Congratulations Collins!

Today Collins, who works with us as a Youth Counselor, is graduating from Pan African Christian University with a B.A. in Theology and Counseling. Congrats Collins!

Kenya Referendum Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Kenyans will be voting to accept or reject a new constitution. The new constitution is thought to be important in that it limits the power of national politicians and gives more power to local leaders. It creates a commission to manage public land and recognizes Muslim Courts. It also gives Kenyans a bill of rights and creates a senate. The constitution is being backed by both Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga, who ran against in each other in the 2007 presidential election that turned into violence and chaos.

There has been some violence and tension in the months before the election and although the majority of Kenyans are in support of the new constitution, there is opposition, mostly from religious leaders, due to the recognition of Muslim courts and a section about abortion.

If you are interested in learning more about the vote and the new constitution, you can check out these links:

"Kenya Stakes Its Reinvention on a Referendum" (New York Times article)

"Kenya holds its breath on eve of vote on new constitution" (Washington Post article)

"Kenya prepares for referendum" (Al Jazeera video)

A smoothly run vote, transparent ballot counting, and peace following the announcement of the results would be a big step for Kenya. Our employees and friends in the country believe that things will run smoothly tomorrow and we're hoping that no matter the results, everything goes well and everyone remains safe.

June Counseling Report and New Counseling Initiative Web Page

Firstly, click HERE to read the June 2010 Report from our Counselors.

Secondly, we have created a web page for the Counseling Initiative (which includes all of the Counselors Reports since July 2009) so check it out! It can be viewed at: http://www.uweza.org/counseling.

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for your support!

Mercy is number one!

Mercy Nelima, one of our sponsored students has been attending a boarding school called Musa Gitau since January. Musa Gitau is well known as one of the best primary schools in Nairobi and entry is very competitive. The school always ranks very highly on national exams and graduating students often receive scholarship and placement to national high schools, which is every primary school student's ultimate objective.

When students receive their mid-term and final exam results, they are told their exam score as well as their "position" in the class. As of the most recent mid-term exams, Mercy is now position one in her class! This is a tremendous feat considering Mercy's story and the competitive nature of the school. We are so proud of her and grateful to her sponsors for giving her the chance to shine.

"Good Fortune" documentary on PBS

This documentary provides some interesting insight on the unintended effects of foreign aid/development in both Kibera and rural Kenya. In Kibera, it focuses on the recent slum upgrading efforts. It is available free on the PBS website from now until October 12 so check it out while you can!

PBS Synopsis of the film:
"Good Fortune is a provocative exploration of how massive international efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa may be undermining the very communities they aim to benefit. In Kenya’s rural countryside, Jackson’s farm is being flooded by an American investor who hopes to alleviate poverty by creating a multimillion-dollar rice farm. Across the country in Nairobi, Silva’s home and business in Africa’s largest shantytown are being demolished as part of a U.N. slum-upgrading project. The gripping stories of two Kenyans battling to save their homes from large-scale development present a unique opportunity see foreign aid through eyes of the people it is intended to help."

Watch here: http://www.pbs.org/pov/goodfortune/photo_gallery_watch.php

More prize giving!

Last weekend, the winners of the first round of our Points Program were officially given their prizes. Prizes included new school uniforms, backpacks, school shoes, pens and pencils, textbooks, exercise books, soccer gear and clothing items.

The winners were thrilled to receive their prizes. The next round starts in August.

Thanks to our coaches for pictures of the ceremony and fancy wrapping of the prizes!

"Fear of Attack Leaves Women Prisoners in Their Homes"

Amnesty International recently came out with a report on the threat of violence to women in the slums of Nairobi. They particularly focused on the fact that most women can't use the toilet at night for fear of being attacked.

Insecurity and Indignity: Women's experiences in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya details how the failure of the government to incorporate the slums in urban plans and budgets has resulted in poor access to services like sanitation, which hits women in slums and informal settlements especially hard.

"Women in Nairobi's settlements become prisoners in their own homes at night and some times well before it is dark," said Godfrey Odongo, Amnesty Internationals East Africa researcher. "They need more privacy than men when going to the toilet or taking a bath and the inaccessibility of facilities make women vulnerable to rape, leaving them trapped in their own homes.

Read a summary of their report here.

And if you have time, read the entire report here.

Dentists Needed!

Kathy Nikles, who has volunteered in Kibera and has been a supporter of Uweza's work recently took a volunteer trip to Arusha, Tanzania. While there, she noticed the lack of available dental care and decided to try and put together a dental volunteer program.

According to Kathy:

"They have very little dental care and the basics of equipment at best, and many simply don't have the means. Their teeth are in terrible shape and all to often their teeth are extracted for something as simply as a cavity. I've looked into existing dental programs that travel abroad, but at this time there is not one that travels to the Tanzania, ARUSHA area. So with your help I would like to put the word out there to anyone who may be interested or anyone you know who may be interested in joining a group of dentists for a short stay in the town of Arusha to volunteer their skills to the local peoples.

It would be approximately a 1-2 week stay with accommodations, meals and transport. I'm also trying to work with C.I.D.A. to see if they are able to help with this in any way, but at this point it would be a cost that would be incurred by yourselves. The date is not yet determined, but I'm asking people to get involved if possible. If this doesn't work for you, may I ask that you forward this to your dentists, friends and acquaintances. These kids and adults that I met there are absolutely lovely and precious and if we could collectively make this happen it would be such a wonderful gift to all."

If you can help or know someone who can (everyone has a dentist!), you can email Kathy at kathynikles@gmail.com.

Flashback: Christmas Dinners

In browsing through old blog posts today, I realized that we never posted about the end result of our Christmas Dinner fund raising project (better late than never)!

Thanks to your generosity, we were able to provide dinners for 19 families in Kibera. Each family received rice, chapati flour, meat, cooking oil, sugar and cookies. They were all very excited and grateful.

Here are the pictures that we took of the families that were supported:

Prize giving day!

Last month, we held the prize giving day for the new Points Program we have started with our soccer teams. Points were awarded by our coaches during every practice from January to April in five different categories and the three boys from each team with the highest total were given a prize.

On prize giving day, everyone had soda and a ceremony was held where the winners were recognized and given certificates. We are currently working on distributing their prizes, which will consist of school needs such as backpacks, uniforms, school supplies and school fee payment.

The winners were really excited and a lot of the boys expressed that the team was helping them build skills in all areas of their life, not just soccer.



Under 10 winners from left to right: Wycliffe Nyariki (First Place), Enoch Ouma (Second Place), Austin Shikwekwe (Third Place)
Under 12 winners (with coach) from left to right: Boniface Odhiambo (First Place), Paul Kiminza (Second Place), Samuel Wilson (Third Place)
Under 18 winners from left to right: Charles Omondi (First Place), Bernard Chacha (Second Place), Ferdinand Odhiambo (Third Place)