By Wambui Muiru
Director/Founder of Familia Moja Children’s Home
Working at Familia Moja always fills me with lots of joy, looking at the children and noticing them grow and seeing their school results improve is all the motivation I need. However I can’t do it on my own and I feel that I am the ladder that connects you our well wishers with the child who is the beneficiary.
Dedicating my whole life for the welfare of the orphaned and vulnerable children and other marginalised people in my community is what drives me to overcome the many challenges that come along the way. I wouldn’t be caught doing anything else, everyone in the universe deserves a chance to be the best they can, these angels not excluded.
Its now October, the rains are finally here. We had some rains that came early September and everyone got busy planting only for the rain to subside and everybody’s heart sank. But now the farms are beautiful with green all over.
The FMCH received their term-two school results; some of the children did wonderfully well.
The cost of living in Kenya has really gone high with the cost of all consumables rising by the day.
We also had the best anniversary ever on the 15th September although we postponed the celebrations to 17th September, which was on a Sunday.
Thank you for always being there for the wonderful FMCH of Familia Moja!
Yours sincerely,
Ms Wambui Muiru.
4TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
We celebrated our 4th anniversary of Familia Moja Children’s Home. The day involved not just the children of Familia Moja but the whole community.
All the children were very excited because it gave them a chance to express their talents on stage with lots of singing and dancing.
We hope in the future to be able to host such days so that all the children have the opportunity to explore their creative side.
CHILD REUNITED WITH FAMILY
Boniface one of our boys has gone to live with older siblings. We at Familia Moja feel that if the extended family of any of our children can provide quality care for them, we will support their return. Hence, Boni returned to live with his older brother’s in September.
SCHOOL HOLIDAYS
Some of the children had two weeks break during the holiday and they were able to visit their guardians.
Alex and Ken traveled to Githurai (one of the slums in Nairobi) for a reunion with family they had not seen for over 2 years since they were abandoned. However they came back to Familia because this is the only place they can get good education; they both have a lot of potential.
RIFT VALLEY TOUR
Sandra one of our Development Partners had paid for a school excursion for our class eight students to visit the Rift Valley. They were very excited and counted themselves lucky that Sandra was around to offer them this opportunity.
ARTS SCHOOL VISIT
Through one of our board members Mr. Thanji (a tutor at Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts), BIFA art students visited the home and had a great time playing with the children, sharing goods and gifts.
EDUCATIONAL TOUR OF ST FRANCIS GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL MANG’U
The children were taken to a local high school for a motivational visit. They were able to interact with girls doing different subjects and were shown all the educational and recreational facilities at the school. Their faces showed their excitement and the class eight girls were full of admiration. The three class 8 girls hope to make it to the school next year.
VOLUNTEERS
Holly, a volunteer from the USA visited the children and stayed for six weeks. The majority of her time was spent helping with daily chores and the children’s tuition in the evening. She also assisted Beatrice our social worker in any required hospital visits for the children whilst she was here.
Lucy and Vicky student nurses from the UK, joined Holly and together they became a very helpful team to the children. They also made home visits and hospital visits as well. They were also able to go with the children to Fourteen Falls and were very excited about this.
Lucy and Vicky left their Kenyan home after spending six wonderful weeks with the children; you can read more about their time here:
GROUP VOLUNTEERING PROJECT – JAN 2012
We are well into the planning process for our first ever group volunteer project that will commence in January 2012. At this stage we have 15 volunteers committed to join the project. If you would like to join the project please contact Jess: jess@familiamoja.org
PEOPLE & PLANET PARTNERSHIP
Familia Moja Children’s Home is a proud partner of the People & Planet Diary & Calendar project, which is published by a partnership of 49 Australian social justice and environment organisations.
This is our first year as a People & Planet Partner and we're excited about the cross-promotional opportunities this fundraiser will bring Familia Moja.
The 2012 Diary & Calendar feature extraordinary images of people and places from around the globe, selected from over 4,000 entries to the People & Planet International Photography Competition from 84 different countries. Each beautiful image is accompanied by a unique story highlighting one of the planet's social or environmental challenges.
If you wish to buy a calendar (AUD$25 + postage) or diary (AUD$23 + postage) please email info@familiamoja.org
CHALLENGES
MONTHLY BUDGET
The cost of living in Kenya has risen sharply due to the drought in the Horn of Africa pushing up the price of staple food, which is making it difficult for us to meet out monthly budget.
If you wish to make a regular or a one-off donation please contact info@familiamoja.org for details on how you can do so.
EDUCATION SPONSORSHIP
Our Education costs rose during the year due to increases in the price of Fuel and staple foodstuff with some of our Education sponsors where unable to meet the difference, therefore leaving a shortfall of 132,000KSH (AUD$1,450, CHF1,390 and USD$1550).
If you wish to make a donation towards clearing this balance please contact info@familiamoja.org for details on how you can do so.
WISH LIST ITEMS
Running a children's home is a difficult task especially when it comes to prioritising the allocation of scarce funds towards the monthly budget, land, income generating projects and essential items to run the centre.
Below is a list of items, which Familia Moja requires to ensure we can maintain the current level of care being provided to the children.
If you wish to make a donation towards any of the below, please email info@familiamoja.org for details on how to do so.
NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE
We require a sponsor to cover our National Health Insurance Fund fees for the children; this covers our medical costs when the children are admitted to hospital.
If you wish to sponsor this it costs 39,600KSH per year (AUD$440, CHF415 and USD$465).
CHILD PROTECTION POLICY TRAINING
All the staff and children will undergo a refresher course in our Child Protection Policy. This is vital to the safety of our home so that all the staff and children are aware of our safety procedures.
That’s it for now!
Thanks once again for being a part of our family.
Wambui
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