Counselors December Report

This month's report is pretty long and heavy, with a lot of major issues. A lot of the issues revolve around the older kids finishing school and transitioning into adulthood. We are very glad that the counselors are there to work with the kids during this time.

We are working with the counselors to set up a 2 or 3 day camp for the older kids in Feburary. It will be held somewhere away from the home and will give them time to sort out the issues that they are facing and will continue to face as they become older as well as a chance to receive advice and guidance.

Although a lot of the issues mentioned may be out of our control, we will really try and see what we can do to help the kids. Having the counselors to talk to them every week is already a big help so thank you to our donors for funding their services!

Click HERE to read their report.

Counselors are paid about $30 each ($60 total) per weekly session. If you would like to help us fund counseling for the Tunza kids through a one-time or monthly donation, go HERE.

HOME (Help Orphans with Milk and Eggs)

HOME is a project started by a volunteer named Kelsey to provide the kids at Tunza in Ngong with chickens and a cow. In the last few weeks, HOME provided Tunza with a cow, which will provide milk, and 100 chickens, to lay eggs that can be sold to earn income and eaten by the kids. Three farm buildings were also built.


To read more about this exciting project, check out the HOME blog here: http://kenyakelseykenya.blogspot.com/

Thank you!

We have once again created a video to show you some of the ways funds were used this year and to thank you for your support.

Hope you enjoy it!

Merry Christmas from Uweza!

Quick update on our Christmas Dinner Sponsorship: thanks to you, 19 families in Kibera received the makings of a special Christmas dinner (rice, chapati, meat, cooking oil, sugar and cookies) today. More details (and pictures) coming soon.

Hope everyone enjoyed the holiday!

Counselors November Report

Click HERE to read the report from the Tunza Children's Center counselors about their work with the kids in November.

Sponsor Christmas dinner for a family in Kibera!

Everyone in Kibera is getting geared up for Christmas right now - this mostly means trying to find their best outfit to wear to church for the day. Most families living in the slum cannot afford to buy presents for each other or even a nice meal. Dinner on Christmas day will consist of the common staple foods, ugali (maize flour that is boiled into a doughy porridge) and sukuma wiki (kale).

We want to try and set up as many families in our HIV outreach as possible with a nice Christmas dinner this year. This will consist of meat or chicken, rice, vegetables, cake and tea. All of this can be purchased for a mere $15!!

Families in Kibera are living in some of the worst conditions imaginable and many can go a whole day without eating. It would mean so much to them to have a special meal on Christmas. If you would like to sponsor a family this Christmas, please go HERE and make a donation, designating it for Christmas Dinner sponsorship.

After Christmas, we will e-mail you a picture of the family you helped.

Spread the word to anyone that might be interested in helping a family in need this Christmas!

Brian goes home!

Today, after two long months in the hospital, Brian finally returned home. The final bill amounted to 62,510 shillings (about $850) and thanks to the help of our generous donors, we were able to pay it in full!

During his time at the hospital, he received three blood transfusions and a skin graft on his leg. A series of tests was done to determine the cause of his frequent health problems (all which came back normal). They told us that he was just really malnourished (and probably anemic) and that if he is just given a balanced diet, he will be okay.

Just as a reminder, here is Brian a few days after he was admitted....



And here he is now!



He now has full use of his leg (prior to being admitted to the hospital, he could not even move it and had to be carried around).



He will continue to return to the hospital three times a week for a checkup until the leg is completely healed. We received so much help and concern for Brian and we are so grateful - you really changed his life and I know he won't soon forget it!

Addendum: I just received a text from Brian's mom that she would like to give me "a vote of thanks for what you have done to Brian because I am sure that minus you maybe he could have died so I pray to God to lead your future." I just wanted to extend that vote of thanks to all of you as well!

Faces of Kibera eBay Auction

Faces of Kibera, one of our favorite organizations working to help the kids in Kibera, (and one we frequently partner with!) is having their annual eBay auction.



Items being auctioned off include:

4 tickets to the Carolina Panthers Game Dec 27th with VIP Pre Game Field Passes

VIP Day for 4 to Giants training Camp 2010 in Albany

Signed Jerseys: Kevin Boss, Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Eli Manning, Steve Smith, Hakim Nicks, Antonio Pierce.

Autographed NY Giants balls: Kevin Boss, Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, Eli Manning, Steve Smith, Hakim Nicks.

Signed Ringo Starr Drum Skin

And more!

The goal of Faces of Kibera is "to create and support a community-based facility for orphans outside Kibera. Funds raised will be spent on housing, food, psychological and medical care. We want to make a safe place the children can call their home, a family they can depend on and a hopeful future."

Read more about Faces of Kibera at www.facesofkibera.org. Check out the auction and place a bid HERE!

Tunza Party and the End of an Era

Today, we had a party at Tunza Children's Center in Kibera. The party was for several occasions. First, none of the kids at Tunza ever get a birthday party (and some don't even know their birthday), so we decided to celebrate for everyone all on one day. Secondly, the Class 8 (end of primary school) and Form 4 (end of secondary school) kids just finished their very important exams and we wanted to celebrate their achievements. Finally, starting next week and finishing by the end of this month, all of the kids will be moving out of Kibera to the new home in Ngong.

By December, Tunza Children's Center in Kibera will not be home to any more children and will be closed. It will re-open as a school in January 2010 but Tunza, the children's home in Kibera, will no longer exist. I (Jen) have volunteered at Tunza since 2006 - this is my fourth summer - and it is surreal to think that the home will be gone. Tunza has always played a central role in my trips to Kenya and has been the place where I feel most at home in Kibera. I know it has also played this role for a lot of volunteers.

The move to Ngong is definitely better for the children in terms of hygiene and sanitation and space. The conditions in Kibera were terrible and those in Ngong are much improved. Because the great majority of our work is carried out in Kibera and because the home in Ngong takes a while to get to, our role in supporting Tunza will decrease dramatically once they move from Kibera. We will continue to sponsor the six children from Tunza that we do now and will visit the center from time to time to check up on the kids but it will be next to impossible for us to play a major role in supporting the center. We will also continue to send our counselors to Ngong every week.

It will be a big transition but we have some really great projects in Kibera that we are excited to devote more money and efforts to. We look forward both to seeing a better life for the kids in Ngong and improving some of these projects that we haven't been able to put a lot of effort into, due to the time-consuming nature of assisting a children's home.

Counselors October Report

This past month has been busy for the Tunza kids, with a lot of transitions taking place. They also continue to adjust to life in Ngong. The counselors have really helped them get through this time.

Click HERE to read their report for October.