Familia Moja Newsletter - December 2011 to February 2012
Hi All,
Firstly, I would like to pay my respects to Wambui’s mother, Tabitha Wangare Muiru who passed away on Friday 9th of December 2011. ‘Shau Shau’ as the children of Familia Moja called her was one of the most caring, loving and strong women who I have met. The love and support she and ‘Guka’ gave Wambui in helping start Familia Moja and run the home over the past four and half years is truly amazing and inspirational. On a personal level the love and hospitality she showed me, truly made me feel part of the Muiru family from day one.
Over the past two and a half months I have been busy at work in Mang’u, Kenya helping Wambui and the board take some big steps forward in the future of Familia Moja Children’s Home.
I love spending time in Mang’u with the Muiru family and the children of Familia Moja; there is something about riding an overcrowded Matatu (bus) to Thika past rolling coffee and maize plantations or being greeted with Muzungu by children and adults as I stroll down the red dusty road towards the home or spending time playing with the children of Familia Moja or sitting down with ‘Guka’ talking about my day that makes me feel at home here.
This trip to Familia Moja has been even more special than my previous trips; as we have started building a permanent home for the children, hosted 16 volunteers, enrolled five of our children into secondary school, hosted art classes at Familia Moja and taken two new children into our care. Wow, it has been one hectic but super productive trip to Kenya!
Please take a minute to read in more detail below about what we feel has been a landmark period in the journey of Familia Moja!
Love & Light,
Jess
BUILDING OF OUR OWN PERMANENT HOME
In the middle of December we commenced building a new and permanent home for the children of Familia Moja. Moving to a permanent home means that money currently spent on rent can be channeled into projects that will work towards the home becoming self-sustainable in the near future.
Since the middle of December we have:
· Cleared the land of coffee and maize trees
· Excavated the land
· Laid the foundation and the ground floor slab for a home that covers 295+ square metres
· Completed half of the ground floor walls and façade
· Completed a site house which is being used to store building materials, and in the future will be turned into a shop to generate income for the home
· Completed a pit latrine (6 outside toilets)
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| Preparing the foundations for the slab. |
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| Ready for the slab to be poured... |
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| The slab... |
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| The walls are coming up in our dining/study hall... |
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| Our site house is near complete, this will be a shop in the future. |
This is big leap forward towards Familia Moja becoming self-sustainable. We currently provide full-time care for 31 children. The new home will also have the capacity to house 44 orphaned children giving us the chance to give more children the opportunity of a bright future.
A big thank you to the 16 volunteers and contributors for raising the funds to complete the initial stages of building.
CHRISTMAS & NEW YEARS CELEBRATIONS
We try our best at Familia Moja to maintain the connection each of our children has with their family, with all of the children spending at least one week with the extended family (aunties/unclesa and grandparents) during the year. This year we decided that the children would spend Christmas with their family, with Familia Moja covering the travel costs and sending a care package with each child to ensure that their family could enjoy a few days with the children.
The children returned to Familia Moja for new years, which was as usual an affair fllled with laughter and lots of dancing.
VOLUNTEER PROJECT
In January this year, Familia Moja Children’s Home hosted its first ever group volunteer project. Sixteen volunteers from Australia, New Zealand and the US arrived in the village of Mang’u, Kenya to spend a month assisting with the building and development of the new home on land purchased in June 2010.
The project was a great success with the volunteers doing an amazing job at moving the large stones weighing around 40-50kg to help lay the foundation and also clear the coffee trees. Volunteers also spent their time at Familia Moja helping the children with homework and helping buy much needed school uniforms, textbooks and school shoes.
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| The vols hard at work! |
It wasn’t all work though as the volunteers took the children on an outing that the children are still talking about! A day out in Nairobi to visit Nairobi Museum, a water theme park called Splash and visit a cultural centre called Bomas of Kenya. Thank you to Tim Asquith for sponsoring the hire of the bus to transport the children from Mang’u.
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| All the vols with the kids after a day at the museum and splash! |
OLDEST FIVE CHILDREN COMMENCE SECONDARY SCHOOL
We were very proud to see our oldest children commence Secondary School this year. David, Peter and Purity were admitted into well-respected Provincial Schools within an hour from Familia Moja, whilst Ruth and Rasto were admitted into District schools on the rise nearby. This was an emotional week for both Wambui and I, but makes both of us feel an immense feeling of satisfaction that the hard work we put into the home is paying off.
A big thank you to the volunteers for helping with the shopping of the boarding supplies, and seeing the children off to school.
As secondary school in Kenya is boarding, this will allow us to take some additional children into our care.
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| Peter with his Grandmother on enrolment day xx |
ART CLASSES
Familia Moja has been extremely lucky to have James Drinkwater and Lottie Consalvo, two Australian artist based in Berlin, Germany come spend some time with our children. James and Lottie have held art classes both at the home and the primary schools the children attend, it has been amazing seeing the children break free of the rigid Kenyan education system and express themselves through art.
Keep an eye on the newsletter for information about an art exhibition in Sydney for June this year of the work created by the children, and James and Lottie.
TWO NEW ADDITIONS TO THE FAMILIA MOJA FAMILY
In December we admitted Esther (9 yrs old) into Familia Moja. Esther is the auntie of Peter Maina (Form 1) and Paul Gachua (Std 6) who have been in our care since Familia Moja opened in September 2007, she has settled into the home well and is enjoying her new school.
Last week we admitted Lazaro (10 yrs old) into Familia Moja. Lazaro is the brother to Rasto (Form 1) and Mercy Auma (Nursery Class) who are also in our care.
CHILD SPONSORSHIP
We have updated our child sponsorship details, we have two sponsorship programs being 1) Education Sponsorship and 2) Food & Shelter Sponsorship.
If you wish to sponsor one of our children through Primary School the cost per year is AUD$405 and the cost of Secondary School is approx 3 times this amount. As at the end of February 2012 we require five education sponsors for Primary School and three for secondary school.
If you with to sponsor the Food and Shelter of one of our children it costs AUD$96 per month.
HELP FAMILIA MOJA FINISH BUILDING OUR OWN HOME
We are incredibly grateful to all contributors for helping kick-off the building project. Although the project thus far has been a great success, in order to complete the building and relocate to the new home this year, we need your help.
We are hoping to find 1,000 people to donate a minimum of $30 towards the building. Can you give up going out for dinner and a glass of wine/beer this week and donate to help finish building Familia Moja its very own home?
Your donation will help Familia Moja realise its dream of self-sustainability and provide the best care possible for the current children in addition to allowing room for more.
Please donate via the below:
AUSTRALIA
Bank: ANZ
Account Name: Kesho Community Foundation
BSB: 013006
Account Number: 184143419
* Kesho Community Foundation is a registered Incorporated Association in Victoria, Australia. I am the Treasurer of Kesho Community Foundation. 100% of donations received by Kesho Community Foundation go direct to Familia Moja Children’s Home.
KENYA
Bank Branch Number: 012
Bank Name: Diamond Trust Kenya
Bank Address: Diamond Trust Bank Thika Branch Thika Kenya, KENYA
SWIFT Code: DTKEKENA
Account Name: Jess M White
Account Number: 0020171002
Residential Address: Mang'u, Gatukuyu Kenya, KENYA
UNITED KINGDOM
Bank: Natwest Plc
Branch: Putney
IBAN: GB02NWBK60171186283405
Swift Code: NWBKGB2L
Sort Code: 601711
Account Number: 86283405
Account Name: Jess M White
Please forward this email/blog onto friends and family, and share on facebook/twitter.
We thank you for helping us support orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya. If you wish to donate, volunteer or keep up to date with our plans, please contact me on the details below.
Jess White
Founder / Development Partner
Familia Moja Children’s Home
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