July 2011
An update on the work in Kibera to
which you have so generously and
kindly contributed...
News of the School
With determination but not a little trepidation and unease, we began our challenging adventure in March, picking our way through the smelly alleyways of the slum, avoiding at all costs the all too frequent plastic bags of excrement and hopping over flowing streams of raw sewerage. But, what a difference a year makes!
Transformation has taken place already – from mud huts to recognizable classrooms, which Colin, to the delight of both children and staff, decorated artistically. We were so grateful too for the colourful posters donated.
Nursery children were given small toys. What joy on their faces! Most will never have anything to call their own, let alone a toy. Most play simply with sticks, wire or stones. A dream was realised as we took our first school trip, an outing to the Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi with Year 7, all of whom had never in their lives seen wildlife at first hand beyond the odd goat or dog! Rarely do children in the slums venture out, let alone have the opportunity to experience the beauty of their own country. These memories will remain with them for a long time.
News of Outreach in the community
Meet Stephen Omosa, sick and emaciated, who together with his wife Linette and 6 children inhabit a 6 foot square, dark, smelly house, somewhat smaller than most bathrooms but without the luxury of toilet or running water. In fact, apart from a single bed (shelf) and a tiny charcoal burner, there is little recognisable as home. Access is a narrow, sewerage-ridden alleyway through which you have to grope with head bent.
Our welcome by Stephen was most touching. Expecting nothing, he talked lovingly of his wife who was so happy to have a job 6 miles’ walk away, for a week, on a building site carrying blocks of concrete. He is sad though that he cannot do such work and his illness and lack of English limit him. But things are changing for him as he too has become a Christian, as have others, and is trusting God to provide. We are committed to finding better housing for the family and to educating the children.
Our Dreams for the future…
• Boarding School and orphanage outside Nairobi
• Health worker to assess families’ needs
• Purchase of textbooks, especially for the older students
• Decent wages for committed teachers and outreach workers
Once again a big thank you to all who have already shared with us in this task.
Find out more...
Kiberia with love is is committed to: educating children in the school, helping to improve lives, feeding children with one good meal per day and sharing the Good News of Jesus.
To find out more about the charity, to donate or sponsor a child, please call 01672 515052
Or email Pauline for and more details.