MAJI SAFI PROJECTS

Registered charity no. 1106384

NEWSLETTER SPRING 2006

PLEASE HELP US MAKE 2006 THE BEST YEAR YET! EDUCATION IS THE WAY

"TO HELP MAKE POVERTY HISTORY"

Linda Greenland & Mike Radford
102 Whitecross Ave
Whitchurch Bristol BS14 9JE Tel:-01275 834883

Urgent messages text to: 07803 052039

XMAS 2005

A 10 hour wait in Amsterdam on Xmas day, because the airline cancelled our original flight and didn’t let us know, we got there Boxing day, 98 degrees after freezing weather when we left. PHEW!!!

Thank you to sponsors that sent cards etc for their children, they were really appreciated. I tried to email or phone everyone that kindly donated money for food & gifts, sorry if I didn’t get to you, I was just "snowed" under before we left. One slight problem is many of you sealed cards etc and we are not allowed to carry anything through Kenyan customs sealed, so please in the future can you leave them unsealed.

I feel awful opening envelopes; I normally put them into new envelopes as I don’t want the families to see a ripped envelope and think something has been taken out. I know this might seem very petty, but the "interrogation" from the 6ft 6"in - 25stone Customs official at Nairobi airport, who makes Mike Tyson look like an angel! After a long night flight it really wears thin every trip!!

He now knows our faces and makes a "bee-line" "Aaaaagh, you English Mama with charity" ha ha

We won’t be in Kenya for Xmas 2006, but going at the beginning of January for the start of the school term, so any cards, letters will not be delivered until then. But Xmas food etc will still be bought by our workers for families etc. So sponsors can still help their families as they have done in the past.

MAJI SAFI SCHOOL – JANUARY 2006

At long last the government brought a Head teacher and a Deputy Head teacher, which they are funding. We are still paying for the other teachers but it takes the pressure off a little. Our oldest children are now in their final primary year and we had to employ another teacher for this standard 8 class.

We will be contacting sponsors of children in STD 8 to talk about their future. There are not enough secondary schools to cater for all students that leave primary education; the marks needed to enable them to continue are quite high. In Kenya only 35% of children that get their KPCE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) continue into Secondary Education, their system is very different to ours. If your child finishes STD 8, please do not be disappointed if their marks are not high enough to continue, the education they’ve received can help them get employment. The years they have enjoyed at Maji Safi have been a great benefit to them. Secondary education costs approx £25 a month that is why we’ve set up the bursary fund as we know that the increase is too much for most sponsors to pay.

The children at Maji Safi won a big sports event in Mombasa, they won lots of prizes including the trophy, as you can see, they are so proud.
Exam marks overall were excellent; in the district the Standard 4 class came 2nd out of 24 schools. Standard 5 were 3rd and Standard 7 were 7th. The school beat many more expensive "private" schools. The future is looking good for Maji Safi; after having a meeting with the new Head teacher and Deputy I was very impressed by their commitment and determination for the school to succeed.

Another classroom is needed at Maji Safi, building started in January, money was raised from parents and we have also contributed to start building. It is very difficult at the moment as we are losing so much money on the exchange rate. Since 2004 we are losing over £400 for every £2000 we send, there isn’t much spare to go towards building.

 

 

INSPIRATIONS SCHOOL AND SHIKA ADABU VILLAGE BOREHOLES

Recent droughts in Kenya mean people and animals are dying; crops are failing due to lack of water, food aid has been brought in to many areas. These boreholes were built just in time, our water supply isn’t affected. In the village they are now pumping 3 or 4 times a day; over 300 containers of water are collected, the queue is long all day, but what a gift this has brought to an otherwise very "dry" area, over 5 miles from the nearest municipal "standpipe".

Families still have to walk a long way to get water. Other people cycle 25kms through the bush from the "interior" to get water. If they had to go to the municipal supply it would add another 8kms to their journey. Other boreholes are contaminated.

As you read in past newsletters; Bobby & friends worked hard to raise money for the borehole at Inspirations, and are now raising money to build the new toilet block. It has to be dug 15ft long by 5 ft wide by 40ft deep, after 5 months of digging they have reached halfway. It is a very long job and we think it will be another 5 months before we get there!! They have very basic tools; just a sledgehammer, crowbar and metal spikes and the layer of rock 20ft down is as hard as metal. The lack of rains also makes it worse.

Inspirations pupils wearing shorts and skirts made by friends from Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints – Whitchurch – Bristol in Sept 2005.

Bobby, Ken, Janette & Vernon are returning to Kenya in September to do more exciting work with the children at Inspirations School.

You may remember Bobby’s account of our visit into the "interior" of Likoni in the last newsletter. You saw a photo of the falling down walls of a family house we were invited to visit. Just after our visit the family were robbed of everything inside, the robbers actually pushed walls down to get inside, we felt that maybe it was due to our visit and they may have thought the family had lots of money and goods because they were "friends" of ours.

The family were left sleeping under cardboard and plastic as they were frightened to leave the land in case that was also "snatched". Some friends helped us to build 2 very simple stone rooms for this family and you can see "Mama Morgan" the mother who is a widow. She and her sons worked hard as labourers so we could keep the costs down.

HENGROVE SCHOOL VISIT

At Easter 4 teachers from my school are coming to work with the children. This follows the 2 teachers that visited last year and we hope more will follow!

ASHTON PARK SCHOOL – JULY VISIT

Plans are well under way for 32 students & teachers who have raised money to build 2 classrooms at Inspirations School. Some of the students have been on "crash" courses to learn building and carpentry, but just in case we still have our builders on site!

One of our projects for 2006 is "Small Ali" our 23 yr old (ex) night watchman who spends most of the day in the classroom. We named him Kenya’s answer to "Arnold Swarzhenneger" in Kindergarten Cop; he is awesome with the children. Due to lack of money he never finished Secondary school so has no chance to take teacher training, so back to school he has gone, complete with uniform etc for 2 years to complete his education and maybe continue into teaching.

SPONSOR A TEACHER

Our appeal for "Sponsor a Teacher" has touched many donors’ hearts; we have covered half the staff wages at Inspirations in 2006. We have given all staff a much needed & deserved pay increase.

Maji Safi School has also benefited by our "Sponsor a Teacher" with the sponsors money for fees and extra help we are able to ensure all staff wages for 2006

We can’t mention everyone, but you know who you are and all the thanks of our staff, teachers and children are with you for your generous donation.

If anyone thinks they can fundraise or organise a group of friends to help with a teacher’s monthly wage, then please contact me and I will give you ALL the information and help I can.

You will remember we told you about Mr Josephat our Head teacher at Inspirations, he’s in his final year at college and will be graduating in August this year. We also funded our 2 school administrators to attend college and both have done extremely well. Rachel our trainee nursery teacher is in her 3rd year and hopefully will get her diploma in 2007.

Jane Freda (above with me and her class) is another trainee who we support at college and is also doing very well. They are all so grateful for the opportunity and thank everyone who has donated to make this possible. These teachers have had their wages & college fees "sponsored" for 2006.

Thanks to the sponsors that did this.

One of our sponsors came up with a good idea; maybe other sponsors have contacts with people that would be able to provide us with raffle prizes or items we could "auction" at our fundraising events.

If anyone has any contacts that may be able to donate things like: - Meal for TWO; Tickets for theatre or cinema; Hairdressing voucher; or any interesting items!! One of our donors gave a voucher this year for a reflexology treatment; the winner was very impressed and looking forward to the experience.

"HELPING HANDS"

Bobby came up with another cracking idea – she cut out 1,000's of little "hands" so that sponsors and donors can write their name and small message on. The idea being that we can make a huge collage on one of the new classroom walls that will be built at Inspirations in July. We are getting everyone that has been involved in the past to sign one. I will make sure that every sponsor will have their name written on a hand. It is not realistic that I send you all a hand, so will do it on your behalf. We want all the children at Inspirations to see how much you all care.

BUT ... future plans are to sell these "hands" for 50p each, so schools, groups etc will have some to sell and the money will go towards building a wall, either at the new classroom or at the new toilet block. If any sponsors/donors think they might be able to raise money this way, please contact me and I will send you the information and the "hands" for you to sell.

BARN DANCE (CEILIDH) FEB 2006

MANY THANKS TO EVERYONE that contributed towards this wonderful evening. We didn’t think it could get any better but over 300 people came and it was FANTASTIC. Special thanks to "Cats Whiskers" their families; the callers; City Clickers, all guests,; donors; sponsors; students and staff from Ashton Park School where it was held, especially Mark the caretaker for his patience!! And not forgetting Maji Safi Projects committee. All the above gave their time, food, raffle prizes etc to make sure we raised even more money. £3200 - WHAT A RESULT!

A special mention to "Venus School of Dance" they put on a fantastic production in November in aid of many charities, we were lucky to be chosen as one. The dancers & staff put on a marvellous show and we felt proud to be part of that. We spent the weekend at the theatre, and have taken the DVD to Kenya to show everyone the sort of effort people put in to support our projects. They were amazed to see my laptop come alive with singing and dancing!

Another sponsor came up with the idea to produce cards for 2006 especially for birthdays and Xmas presents. Sponsors can purchase "gifts" from us for family and friends, the same as "Send a Cow" or as Oxfam does. Ours will be very simple:-

I had a few sponsors just before Xmas 2005 phone and ask me if I could do something, so we are now producing cards. Just let me know the name of the person and what you want and the card will be personalised. Inside the card is a message and photo of the item you choose, or you can have a blank card.

DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR ONE OF OUR "LITTLE ONES"? (Or one of the older ones!)

This is one of our new intake this year, eyes so full of hope and a smile that would light a million stars.

This little one is lucky to be able to start school this year and get the best chance of education. In an attempt to look after the welfare of all the children and to keep them healthy, we have managed to get the services of a local doctor to visit once a month and check over the children. Last July Bobby noticed lots of children with very bad ringworm (many also with stomach worms) so Jeanette & Vernon raised money for medicine and cream. This was administered by the doctor (with the parents help) and by October most of these children were clear. We hope to continue with the doctor’s visits through 2006.

He praised all donors in England that have provided daily porridge for the children. He said many are undernourished and really need this help.

ATTENTION - ATTENTION

Someone is paying a monthly direct debit CooK C T/As ???? on our bank statement. Does anyone recognise this??? I don’t know who this person is; it doesn’t tie up with my sponsor forms. PLEASE PLEASE phone me if it is you, maybe you have sent back sponsor forms and they got lost in post? THANKS

WE STILL NEED MOBILE PHONES!! we have all our workers in Kenya that use them daily to txt each other, it only costs them 2p a text and is much easier than catching 2 buses to go and talk to someone, when a text will do. So, please ask around your friends, family & work colleagues. A BIG "THANK YOU" to the people that have already helped.

Does anyone know of a cheap second-hand laptop or notebook that we can get Miriam and our school administrators to do their work? They have all been on computer courses & the amount of paperwork has increased tenfold.

ON A PERSONAL NOTE:

Without meaning to moan or look for sympathy we have had 7 years of "full on" work with the charity, also working full time for the last 15 years at Hengrove School and busy family life. We are "shattered" and really need some space, so have decided to take a "YEAR OUT" of WORK. (NOT THE CHARITY!) Both employers have been very understanding and have supported us in this venture and given us a year out (obviously unpaid). Luckily, we are at the time of life when we can afford to do this. The plan is to visit Kenya for longer periods so that we can enjoy the "fruits of our labour" make some future plans; and also spend some time with family catching up on "normal" life. The running of the charity should not be affected as my lap top will go everywhere with me, but some of you may phone and wonder where we are. Please leave a message; send an email or letter, or if urgent can text me on my mobile. 07803 052039

We are still collecting 5’ps so keep them coming!

ONCE AGAIN A HUGE BIG THANKS to Andy Kybert – M-D of The Woodside Press Ltd – Bristol by printing the text version of the newsletter, I can’t express how grateful I am, I just know how many hours work it saves me!

A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS AND DONORS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!!