visit to the school for the deaf and Neema

2010-07-12T22:00:00.000-07:00

Trip to the school for the deaf and Neema house

2010-07-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

Day 2 at Veronica House!!

2010-07-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

On July 12, the team retuned to the Veronica Home for the second day in a row to finish painting and to play with the kids. Since I was sick the day before, and didn’t get to meet the children, it was interesting to see how easily they warmed up to me and instantly treated me as an old friend. Unlike the school in the Kolongola village, there were only 15 children which made it easier to get to know them and talk to them one-on-one. It also made it hard to forget them!

We started our day by catching three taxis to the orphanage where we were instantly greeted by hugs and smiles. The house mother, Virginia, looks after five of her own children and ten orphans all under one roof. The youngest is her own baby named Mary and the oldest is a fifteen year old girl named Susan. We quickly went to work inside the house; finishing painting some of the walls and all the trim around the windows. The paint fumes in the house were so strong we were happy to be done just in time for lunch.

Once we finished painting we headed outside where we were served a “delicious” lunch of mashed up potatoes and beans... When we were done the kids entertained us with songs and dance that brought us all up our chairs. In return, we sung them a few songs that we learned that weren’t quite as choreographed and rehearsed as theirs. After lunch, our team member Cathy planted a tree in honour of a young girl named Veronica who passed away last year. Veronica was an orphan who was HIV positive and had been sponsored Cathy and her husband Don. Even though not all the team members had met Veronica, the small ceremony was meaningful to everyone.

We finished our time off at the Veronica House by making arts and crafts with the kids, and distributing the gifts we brought them. They were so grateful to each receive a hand made quilt, donated by different members of the Near North Quilting Group, an Izzy Doll, and a colourful knitted tuque. Before we left we had some time to talk to the kids and share stories. It was really upsetting to know that three of the children were HIV positive, especially after spending the day together. Overall, we had a great day the Veronica House. It was awesome to have spent the day with such wonderful children!!

Posted by Laura :)

2010-07-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Mud between our toes... and under our nails and on our clothes and in our hair...

2010-07-10T22:04:00.000-07:00

~Written by Steven Hepburn, part of the Hope 2 Kenya Youth Team 2010.

On July 10th the team, minus Laura who was sick and had to stay at the compound, traveled to Veronica Home (A home for children who are HIV positive), our plan for the day was to mud the hut in the morning then paint the home in the afternoon. Our plans were switched around as soon as we got there, due to a lack of water to make the mud needed to construct the hut. Apparently their was a blockage some where in the water line, but the water was trickling out of the tap so the started collecting what they could and we began painting.

There were four rooms that needed to be painted: the main living room/hallway, a boy’s room, two girl’s rooms, and the house mother’s room. We got started right away painting the living room and hallway a flesh tone, the boys room a light green on the top half of the walls and a blue on the bottom, in the girls room we painted walls pink and purple. We didn’t finish the blue in the boys room as we had to let the green paint dry first, we couldn’t paint the house mothers room because it had only been primed that morning and needed to dry, the hallway needs a second coat, and we got all of the girls rooms done but one wall that had the furniture pushed up against it. But we are going to go back to finish the painting, and by the time we had done all of that painting the house aunt and mother had prepared a large-portioned lunch of beans, cabbage, and rice.

After we tried our best to eat everything on our plates, we started to begin mudding the hut. Cathy took the ceremonious first jump into the mud to squish it around and she made one mud ball and put it in place thus beginning our a long, hard job! But some how Cathy and Sandy escaped the work to go out and purchase furniture for the home. We all took turns either making mud balls in the pit or putting the mud in place on the huts wooden framing. Some of us were not so fond of the idea of getting in the mud pit to make the balls while the rest of us were very excited to get in the pit in our bare feet and squish the mud between our toes and attempt to make balls, when I asked somebody what the trick to making the balls was they said “be Kenyan”! Although we weren’t Kenyan we completed the hut in just over 2 hours, much to the surprise of our Kenyan taxi drivers.

We then played with the children from the home while waiting for our taxi’s to come and get us; we handed out suckers and bubbles to all of the children who had a blast with them! Although we all went back to the compound looking like oompa loompas, because we were all stained a wonderful shade of orange from the mud, this is definitely an experience we will all remember for a very long time!

And if you are interested in building your own mud hut here are some simple instructions:
1) Make mud and squish it between your toes.
2) Put mud in between sticks that are constructed to resemble a hut.
3) Keep piling mud between sticks until it looks like your finished.
4) Pray that the walls don’t fall down!

Visit to Kolongolo Village

2010-07-09T22:53:00.000-07:00

Our team has arrived safely in Africa and yesterday was our first day out in the projects. The drive from Kitale to the village is about 23 kilometres which would take about 20 minutes in Canada. In Africa, though, everything is different. Our little matatu truck made it through the most amazing terrain. The road is a dirt road (red dirt) with many ruts. It had rained through the night, so the road was slippery and sloshy. It was amazing to see how well the driver negotiated the obstacles.

There are African people everywhere - absolutely everywhere. In Canada, when you drive down the roads, there aren't any people, unless you are in a city where the people are on the sidewalks. Here, there are people walking on the road, sitting beside the road, in the fields, with donkeys, cows, goats everywhere. Many, many people - people everywhere. They watch us with curious eyes as we drive by. White people are a curiosity.

From time to time, we meet a police check on the road. Here, the police will expect a bribe in order to allow the vehicle to pass. The Kenyan government and many of the churches are corrupt. Corrupt is a word that has a new meaning to me. The corruption is total and permeates every single facet of life. The beautiful corn fields that are everywhere, are off limits to the average African. If they go in to pick the corn, they are arrested. The owners don't want the Africans eating the corn.

As we go through some villages, I look at the "buildings". In Canada, they wouldn't even be called buildings - most of them wouldn't even qualify as shacks! And yet, housed in these buildings are stores, markets, restaurants and all other types of businesses. I saw a motorcycle repair shop and a bicycle repair shop.

The geography of this region is beautiful. Corn fields for miles and then beautiful hills in the distance.

When we arrived at the village, we went to the school which was built totally with funds from the people of North Bay. It is a relatively big building in a nice field surrounded by cornfields. The children were wonderful. They performed a couple of songs for us. One of the songs was called The Butterfly and the other was called The Elephant. It was obvious that we were considered very special guests. I felt very humbled as I am just an ordinary person like them, but they treated us like kings and queens. After the performance - we split up into our work groups. Cathy and I did some teacher training with the three teachers. Mercy, 19, Sarah, 22 and Gladys 27. They were so appreciative of our ideas and the supplies we took to them that it tore at my heart. Our student team members played games with the children while we worked with the teachers. Caren and Sandy handed out new clothes to all of the children. They were very excited. We also gave them all suckers. It was difficult to talk to the children as we don't know any Swahili, but there was much love in the air, so the words didn't matter too much. The children sat on Laura, Stephen, Sandra, Sarah and Emily. They touched their hair and their skin and it was obvious that they were very curious.

We had lunch in Pastor Victor's mud hut. This was an experience in itself. We were served a feast of beef, rice, cabbage, chupatis, bottled water and fruit. The meal had been prepared by Caroline - a girl visiting from Uganda - over an open fire. When we arrived at the hut, one of the women washed our hands for us with a pitcher and a basin of warm water. I was reminded of the biblical scenes where it was common to wash your guests feet. Again, a most humbling experience.

The afternoon was spent painting the school and singing. We worked alongside some African men and sang as we painted and waited for the truck. When the truck arrived, we drove back to Kitale to a BBQ hosted by Transformed International. The guest list consisted of people from all over the world, many of whom live in Kitale permanently and work to help improve conditions for the African people. I met people from Sudan, England, Canada, United States, Holland, Israel, Uganda and Kenyan.

The members of our student team did the dishes. They are awesome!

All in all, it was a great first day to the projects. Now, it is time to get ready to go to Veronica House.

- written by Sally

We Leave Today

2010-07-06T05:27:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning early and realized that today we leave. I feel like I am going to my "other home." I always feel so comfortable when I am in Kenya and I am hopeful that our team feels good about being there as well. I pray for safety and ask folks to do the same for our team.

I am excited to meet with the folks of Transformed International (TI). This is the NGO that we work with in Kitale, Kenya. We stay on their compound and all of the projects that we do in that area go through this group. Daniel Lipparelli is a young American who started this NGO and he is about 30 but wise beyond his years. Sean and Meredith Steward are a young married couple from Ontario who work with Daniel and are amazing couple. Meredith wears her heart on her sleeve and any child who comes in contact with her loves her immediately and within seconds is snuggling on her lap. Anne is the Kenyan social worker employed by TI and she is a working dynamo. We are hoping to train a couple of young women as nurses to work in some of our projects and they would also report to TI I feel so blessed that we have such amazing people to work with when we are there

Few days to go

2010-07-02T08:03:00.001-07:00

I am organized, finally for the next trip to Kenya. I have a few things left to do like getting medical packs strapped and handles added so we can carry them. We are carrying two medical packs which were generously donated by a North Bay couple. We will have to pay for the extra baggage but they are well worth taking since they contain medicines for children and will help the kids in our new orphanage.

I am hoping that the students will be blogging about their experiences so keep an eye on this site for all the latest about what we will be doing.

The people of North Bay and area have been so generous with their money, donations of supplies, knitting and sewing skills and I want to express a sincere thank you to everyone for all their help. The team goes over and does the work that needs to be done, but the entire community helps in so many different ways.

Thanks to evryone for all your help and generosity in bringing hope to the children of Kenya.

Sandy's Triathlon

2010-06-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

I have just completed my first triathlon to raise funds for Kenya. I raised $3245.00 and had a great time training and finishing the tri. I had to learn to really swim well. I had taken lessons 4 years ago but this past winter I worked hard so that I could complete the 1000 meters at the North Bay Tri. I trained hard on my bike, but I am not so big and strong, but managed to do the 32 kilometers in a good time for me. I was so excited when I finished the bike ride that I knew I could complete the 8.2 km run so I ran walked it and was grinning from ear to ear when I finished.\

This whole fundraising experience would not have been possible without the help of several people: my training partner Brenda Lalonde, my swimming buddies Brenda Walsh and Cathy Rennie, the person who always makes you feel like you can conquer anything Viola Burke and my husband Gerry who supports everything that I do.

The money raised will go a long way in helping the children in Kenya.

Getting ready

2010-06-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

Today team members were at my home and we packed our 18 bags. It was quite exciting to fit everything we want to take with us to Kenya into our large black hockey type bags. Our team is great and the youth going on this trip are incredible. Steven Hepburn just got back from being one of a few students selected from across Canada to be at the G8 and G20 summits. He had a great experience and I know that he added something by being there. He is an amazing young man and will be a great asset to our team. Sarah Schroeder, Sandra Brownlee and Laura Chute are quite remarkable young women who have contributed something to their community and school. Emily Duggan, in her Masters program at Emmanuelle College in Toronto, is our youth leader and is a young woman who has a level head on her shoulders and is a great role model for the youth that are on the trip.

I think they are excited about the trip and maybe a bit aprehensive since everything is unknown to them. I am sure they will all be great ambassadors for the Hope2Kenya team and for our town of North Bay.

Leaving in Two weeks

2010-06-21T12:23:00.000-07:00

Out Hope2Kenya team is getting ready to leave on July 6th. Unfortunately we are now down to 9 members since Debbie Jones had to drop out due to an accident that she had. She was our teacher trainer and we will miss her.
Wonderful things have continued to happen for Hope2Kenya. Many people in our area have felt called to help in many different ways. A group from Living Fit in North Bay began making Tippi/Izzy dolls for us. These are hand knit tiny dolls that we can take with us to hand out to children. Most of the children in Kenya do not have toys and these will be wonderful for the kids to have. Several other women picked up the idea from their Living Fit friends and we are now taking over 200 dolls with us.

I spoke to a small knitting group and they and their friends have made over 40 sweaters for young children.
People have donated money and school supplies and medical supplies and the list goes on. I am so grateful for all of the individuals and groups who have contributed to us in some way.

FJ McElligott in Mattawa is one of the smallest high schools in the Near North District School Board with only 125 students. Under the direction of teacher Chris Davies this school raised $2120.00 for our team. This money will be used to help complete a school in Kolongolo Village.

Our Fashion show and luncheon held at the Ram's Head Restaurant in Callander yielded $700.00 for our fund and the whole luncheon was great fun. Joyce's Fashions and lia sophia jewellery came together to create a wonderful array of outfits.

Our plans are now in place for the work we will do in Kenya. The youth that are going are incredible young people and are excited about what they can contribute.

It will be interesting to see what the next few weeks brings before we go.

2010-04-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

I want to catch people up on what has been going on with the team recently.

We held our Pasta dinner on February 20, 2010 with the help of team members and their families. We spent the day cooking and organizing and the dinner was a great succcess. We held a bake sale at the same time and had a table of Kenyan craft for sale as well. the students did the serving and clean up.

We served over 150 people and managed a tidy sum which will go towards helping to defray the cost of the student's trip.

In the photo the students were thanking evryone for coming.

On February 6th. Steven Hepburn and Sandy Foster took part in the International Food Fair held at Nipissing University. Sandy made Kenyan "doughnuts" that they sold and had a display of the

Hope2Kenya work that has been done. All the funds raised from this event were used by the University Students to support an African student who is attending the Univesity. It gave the Hope2Kenya team a chance to talk about what they will be doing in Kenya this July.

upcoming Kenya trip

2010-02-10T11:45:00.001-08:00

I have not blogged for several months. Our hope2kenya team was in Kenya last year from mid September to mid October doing 5 medical clinics. It was an eye opening experience for all 5 members of the team. To update yourself on the trip you can go to www.hope2kenya.org.

We are now preparing for another trip. This is the largest team I have taken and is consists of 10 people including 5 youth. This is the first time I have taken youth on a team and I am very excited about it. These kids are all amazing and come from different backgrounds and schools. the youngest is 16 and the oldest is 24. Our adult team has one returning member, Cathy McCallum, and this is her third trip with me. The other members are all newbies but are excited about the challenges that will face us.

Debbie Jones is from a small place called Verona, outside Kingston, Ont. She is a "master"teacher (my words) and will be doing teacher training at the schools that we help support. While she is doing this, with the help of Cathy, the rest of the team will be handling the classrooms. This will be exciting for everyone.

As of Friday of this week we should have purchased a piece of land with a building on it which will be the new orphanage for young children with HIV/AIDS. We are working along with Transformed International on this projects and our hope is to house 10 children. Once we can raise more funds we will do an expansion. Since the property is large, the hope is to build a home for our Neema Home, which houses our street girls program. We will be working on the building when we are there, and purchasing the furnishings and equipment for the orphanage.

The school we built at Kolongolo Village last year is finished and our job this year is to paint the interior of the school to make it a brigh and cheery place to be.

We are also hoping to send a container to Kenya with school furnishings and resources, wheelchairs, crutches, canes, board games, shoes, games and anything else that we think the people in our projects can use. If you have anything just give Sandy a call at 705-752-2156 to arrange pickup.

On February 20th we are having a Pasta dinner at Trinity United Church in North Bay beginning at 5:00 pm, to help raise funds to offset the students trip and on February 26th Trinity Arts is sponsoring the Tenor Jeff Wiseman in concert at the church at 7:30 pm. Hope2kenya will receive $6.00 from every ticket sold for the performance.

Since we are going in July (to accomodate the youth that are going) we have to work hard to raise funds for our projects in only 5 months. With the disaster in Haiti it will be an uphill battle but we always seem to manage.

Keep reading for upcoming blogs as we again approach another exciting adventure to bring help and hope to the orphans and widows in Kenya..

The Food Crisis

2009-09-07T16:44:00.001-07:00

Sept. 11, 2009 is fast approaching. That is the day the team leaves for Kenya. I have never been nervous about travelling and working in Kenya before but I am this trip.
There is a severe drought in Kenya and there is a shortage of food. Consequently the cost of food has almost tripled and the average Kenyan can't afford to buy Maize flour, which is the staple in that country. People are dying every day and especially children. That is why I am nervous.

We have so much in Canada. We often eat dinner and then scrape our left overs into the garbage. The children in Kenya could live on our left overs. How will I feel when I am holding a child who is dying of starvation? I don't know but I am nervous.

We will be doing a food distribution in the area where we have done them for the past three years. Areas where there is abject poverty. With the cost of corn and beans at an all time high we can't even afford to purchase what we have in the past and that means we will be feeding a lot less people. It is just a drop in a huge bucket but we can only do what we can do!!

Please remember these children each day and if you have a strong faith pray for rain.

Getting Ready

2009-08-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

As I prepare to go back to Kenya I am excited, but I also realize that with 4 new team members it will be very life changing for them. They will interface with many orphans, students, AIDS widows, grandmothers raising children, street kids, Masaai women and teachers working with few supplies. They will work at health clinics and see children ill from worms, starvation, and stomach ailments - things that are just not common in our society where we have plenty.
They will learns the importance of water and how wasteful we are in our society and they will come to understand how valuable a commodity that food is in Kenya where people are now dying of starvation because of the drought.

The number one killer in North America is overeating and the complications it brings. The number one killer in Africa is starvation due to the lack of food and without food the susceptibility to diseases.

We will do what we can while we are there and hopefully be ambassadors for Canada and for peace.

New logo

2009-08-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

Hope2kenya has a new logo. We have always been known as Team Tumaini (which means hope in Swahili). We will still continue to be that team when we travel but our overall logo has now been added. It was designed by Sean Hamilton of Toronto and really says it all. Our goal is to bring hope to the children of Kenya by providing education, clean water, food and safe places to stay. We also try to provide widows with skills so they can earn money to look after their children.

The blue in the logo represents water and the yellow represents the hope that we try to provide. The child in the middle with upraised arms says it all.

Thanks Sean for the wonderful work.

New Logo

2009-08-03T06:47:00.000-07:00

Excitement is beginning

2009-08-03T06:19:00.000-07:00

We are now at our six week mark and the team is getting excited. Next Friday (Augsut 7th, 2009) we will be having our last fundraiser in this area. Caren Gagne, a team member, owns a restaurant and she is hosting a pot luck dinner and music jam. There will be both a silent and live auction as well as a 50/50 draw. If you are in the area of the La Tea Da Tearoom in Rutherglen drop in and say hi to everyone and help support the cause,

Sharon Kutchaw and Mary Crowder are two team members from Sudbury. They have worked very hard at raising funds for the cause. They have done silent auctions at their local golf course, held a BBQ, done a Toonie sale at a Mall in Sudbury and have sold our HOPE necklaces. They are fantastic and hard workers and have helped add funds for the projects we will do in Kenya.

All the funds that we raise go directly towards projects in Kenya. Each team member pays all their own expenses for the trip. We take our funds and purchase stuff for the projects while we are there and then we know that the money is being used directly to help the children and widows that we work with.

Thanks to everyone who has donated funds to help with all our endeavours.

Fundraiser held by Ambulance Service

2009-07-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day. The North Bay Central Ambulance and Communication Centre organized a BBQ to raise funds for our team. The rain held off and they had hot dogs and drinks. The group, under the direction of Chris Reed and Jennifer Durham, have also have been selling tickets on several items over the past few weeks and I drew the tickets of the lucky winners.

They presented us with over $500.00. I was there for the BBQ and it was a heart warming experience to see these hard working people raise these funds. Lori Butterfield, who is on this years team, is a paramedic with this group. These folks work in a stressful job and still find time to give back.

Thanks to everyone at CACC and to all those who purchased tickets and hot dogs.

Only seven weeks left

2009-07-27T06:59:00.001-07:00

In seven weeks our team will be in Kitale, Kenya and our work will begin. Our six team members are getting excited and we are anxiously awaiting to see whether we have been allowed to take 2 medical packs with us. These packs are bought through a group in Montreal that charges $575.00 for approximately $5000.00 worth of medical supplies. We have two nurses and a para medic on our team and we are hoping to hold 3 health clinics while we are there. These clinics will be in the rural aread as well as one in Kibera. Kibera is the largest slum in all of Africa and we will just be in one small area.

I recently met with several high school students and their parents to discuss our trip to Kenya in July of 2010. This will be the first time that I am taking students and it will be a very exciting trip. The students who are hoping to come are wonderful young people who I know will make a wonderful contribution while we are there.

We have a couple more fundraisers before we leave and I am hoping that we raise enough money to get the orphanage for AIDS babies off the ground. If we do raise the funds, the orphanage will happen while we are over on this trip. What a wonderful thing that will be!!

Seven weeks and counting.

F.J. McElligott's Taste of Africa Dinner

2009-06-28T10:17:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago F.J. McElligott High School had a dinner at a local restaurant in Mattawa where the school is located. The students helped out in the kitchen and with the serving. They also had a silent auction with items from Kenya. This small high school has done a wonderful job of fundraising for our team over the past few years. They are led by a young vibrant teacher named Chris Davis and she motivated the students to help out through one class each year. This year it was a grade 10 class and they have raised almost $2000.00 between a couple of small fundraisers and their big dinner. In the past two years they have raised almost $5000.00 which has helped build an elementary school in Kolongolo Village in Kenya. Asante Sana, (thank you in Swahili) to all of you.

Some of the students who helped at the dinner are pictured above with Sandy.

Luncheon and Fashion Show

2009-06-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

What a great fundraiser we had on Wednesday June 24th. The Ram's Head, a local restaurant, had a luncheon and we added a fashion show and the models were team members who had been to Kenya during the past few years. It was a great luncheon by Roger and the fashions by Joyce's linerie and women's shoppe were lovely. We had many gifts to purchase tickets on and a wonderful selection of door prizes donated by Tracey Vigars, Joyce's lingerie and Womens wear and the Ram's Head Restaurant. I think everyone had a wonderful time and we raised a nice amount for our Kenya work.

Jo-anne Lumsden (in pink) commentated the show and Noreen Brewer in black pants and white top, was a model.

Fashion Show and Luncheon

2009-06-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

This Wednesday (June 24th) we are having our second annual luncheon and fashion show. It is held in Callander, Ont., in a lovely restaurant called the Ram's Head. It is owned by Roger and Diane Arsenault. Roger is the chef and they have a wonderful menu. Roger and Diane do a special menu for the luncheon and it will be delicious. We sold all 32 tickets out within a week of putting them up for sale.

Joyce's lingerie and ladies clothing store from North Bay do the fashions for the show. The models are people who have gone to Kenya with me on a team, or whose husbands have made the journey.

We also have a small sale of Kenyan items and a draw on 15 different baskets. It is a fun time and a wonderful way to tell people of our programs and what we are doing in Kenya. I will keep everyone posted on the success of the event.

We now have our plane tickets for our trip in September and time is getting closer to our departure and it seems we still have so much to do before our trip. My friend Daniel is keeping me posted on all the projects that we help with and excitement is beginning to build in team members.

Speaking in New Liskeard

2009-06-16T17:05:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day. I had the pleasure of speaking to a group of women at a United Church in New Liskeard, a town north of my city. They were wonderful listeners and asked questions after my talk. I am always amazed and pleased at how interested people are in what our Hope2Kenya group is doing. That is what encourages me to keep making people aware of the plight of the Kenyan children and widows.

Thanks to all the women in New Liskeard who came out and listened, participated and purchased products made by the people of Kenya.

Running for Kenyan Kids

2009-06-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

On May 24th I ran a marathon in Ottawa to raise funds to build an orphanage for children with AIDS. The marathon was not an easy one but I managed to finish. I raised $3100.00 which will get the orphanage up and running in the Kitale area of Kenya. I started running when I was older and ran my first marathon at 60. I try to run one each year and this was my fifth marathon. Raising the money was wonderful, but I met a wonderful young woman on that run named Marg from Belleville, Ont. This was her first marthon and she joined me at about kilometer 30. I was having a tough time at that moment and she appeared by my side asking if she could walk with me (I was walking at this time). Before she came along I was thinking about quitting, which is really not in my vocabulary. Marg and I finished the race together and meeting her was a bonus. She was a true inspiration.

I told her all about the work I do in Kenya and she was very inspired by my story. She is much younger than I am and is a nurse. Going to Kenya is on her list of things to do when she is retired. The orphanage will become a reality and I have also made a new friend. Thanks Marg for you inspiration and kindness.

Milkbag bedmats for Kenyan kids

2009-06-14T19:38:00.000-07:00

Sandra Brownlee has been collecting plastic milk bags which can be woven into bedmats for Kenyan children. She has already collected about 1000 and has friends (who have learned to crochet the bedmats at workshops) working to provide the finished product.
More information and photos are contained in the "Kids Helping Kids" page on the Hope2Kenya website.