"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)

New Uweza shop!

Uweza has sold goods created by HIV positive support groups (mainly women) in Kibera since 2008. The proceeds have been used to assist these women in purchasing food, paying rent, and covering the costs of sending their children to school. Funds have also been used to provide hospital care and essential medication.

You can now purchase items created by these women on our website!

Visit http://www.uweza.org/shop.html to learn more about this project and make a purchase!

One Year Ago Today...

One of our sponsored students, Jane (or "Jenny" Muthoni) lost a life-long battle with HIV/AIDS. She was just 16 years old.

The world has lost a beautiful and inspirational young lady. Her dream, from the very first time we met her in a hospital bed, was to be able to finish high school. Thanks to a generous sponsor, she was able to attend school in the months prior to her passing.

In remembrance of her, here are a collection of pictures of Jenny on her first day back to school and blog posts that we have written to share her story.

Jenny's Passing - September 21, 2009

Going to School - February 2, 2009

Visiting Jenny at Home - August 1, 2008

Meeting Jenny - July 9, 2008

Tunza Counselors April and May reports

According to their most recent reports (apologies for being a little late on posting them), a lot of issues are currently taking place at the center. We are really grateful that Becky and Collins are there weekly to work with the kids. They provide them with some sense of stability and a positive outlet for what they are going through. We will try and see what else we can do to help.

Click HERE to read the April report.

Click HERE to read the May report.

Frightening Kenyan Statistics

Under 5 Mortality Rate (per 1,000 births)

105 in 1990
128 in 2008

Infant Mortality Rate

68 in 1990
81 in 2008

Life Expectancy

52 years in 1970
60 years in 1990
54 years in 2008

GDP per capita average annual growth rate

1.2% 1970 to 1990
0.1% 1990 to 2008

The captain of our Under 18 team explains why he loves playing for Uweza

More videos coming soon!

Tunza Counselor's March Report

Click HERE to read up on their progress!