Categories: Diary

At present, the Faith Holy Orphanage stands on a thirteenth of an acre of land belonging to the Faith Holy Church in Njoro town. Those of you who have visited will know that this is simply not ideal in that it is very crowded and the children are literally growing out of the space. However, this is all about to change, thanks to your generosity; with a few generous donations, enough money was raised to purchase a new plot of land. After looking at various sites, we have now acquired a sizeable plot of land overlooking Njoro town, which backs onto a large farm. There is enough room for several buildings to be erected, with space left over for a large play area and food crops to be grown. Maize, beans and vegetables have already been planted, and trees (to provide fruit and shade) will be planted when more rain arrives. Building has begun in the form of two mud and wattle semi-detached houses, one to be used by the watchman, and the other as a store for cement, tools etc whilst the building is in progress. Once funds have been transferred, the main project will begin; a stone building with a corrugated iron roof will be constructed, consisting of two dormitories (one for the boys and one for the girls) with a living room/dining room/nursery school area in between with a verandah.

Alison and Michael Wadey kindly donated enough money for the orphanage to buy a much-needed bicycle. This will prove to be invaluable, as it will be used to transport sick children to a doctor (previously they had to be carried, a rather difficult feat particularly when the older children were sick). It will also enable the staff to bring supplies such as food, water and building materials, which would otherwise need to be delivered and transport paid for.

The children have enjoyed visits from many donors in recent months. Laetitia Pienaar, one of the UK trustees came in April and spent 3 days meeting the orphans and teaching them new games. Hazel and Martin Harris and Dr. Tim Westlake have also visited from the UK, whilst Ray and Doreen Meynink have called in a couple of times.

Many of you will know that we already have bank accounts in England and Kenya. We are trying to make it easier for people to donate money in all corners of the world by creating new accounts elsewhere. This will avoid paying unnecessary bank charges. Jane Scragg is setting up a Watoto Trust bank account in Australia and Ivo Nightingale is also opening an account in Canada. More details to follow. We are now looking for someone who will be willing to set up an account in New Zealand.

On to news of the children themselves: All the older children now attend primary school, whilst the nursery school continues to cater for the younger children. The school exam results in March were extremely promising; a staggering 38 out of the 40 children are in the top half of their year groups, with 17 children in the top 10. Joseph Njane, John Kariuki and Charles Miangi all deserve a special mention for coming 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in their year groups.

June is barely upon us, yet we have already had 2 fundraising events.

Sarah Johnstone organized a World Cup Auction night at Kembu Campsite, Njoro, Kenya. Half of the money collected amounted to 21,100 Kenyan shillings and went to the orphanage.

Ian and Diana Coull hosted a barbeque on 4th June in the South West of France. There were books, plants, and home produce stalls. A whopping 488 Euros (325 pounds) was raised. Well done everyone!

I am Shiona Nightingale, Oli’s wife and shall be helping out with the correspondence to do with the orphanage as Bruce is struggling to do this himself.

That brings you all up to date for the time being. We hope to bring you a newsletter once a month from now on. Many thanks for all of your generous donations, which are so much appreciated, and, as you can tell, put to good use. Without your enthusiasm and drive, none of this could happen, so well done and please keep them coming.

Posted by Martin Harris at June 5, 2006 07:58 PM