Current News from Kenya
Correspondence from people who have been to Njaaga Child Hope Home, who are worried about what is happening right now and who are wanting to help out:
Hi everyone,
The situation is not good at all. I know the kids are fine and still safe now, but around Nakuru violence has spread into the villages. Susan (the social worker who used to work there) and her husband
Stephen just called me on Sunday morning as their friends in the village had been burnt and they had been forced to leave. and now they are trying to figure out how to get out. Ethnic violence is happening everyday and there is really no way for
people to protect themselves. Thousands of Kikuyu had come to Nakuru to escape Western Kenya so now there is a lot of tension in that area. People don't know where to go anymore, and don't know
what to do. The problem is nowhere close to sorting itself out. I am in communication with friends and Charles/James each week just to make sure things are ok with the kids. Horrible to see
what that country and its people are doing to each other. The hard thing is we don't really know what to do if things get worse in the Nakuru area, or where we would take the kids. They keep on
closing/reopening the border between Tanzania and Kenya as Tz does not have have the resources or money to help with the refugees. Kibaki is not going to step down and really that is the probably
one of the only things that might slow this down, except for the fact that some believe that ethnic cleansing has started and will just continue.
I'm due to talk to Njaaga tomorrow morning, as we want to make sure kids have food, and will fill you in on how things are.
Other than that, am loving Tanzania, got a new job now which is great-I work with all men which makes my work environment interesting. And my friend and I started a non-profit awaiting NGO status called "Barefeet International" so working on a few projects with that
after work, playing squash and running a bit as hoping to do the Mt.Kili half in March, loving my typical african days of seeing kids on bicycles that are WAY too big for them, having all of them yell mzungu at me and wave cause I'm a female driving a car,
having random babies put on my lap when i'm in the daladala (matatu), eating fresh veggies and fish that would be considered "organic" in Canada, being only able to cross 1 or 2 things off my to do list as in Africa every thing is pole pole (slowly slowly),
stare out at the sunsets over lake Victoria, and hang out with my youth who are still trying to teach me Swahili which I'm failing at miserably.
Hope you are all well.
Ania Wantuch
Hi Ann – I am trying to work through Feed the Children Canada, which is based out of Guelph but have a large presence in Nairobi. I connected them to James last year and Ken Dick, their President for the CDN chapter, visited the children’s home last September along with some reps from their local office. I have financed them twice to deliver provisions to the kids. I am prepared to provide more financial support if they can actually get through to the kid’s and deliver food and supplies. Any help in this regard would be wonderful – and they can issue tax receipts. I am just waiting to hear back. Other than that, the options are to provide financial support to James directly (given the situation I am not 100% sure the funds would get to the children) or find another NGO that can help on the ground. When I hear back from Feed the Children I’ll let you know.
Lynda Kuhn
Hi All,
I've been working on starting a letter writing campaign to urge some more awareness of the situation in Kenya. I haven't seen much come out from our government re: their role in peace talks etc.
Please read the attached and let me know how it sounds. I've only sent it to MPs so far in my area. So we can revamp...make it more general and perhaps get a petition list signed and sent (paper copy) to federal MPs.
With travel advisories etc...there will be a blow to his business and surely that will affect the children, especially if they have to relocate and cannot use the farm food for sustenance.
Cory and I went to a fundraiser in Toronto for Kibera slums. It was quite well done. Maybe this is something we can do? A friend, Lynda has been making donations to the orphanage through a third party called Feed the Children, maybe her contacts can help us assure the money for the children is used directly for the children.
Thoughts?
Ann Bala
Hy all,
I've been watching whats been happening in Kenya very
closely, wondering Ania if we need to divert our Kenya
team in May to Tanzania you could host them.
I am also wanting to figure out what we can do as
Global Youth Network to respond to this crises. I have
been in touch with our contacts in Uganda to see what
is happening with the refugee situation there. Haven't
heard anything yet. If you guys are interested in
throwing out some ideas of how we can respond I would
be totaly interested in working on some stuff.
Dave Skene
Hi everyone,
The situation is not good at all. I know the kids are fine and still safe now, but around Nakuru violence has spread into the villages. Susan (the social worker who used to work there) and her husband
Stephen just called me on Sunday morning as their friends in the village had been burnt and they had been forced to leave. and now they are trying to figure out how to get out. Ethnic violence is happening everyday and there is really no way for
people to protect themselves. Thousands of Kikuyu had come to Nakuru to escape Western Kenya so now there is a lot of tension in that area. People don't know where to go anymore, and don't know
what to do. The problem is nowhere close to sorting itself out. I am in communication with friends and Charles/James each week just to make sure things are ok with the kids. Horrible to see
what that country and its people are doing to each other. The hard thing is we don't really know what to do if things get worse in the Nakuru area, or where we would take the kids. They keep on
closing/reopening the border between Tanzania and Kenya as Tz does not have have the resources or money to help with the refugees. Kibaki is not going to step down and really that is the probably
one of the only things that might slow this down, except for the fact that some believe that ethnic cleansing has started and will just continue.
I'm due to talk to Njaaga tomorrow morning, as we want to make sure kids have food, and will fill you in on how things are.
Other than that, am loving Tanzania, got a new job now which is great-I work with all men which makes my work environment interesting. And my friend and I started a non-profit awaiting NGO status called "Barefeet International" so working on a few projects with that
after work, playing squash and running a bit as hoping to do the Mt.Kili half in March, loving my typical african days of seeing kids on bicycles that are WAY too big for them, having all of them yell mzungu at me and wave cause I'm a female driving a car,
having random babies put on my lap when i'm in the daladala (matatu), eating fresh veggies and fish that would be considered "organic" in Canada, being only able to cross 1 or 2 things off my to do list as in Africa every thing is pole pole (slowly slowly),
stare out at the sunsets over lake Victoria, and hang out with my youth who are still trying to teach me Swahili which I'm failing at miserably.
Hope you are all well.
Ania Wantuch
Hi Ann – I am trying to work through Feed the Children Canada, which is based out of Guelph but have a large presence in Nairobi. I connected them to James last year and Ken Dick, their President for the CDN chapter, visited the children’s home last September along with some reps from their local office. I have financed them twice to deliver provisions to the kids. I am prepared to provide more financial support if they can actually get through to the kid’s and deliver food and supplies. Any help in this regard would be wonderful – and they can issue tax receipts. I am just waiting to hear back. Other than that, the options are to provide financial support to James directly (given the situation I am not 100% sure the funds would get to the children) or find another NGO that can help on the ground. When I hear back from Feed the Children I’ll let you know.
Lynda Kuhn
Hi All,
I've been working on starting a letter writing campaign to urge some more awareness of the situation in Kenya. I haven't seen much come out from our government re: their role in peace talks etc.
Please read the attached and let me know how it sounds. I've only sent it to MPs so far in my area. So we can revamp...make it more general and perhaps get a petition list signed and sent (paper copy) to federal MPs.
With travel advisories etc...there will be a blow to his business and surely that will affect the children, especially if they have to relocate and cannot use the farm food for sustenance.
Cory and I went to a fundraiser in Toronto for Kibera slums. It was quite well done. Maybe this is something we can do? A friend, Lynda has been making donations to the orphanage through a third party called Feed the Children, maybe her contacts can help us assure the money for the children is used directly for the children.
Thoughts?
Ann Bala
Hy all,
I've been watching whats been happening in Kenya very
closely, wondering Ania if we need to divert our Kenya
team in May to Tanzania you could host them.
I am also wanting to figure out what we can do as
Global Youth Network to respond to this crises. I have
been in touch with our contacts in Uganda to see what
is happening with the refugee situation there. Haven't
heard anything yet. If you guys are interested in
throwing out some ideas of how we can respond I would
be totaly interested in working on some stuff.
Dave Skene
posted by Kasia Koltunska at 9:41 AM
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