Brian Needs Your Help!

Brian Makoha is 7 years old and lives in Kibera with his mother, his older sister and his 9-month old brother. His father died several years ago and his mother does not have a job or source of income.

Almost 3 months ago, in July, Brian's mother was cooking on a wood-burning stove inside their small home. While she left to go to the shop, Brian accidentally knocked over the stove. Half of the house caught on fire and Brian was unable to escape in time. He suffered from third degree burns on his leg, all the way from the top of his foot to his knee.

His mother, not having the money to afford to take him to a proper hospital, carried Brian to a clinic near their home. The clinic applied some medicine and wrapped the burn. She repeated this every day but was unable to pay any money and after 17 visits (and almost $100 accumulated in debt), the clinic refused to treat Brian anymore. At this point, the burn had not healed, as Brian lost several layers of skin.

His mother, still not knowing what to do, took advice from a neighbor to treat the burn at home. She began to burn a burlap sack, mix the ashes with sugar water and apply them to Brian's leg. To all of us, this seems terrible, but to a desperate mother with no way out, it seemed like the only option.

Brian does not have enough blood, which was compounded by the blood loss from his burn, his heart beats irregularly, and his immune system is very weak. He is currently so skinny and deprived of blood that you can literally see his heart beating in his chest.


Brian, healthy, in January 2009
When we saw how bad the situation was, we knew that something had to be done. On September 30, we brought him to Kenyatta National Hospital where a scan was done on his heart and other organs and he was admitted to the Pediatric Burn Unit. They wrapped his leg, treated it with medication, gave him blood thickening medication and ordered a series of blood transfusions.


Brian now
Many of you may remember the case of Cyrus last year. He desperately needed medical care and thanks to the generosity of donors, we were able to save his life.

Once again, we need to ask your help. Brian is still admitted in the hospital, with no end yet in sight. The doctors are reporting that he needs a skin graft on his leg because the old skin will never grow back.

So far, we have spent about $200 on his care but the greatest hit will come when he is discharged from Kenyatta and we must pay the final bill. Money will also be needed to continue to ensure that the wound heals and that he is okay once he leaves the hospital.

We at Uweza, Brian and Brian's family would truly appreciate your assistance. We have already seen great improvements in Brian's condition. This weekend he was able to walk for the first time since he was burned and he is laughing and smiling for the first time as well. We want to do everything we can to help him but we honestly won't be able to without your help.

Please, please, please help Brian. Your money will truly be saving the life of a child in need and will not go to waste.

Click HERE to donate and help Brian now.
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Send us an email at info@uweza.org with any questions.

Thanks for reading!

Counselors September Report

The Tunza counselors, Collins and Becky, continue to be a great resource both to the kids at Tunza and to us in understanding the issues/problems facing the kids and how we can help.

Click HERE to read their report for September.

Under 10 team wins third place!

Since we last wrote about our Under 10 and Under 17 teams playing in a tournament with about ten other teams from Kibera, both lost the match that would have qualified them for the tournament finals.



However, because of an earlier victory, the Under 10 team had the chance to play in a match for third place yesterday. Our team played well and the game went into a penalty shootout. The shooters made two goals in a row and the goalie blocked two in a row and we won the match!



The boys were so excited and jumping all over each other and cheering. As part of their win, they received a trophy, new uniforms and some balls from the tournament organizers. After the game, they all huddled up with their coach and said a prayer. Then the coach asked them what they were playing for, to which they all responded in unison "LUNCH!!"



So after the game, all 22 of them headed to a restaurant where they were rewarded for their victory with a hearty meal.

A little bit goes a long way

Maxwell is 3 and a half years old and the younger brother of two of our brightest sponsored students. Last weekend, Maxwell was playing outside of his house, fell down and badly injured his arm. While visiting his older brother three days after his accident, we met Maxwell and learned about what happened. He was unable to move his arm and it was swollen to almost two times its normal size.

His mother told us that she took him to a local clinic and they gave him medicine to rub on it. She could not afford to go to a decent hospital and get an x-ray or proper treatment so she just had to hope that it would heal properly on its own (which we all realize is unlikely).




We knew that it was serious and if his arm did not heal properly, he would be affected by it for the rest of his life. So we offered to cover the costs of the hospital and his mom took him the next day.

When we returned to visit Maxwell yesterday, we found Maxwell in a cast and a sling. It turns out that his arm was completely dislocated from its socket and broken in three places. The total costs (transport to and from the hospital, examination by a doctor, the x-ray, the cast and sling, and medicine) came to $13.

We are happy that we can help even in small ways such as this and thanks to our donors, Maxwell is now doing okay and on his way to recovery!

Remembering Jenny

Last year and earlier this year, we wrote about a 15 year-old girl named Jane (or "Jenny") who was HIV positive. We met Jenny in August 2008 when she was admitted to the HIV/AIDS ward of the hospital and in the bed next to one of our regular patients.

By spring of 2009, Jenny had regained her health and wanted more than anything to return to school. Thanks to the generosity of a sponsor, we were able to sponsor her to attend high school.

Almost 2 months ago today on June 20, 2009, we received the heartbreaking news that Jenny had passed away in her sleep at the age of 16.

Jenny was an orphan and lost both of her parents to AIDS. She was born HIV positive. She struggled with her health throughout her life as a result. However, she was determined not to let the disease get her down and fought until the end. We met her because she saw us buying our patient juice and she spoke up that she too would like some juice (and soda and cookies and fruit). We sponsored her because every time we would visit her at home, even when she could barely sit up, she would remind us "what about school?" She attended school up until the day before she passed and never gave up.

She was a fighter and an inspiration and we miss her very much.

Our Under 10 team could take it all!

All four of our boys soccer teams (Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 and Under 17) are currently participating in a tournament against other teams from throughout Kibera.

Their first match was today. The Under 12 and Under 14 teams unfortunately lost (3-0 and 1-0, respectively) and have been eliminated from the tournament.

The Under 17 team's opponent did not show up so they have automatically advanced to the next round.

The Under 10 team was scheduled to play two matches. They played really well and won the first match in an intense shootout. They did not miss a single goal, while the other team missed two. During the shootout, a giant crowd gathered to watch and all eyes were on the Uweza team. The boys were all so excited when they won, they were jumping all over each other, cheering and running around. Most (if not all) of the boys are from very poor families and many are orphans. It was really great to see them having such a good time and getting the chance to feel proud of themselves.

For their second match of the day, the opponent dropped out of the tournament so the Under 10 team will automatically advance to the semifinals. Prizes for the winners of the tournament include balls, shoes and new uniforms so keep your fingers crossed!

We also managed to provide lunch for all of the boys during the course of the day, which they seemed to enjoy almost as much as playing soccer.

August Report from Counselors

Click HERE to read the report written by the counselors that we have hired to work with the Tunza kids about their work during the month of August.

Taking Cyrus to school

Last year, we wrote about a 16 year old boy named Cyrus who is a resident of Tunza Children's Center. In October, Cyrus made the terrible mistake of ingesting methylated spirit with juice. Luckily, we were at the center and with the help of many generous donors, we were able to cover all the costs of his hospital care and likely saved his life. Unfortunately, Cyrus is now completely blind.

This year, thanks to sponsors from Australia, Cyrus is attending a Technical School for the blind. He is learning to read and write braille and also learning the skills that he will need to live on his own. He has a great attitude, a true zest for life, despite the hard hand he has been dealt in life, and is determined to make the best of a truly difficult situation.

He will finish the technical school this November and will then start Class 8 at a school for the blind, which he was close to finishing when he lost his sight. After Class 8, he will move on to high school. He hopes to become a lawyer someday.

Last Wednesday, I (Jen) went with Cyrus as he returned for his second term of school. I took some pictures of the school and they are below. We are so grateful to everyone that donated to Uweza to help Cyrus and to his school sponsors. The support has not gone to waste. Cyrus expresses his gratitude every day and I never cease to be amazed by him.

Soccer Program Update

We now have four set teams with four different coaches. Each team is composed of about 10-20 boys from throughout Kibera. Although the teams were started by the children of Tunza Children's Center, they have grown to include children from throughout the slum. Now that the Tunza children have moved to Ngong, our Kibera teams are continuing to practice. We are working on a solution to ensure that the kids in Ngong will still be able to play soccer.

Temporarily, the four coaches will be traveling to Ngong every few weeks to visit the kids and play soccer with them. We think that its good for the kids to see familiar faces in their new home so that they understand that they are not being abandoned by the people that care about them and to make the transition easier. (On a related note, the Tunza counselors will also be traveling to Ngong to continue to work with the children).

Last week, we had a meeting with the coaches to discuss what we can do to make our teams in Kibera better. In the past few weeks, we have purchased 70 pairs of shorts for training, first aid kits for each team, a net to carry soccer balls and books for the coaches to take attendance each week. We will also be purchasing shoes and socks for all of the boys in a few weeks.

The coaches came up with two ideas at the meeting to help us ensure that our soccer program offers more to the kids than just the opportunity to play soccer. The coaches, who are all residents Kibera themselves, pointed out that the kids come from challenged and difficult backgrounds so they would like to take a half an hour each practice to sit down with the kids, get to know them, discuss any problems the kids might be having. Then the coaches can offer advice and possibly see how Uweza can help.

The coaches also created a prize-giving program to motivate the kids to do their best. They will be telling the players that at some point each month, one player (e.g. most hard-working, best attendance, best skills) will be getting a prize such as a new pair of socks or shorts. This will teach the kids about the value of hard work and dedication and encourage them to do their best always.

New Home for Tunza Children's Center

Yesterday, the Tunza kids moved into a new home outside of Kibera. An organization called Tara Projects (http://www.taraprojects.ie/) in conjunction with VICDA, which is based in Kenya, raised funds and completed construction for a new facility in Ngong, which is about 30 minutes away from Kibera.

Over 80 children moved out of Kibera and into the new home yesterday. Each child now has their own bed and the home includes a spacious dining room and a big yard with a swing set and plenty of open space for the children to play.

We'll be trying to work with Tara Projects, Faces of Kibera and Tunza to ensure that the transition goes smoothly and that all of the needs of the Tunza children are met in their new home.

Addendum: Just to clarify, Uweza was not involved in the building of the new home - the credit for that goes to two organizations: VICDA and Tara Projects. We were just present for the move and will be continuing our ongoing support of the new home in Ngong as well as the center in Kibera, which will remain as a primary school.