at The Tithe Barn, Ditcham,
Petersfield, GU31 5RQ
£3 admission - (includes coffee and yummy cake and, in the evening, a glass of wine)

There will be the unusual and unique, the exquisite and exotic, stunning jewellery, vintage furniture and clothing, the latest must-have lifestyle products from London, local artists and artisans – 39 stalls of fabulous products you won’t find on the High Street!

As to be expected we are now being approached by neighbours to see if we could possibly help them as well. There is a primary school, about 400m from the orphanage. The headmistress came to visit last month seeking aid. Her school had 519 children before “the clashes” at the beginning of the year but currently has 744, more girls than boys. The teachers are funded by the Government and there is no problem there. Classroom accommodation is their worry. There are three stone classrooms (very rough and ready), 18x25 feet each, which house Standards 1 – 3. Standards 4 – 8 are in 10 wooden rooms including a very small staffroom. Classes’ 1, 2 and 3 run two shifts each, ne group learning 8:30 to 11:00 and the second lot 11:30 – 3:00. When weather allows further teaching is done under the trees. The compound is bug, several acres donated by the County Council, and space outside is not a problem. When visited the children were all delightfully polite and seemed well disciplined.

Class sizes vary from 90 in Standard 4 down to 43 in standard 8 (now sitting their exams). This is the schools third year of Standard 8. The school was started in the old degazetted airstrip hanger for the children from the “slums” round Njoro. Primary education is free and although teachers are funded by the state there is no help for the buildings, stationary, food, etc. The schools are not supposed to turn children away. In practice, the better, more popular schools, have first choice of who they accept, obviously choosing those with better Nursery school reports to ensure that they get themselves good exam results and so maintain their image. The rest end up at the newest school, in this case the local primary.

The headmistress is looking funds to build more classrooms so that they could split the groups of children where there were more than 50 in a class. She said even two more rooms, would make all the difference. Other similar requests have come in from local schools for classrooms and more urgently for new toilet facilities. The secondary school’s form 3 classroom urgently needs a roof, which we have provided corrugated sheeting for and they have put in place. They certainly work on faith and the seat of their pants!

Perhaps the time has come for us to help some of the others in their surrounding neighbourhood. Our help is needed and that whatever we do it will be so much appreciated and the funds will not be wasted.
We have added 2 new dorms incorporating a library/senior study room, small store, matron’s flat and three indoor toilets for the girls. Additional funds will be used to prepare the facilities for another intake of 20 children at Christmas.

This Year I spent Christmas in Kenya, that’s a sentence you don’t hear often, and probably one you won’t hear for a while. While I was there getting into the spirit of Christmas with the seasonal jolliness and traditional excess, me and my family did something that was quite in keeping with the true sense of Christmas, on Christmas eve we rode down from Menengai farm to Kenana and met with Bruce Nightingale who discovered the faith holy orphanage and without him you probably wouldn’t be reading this. From there we travelled to Njoro and the Orphanage. As we passed through Njoro we encountered countless children all with huge smiles and all asking the same thing, “How are you?” in a sense these children have even less than the children in the orphanage, yes they may have parents but they aren’t supported by a charity and hundreds of people willing to make someone else’s life better. But these children were still so happy to see us, and as Bruce says, a smile costs nothing.

The orphanage has taken shape into a small community in its own right with their own crops trees and even flower beds. The buildings are strong and solid and their quality of life has improved a lot.

Again as soon as we got out of the car we were greeted with singing and dancing and were made to feel welcome the children were then gathered into a central room and the books were dispensed, in the space of only a few minutes they were all intently searching through the books. It was then our turn to be amazed as we were led around the premises the kitchen had stainless steel work surfaces a huge fire and chimney and new pots, pans, plates and cutlery. Our sense of amazement did not diminish as we proceeded outside to see the newly built water tanks linked to the orphanage gutter system. They now have a living space for their askari so the orphanage has 24 hour security.

All this new development comes with another set of problems, now the orphans have gone from the poorest people in the community to the people with the most, it is worried that feelings of jealousy may arise. So now it’s not just about giving the orphans the best opportunities but about raising up the whole community without conflict.

When we left we were hailed with a new bout of singing and dancing, as we drove away with waving and goodbyes. Later in our holiday we had planned to re-visit the orphanage but this was supposed to be after the disaster that was the election, the election went well it was the aftermath that cost lives and at that time Njoro had become embroiled in it too so we left Kenya with that first impression of the orphanage fixed in our heads.

One thing that strikes me now is these children, who have so little smile about, wave and talk to us as if we are old friends but here back at home we don’t, we don’t greet people in the street we don’t even smile, and sometimes I don’t think some of us, especially me, appreciate what we have and what we don’t have to go through. But a smile costs nothing.

Watoto Trust
Registered Charity Number 1111551

Trustees
• Sarah Green Founding Trustee
• Jo Shapiro Founding Trustee
• Laetitia Pienaar Founding Trustee
• Bruce Nightingale Kenyan Trustee
• Oliver Nightingale Kenyan Trustee

The charity is a Trust with Trust Deeds as the Governing Document.

Watoto Trust is small charity set up by enthusiastic amateurs – we have strived to keep overheads low in order to apply donor funds solely to the aims of the charity. Our donors are mainly friends and family and express their pleasure at being able to know that their donations go straight to the beneficiaries’ needs as opposed to administrative costs, etc. When expenses arise, they are more often than not met from specific donations earmarked for that purpose.

All the work of the charity in the UK is carried out by the three founding trustees.. Committees of friends help to fundraise. In Kenya, direct involvement by the Kenyan Trustees ensures financial accountability and transparency and a real link with the projects.

Things have been going well at the Faith Holy Orphanage Centre. The new buildings have worked and have been in use for 7 months now. There have been good rains recently and the maize, beans, peas and potatoes in the orphanage land are looking promising.

Each child has his or her own little plot of land this year in which to plant what he or she likes – mostly beans, peas and carrots; it’s a start in their working the soil themselves, experimenting and learning as they go.

90 fast growing eucalyptus trees have been planted by the children in the top corner of their land. Each child knows which tree was planted by him/her and will watch them grow with a personal interest in how they do. These trees will provide building materials and firewood in about 10 years time. Mango, loquat, avocado and macadamia nut trees have also been planted as well as lots of flowers to give colour. Reuben and Grace have been working hard.

Holmesdale Infant School in Surrey, UK held a Christmas book appeal, collecting donations for the orphanage. The generous response was absolutely overwhelming. So many books were given that there were enough to share around other schools and orphanages in the Njoro area and are being much appreciated. Well done, and thank you to all the donors at Holmesdale and to Alison Wadey, whose idea it was. Thanks also to Danny Nightingale, who got all the crates of books here to Kenya for us free of charge. No mean feat!

Katie Wilson and her House at Chapter House School in York raised 230 pounds at a bring and buy sale. Thank you and well done.

Ivo and Lynda Nightingale, their daughter Marguerite and friends in Canada gave us $1000 in January. Jane Scragg in Australia keeps sending donations she has collected there. Roger and Diana Polhill sent a cheque in February and Chris and Claire Coull and Wendy Briggs also made generous contributions. Thank you one and all.

Sarah Green and her family have been tireless in their pursuit of funds to help the children and have had such success that the small light at the end of a long tunnel of hope for these youngsters has blossomed into a bright ray of sunshine. Food for them is no longer a problem. They are well fed, housed and clothed. Secondary school education for each child is now a distinct probability rather than a distant dream. A big thank you to the Greens!

A few children have left the orphanage as relatives have either felt that they can now support them or have moved to other parts of Kenya. Bed space is available and Pastor Reuben has been given the go ahead to take more children in their place. He says he has a long waiting list of applicants. The orphanage has a good name in the district especially with the Primary Schools where the children are doing so well in their classes. All the textbooks your money has bought for them are paying dividends in academic results.

It is unduly cold and wet at the moment. The children walk to and from school, often in the rain. Colds have proliferated and five children had to go to the doctor. So this week, Reuben bought anoraks for everyone, which I hope will help. Rain brings its blessing, but also its problems.

Kasey Nichol from Atlanta in the States has spent her summer vacation from University to stay in Njoro and has made several visits to the orphanage getting to know the children, teaching and playing with them. She has updated the individual portfolio of each child with a nice picture of each. Thank you Kasey, the kids loved you!

The success of the book collection is soon to pay off, as they will hopefully arrive any day now. We plan to get bookcases made in order to store them all. Alison and Mike Wadey, who were behind the big book collection, are visiting Kenya in early February.

The children have been enjoying lots of visitors over the past couple of months. In December Sarah Green (one of the founders of Watoto Trust UK) came to visit with her family. It was particularly special for them all to see how far the orphanage has come since the early days and to spend some time with the children in their new home. The orphans thoroughly enjoyed being taught board games such as Snakes and Ladders and Junior Scrabble by the Green children, who all made great little teachers!

Chris and Claire Coull made the most of their luggage allowance and brought clothes and sports equipment from Doha. Two weeks later, Ian and Diana Coull came and brought more goodies.

The children are currently enjoying the company of Will Culliford, a gap year student who is here on the farm for a few weeks. He has spent some quality time with the children. As January is the beginning of the school year, some children were waiting for a school place and Will stepped in by doing a few lessons, playing games and chatting to the orphans. (Thankfully, each child now has a place.)

Will has funded a new pair of sturdy black school shoes for each child. He ventured to the mitumba (market) and managed to find brand new shoes for everyone. He has bought himself a trusty ‘black mamba’ bicycle to get to and from Njoro, which he will donate to the orphanage at the end of his stay. Well done Will for enduring the bumpy roads on a most uncomfortable contraption!!

Tim Westlake has spent the last few days visiting the orphanage. He and his family have been great supporters of the orphanage over the last 20 months. So too has St. Denys Church in Cardiff who have raised over two and a half thousand pounds now- a tremendous help!

Now the children are looking forward to seeing Ivo Nightingale once again, who is visiting from Canada later this week.

Wendy Briggs organized a ‘mufti’ day at Park House School in Doha and held a tea party, raising 918 US Dollars.

Ian and Diana Coull held a carol singing/lunch in France, raising 400 Euros.

Marguerite Masterson has been very busy making and selling beaded bracelets in Canada. Two of her students are also getting involved. Rebecca Gannon, a 12-year-old student is helping to make the bracelets and is very keen to join Marguerite on a visit to Kenya one day and spend some time with the orphans.

Jessica VanStaalduinen made beaded snowflake ornaments as Christmas presents and gave them to friends and family members in the name of the Faith Holy Orphanage.

Jane Scragg, Jan Brown, Lesley and David Porah and also Jane’s Tai Chi group sent a generous donation from Australia before Christmas. Well done to them, and thanks.

The result of all this financial help is the lovely buildings that have been put up, the rainwater tanks, the Pastor’s house, and all the land too. The children have now been in residence in their new surroundings for six weeks and it is hard to visualize how they had managed so well in their previous cramped and limited conditions. Thank you one and all for your help. Our next project has to be worthwhile education of these children to give them the chance to fulfil their dreams and to take their places as equal citizens of this their beautiful country.

I wanted to include this lovely photo of Bruce with the children taken last weekend. He plays a crucial role in the Faith Holy Orphanage, giving so much of his time yet rarely gets a mention.

Thanks to all who have been busy collecting books for the orphans. John Brown of Holmesdale Infant Community School in Surrey is very keen to support Watoto Trust through links with his pupils and parents. He kindly organized a Christmas appeal for the children to donate a book and has had an excellent response. We now need to build a very large shelf to house them all. In fact, so many books have been accumulated that we feel we should share them amongst some of the schools in the area. Books are in such short supply throughout the rural schools out here and no doubt will be treated like gold, with awe and reverence.

More fantastic news is the tremendous success of the ball organized by Watoto Trust UK. A substantial amount of money was raised collectively from the ball tickets, raffle and auction. This will allow the children here to receive a Secondary education that previously would have been denied them through lack of financing. What better gift can we give a young person than education? Bruce is also considering the possibility of helping the other children in the vicinity of the Orphanage as we run the risk of alienating ourselves when the orphans are seen to get much more than their neighbours. The children are looking forward to seeing the Green family, who are visiting later this month.

Nearly all of the Christmas cards were sold at the Kenana Knitters craft fair and a total of Ksh 5,000 was raised. Thanks to Sue Conroy, who made her own cards and kindly donated 20 shillings for every card sold.

All in all, a lovely way to end a hugely successful year. No doubt the children must think that all their Christmases have come at once.

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and all best wishes for 2007.

Thank you all for your continuing support; keep up the good work one and all!

Two stone rainwater tanks have now been installed with a capacity of 20,000 litres each. They are about to be connected to the guttering on the roofs. At the moment water still comes in for building in 200-litre drums by donkey cart.

A late rainfall saved the maize crop from disaster, and it is now cut and stooked, and should be dry enough to harvest in mid-November. Lots of vegetables are growing but they could do with more rain.

In last month’s newsletter, I mentioned that we were planning to buy a full set of textbooks to help the children study. This has now been done. We are looking forward to the end of year exam results next month and are hopeful that next year we will see an improvement as the children benefit from the extra textbooks.
Whilst on the subject of books, Alison and Mike Wadey are doing a collection in the UK, and so far have collected and astounding 100kg! We are hoping that they will be sent out here in December through the generosity of a family member.
Sarah Green and Laetitia Pienaar are organizing a fundraising party on the 10th November. The Green family is very much looking forward to visiting in December and seeing all the developments that without them would not have been possible.
Ivo Nightingale is coming to Kenya in a couple of weeks and is very enthusiastic about visiting the orphanage. He is keen to do some video footage whilst here so that he can return to Canada and do some presentations to raise people’s interest and hopefully funds too!
I will be selling Watoto Trust Christmas cards at a craft fair here on the farm on Saturday 11th November. They were kindly donated by Watoto Trust UK. However, we hope that next Christmas some of the artistically gifted children from the orphanage may be able to design some cards!

Following the tremendous success of the children’s visit to Lake Nakuru National Park in August, we are planning another trip in December. Hopefully, the children that were not able to make it last time will be given the opportunity to see the wonderful wildlife that is right on their doorstep.

Thanks to donations coming in from Watoto Trust and friends in the UK, from Jane Scragg and her colleagues in Australia, and via Ivo and friends in Canada, the children continue to be fed and clothed and will soon each have a whole bed to themselves, a previously undreamed of luxury!

The building work is very nearly finished (see attached photos) and the children just can’t wait to move in, hopefully in about 2 weeks. The roof has gone on and the walls have been plastered. We now need to wait for the walls to dry. Once the building itself is completed, there are beds to be made, mattresses to buy and water tanks to install. All the work has been done by local artisans, and the building materials have been sourced from within the district. As I mentioned last month, the water comes in by donkey cart, 400 litres at a time, 4 trips a day from the river 2 km away. So, many around us are happy for the extra work and income, especially as crops are poor due to the drought earlier this year. The crop of maize and beans is now looking quite healthy considering, as we have had some good rain in the last month.

We are going to buy a set of text books to be kept at the orphanage. These will be invaluable in that the children can go over classwork and it will be much easier for the teachers to help the children with anything they may be having difficulties with. It would also be lovely for the children to have a wealth of books, both English and Swahili, and this is something we would like to aim for. If anyone would like to donate books, fiction or non-fiction, new or second hand, I’m sure we could find a way for them to get here.

We have been busy compiling portfolios of all the children. Each child has had an individual photograph taken and given us information about themselves. All of them had very clear ideas about what they would like to be when they grow up, ranging from pastors, to farmers, beauticians to drivers!

Much news from all corners of the globe. Patrick Scott has set up a bank account in the USA, which will be used to fund the children once they reach secondary school/university level. He already has commitments for US$ 6,000, a fantastic start! Watoto Trust Inc is now a registered Georgia corporation and the charitable status documents are with the Inland Revenue Service – it is expected to take three months to complete.

Marguerite Masterson and her friend, Lenna Kozovski have been busy in Canada fundraising by making beaded bracelets. Also, Lenna and her fellow Principal (School Heads) colleagues in the Toronto District School Board have a bookclub and they too are making collections for the Canadian Watoto Bank Account.

In Australia, Jane Scragg has helped to raise $1,300. Kenmore Care, a community help group, kindly donated $1,000. Jane had told them about the orphanage and it was decided at their AGM that Watoto Trust was a worthy cause.

Sonya Eriksson in Sweden is organizing a bring and buy sale and has a meeting with the Swedish company IKEA. She is also planning to do a presentation to the pupils and parents at a school in Nottingham. Sonya herself has also raised 1,000 pounds.

Also worth mentioning are the schoolchildren of OBS Rietveld in South Africa. The driver of an overland truck was talking to them about Africa; upon hearing of the plight of the orphans, the children spontaneously decided to take the T-shirts off their backs and donate them to the orphans!

What a lot of activity all around the world! It’s amazing how much support can be drummed up from word of mouth, especially as many of these people have never even seen the orphanage and are giving entirely on trust. Please be assured that all monies donated still go through Bruce before going to the orphanage so none is wasted and none goes sideways. 100 % of donations go entirely towards the orphans and their welfare. It’s impossible to mention everybody’s generosity, but well done, and thank you to all mentioned above, and their associates.

With a bit of luck, all will be finished by the end of October and the children can move from their cramped compound to their beautiful and spacious new home. The building plans, drawn up by the Chief Engineer of Nakuru County Council, have been approved and received County Council planning permission. This initial phase will be one building, approximately 100’ x 20’, a dormitory at each end with a living room-cum-nursery school etc in the middle with a kitchen incorporated behind. There will be an open verandah down the length of the front of the building. Bruce expects this to cost about Kshs 1.4 million (11 thousand pounds). A small ablutions block and toilets will be built concurrently but separately, as there is no running water. A stone water tank will also be constructed to catch all the rainwater, but this will be part of Phase 2. Of course, all of this is happening thanks to the overwhelmingly generous contributions made by you over the past year and is so much appreciated, not only by the children, but by the whole community, who see this as a huge step forward.

On a lighter side, the sheer mechanics of building where there is no water, electricity and no access road certainly tests one’s ingenuity. The water, for instance, will all come by donkey cart on a rough track from a river 3km away. Each cart carries 2 x 200 litres of water and will cost around 1 pound per trip. On average, 5-6 trips will be made each day and the water needs to be in place each morning before work commences, so a very early start is needed for the donkeys! The donkey drivers are delighted to have the work, which will last for much of the 3 months and will give them more than twice their usual income.

Seven of the boys have had to move out of the Orphanage at night, as they have grown out of the space available there and we simply can’t buy more beds until there is somewhere to put them. The boys are too big now to sleep several to a bed and are farmed out on neighbours for the time being. Thank goodness that there is a strong light at the end of their tunnel. Throughout all, Pastor Reuben and his wife Grace remain tremendously keen and enthusiastic. Reuben does all the running around that Bruce’s legs are too old to do……!

Unfortunately, the drought continues in our area and the crops are withering. We really need rain if they are to mature into food. Thankfully, we have not yet planted all the trees at the new site, as they surely would not have survived this dry year.

Special mention should go to Chloe Green, who has raised 100 pounds by making and selling cards. She would like the money be used to send the children to Nakuru Game Park. At the tender age of 9 she must surely be an inspiration to us all. How exciting for the children to see the wealth of wildlife that is right on their doorstep but which they would otherwise never have had the opportunity to experience. Well done, Chloe!

The Canadian bank account is now up and running, please contact me if you would like more details. In Australia, Jane Scragg is still working on setting up an account there. Thanks Ivo and Jane.

Please keep the interest up and ideas for fundraising going and do let us know of any upcoming events. Also, do forward this newsletter to anyone not on the mailing list who may be interested and drop me a line if you would like to be added to the mailing list. Your efforts are so much appreciated by everyone involved, most of all the children themselves.

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.

The initial motivation for setting up WatotoTrust was to more effectively raise money for The Faith Holy Orphanage at Njoro, Kenya. Sarah, Jo and Laetitia have been fundraising for the orphanage since January 2005 and set up Watoto Trust in October. Our dream is to help other similar projects once we have enough funds for continued support of the orphanage.

The Faith Holy Orphanage evolved when the congregation of the Faith Holy Church began feeding the hungry children that came asking for food on Sundays. They soon realised that these children by and large were indeed aids orphans. Pastor Reuben gave up his house (which was also where the church worshipped) to accommodate the most needy children. 30 children are living in the orphanage and 10 others are fed by the church and cared for in the community. This became an increasingly difficult task for a poor community. Pastor Reuben asked Bruce Nightingale (a neighbouring farmer) for help in December 2004. Bruce has been very involved in helping the orphanage fulfil their needs as they arise. He is key in linking us with the orphanage and controls the finances in Kenya. Bruce and his son Oliver became Trustees of Watoto Trust in December 2005.

Thanks to some very generous donations and invaluable regular monthly donations the most basic needs of the orphans are now being met and we hope to always have enough funds for ongoing expenses such as food, clothes, basic medical needs and stationary.

We have recently bought a 5-acre plot of land on the edge of the village. This is a very exiting development and we have some large fundraising targets ahead to enable us to build proper accommodation for the children.
We are also planning on farming this land to provide a degree of self-sustainability, and vocational training.

Education is one of the key areas in which we would like to help. All the children are entitled to free Primary education, once they are able to read and write! The orphanage has set up a nursery school, although this is in desperate need of a proper building and basic equipment. The nursery aims to provide nursery education to the youngest orphans and to other young children in the community. We would like to fund secondary education for all the older orphans. We are also inundated with requests for help with secondary education for children in the wider community.

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us over the past year.

Our charity number is 1111551.

Sarah Green(UK), Laetitia Pienaar(UK), Jo Shapiro(UK), Bruce Nightingale(Kenya) and Oliver Nightingale(Kenya) are the Trustees.