Kipawa
  • Home
  • What We Do
    • Mukuyu Feeding Programme
    • Kipawa Funded Infrastructure Projects
    • Counselling and Health Programmes
    • Family Empowerment
    • Secondary School Sponsorship
    • Oaklands Primary School
    • Photos & videos
  • How You Can Help
    • Donate Here
    • Organise An Event
    • Sponsor Someone
    • Become a volunteer or ambassador
    • Sign up to Easyfundraising.com and raise money for Kipawa while you shop online
  • News & Events
  • The Team
  • Important Info
  • Get in touch

David reports on day 2 of his visit to Kenya

4/10/2017

0 Comments

 
Another busy day, full-on out visiting our projects from 9am through to 7pm today.

Much of it was spent at Oaklands Primary School, which we’ve only been supporting since 2016. It was my first trip there and it was quite an experience. The school sits on a coffee plantation – the land was given to the Government by the owners of the plantation to build a school, which teaches children of the people who work there. The school is surrounded by acres and acres of well-tended coffee plants, punctuated occasionally by small groups of tiny houses in which these families live.
Picture
Picture
But the situation is far from idyllic. What is already hard work (paying about 300 shillings a day, about £2.20) has been made more difficult by ownership changes, resulting in mass lay-offs and re-employment on casual contracts. Workers are not guaranteed wages throughout the year, or even during the three coffee harvests a year. And when they don’t get work, or seek it elsewhere, they lose access to the houses they in. I was taken to meet one of these workers today, a single mother of five who has a child at the school. She works on the plantation with a nine-month old baby strapped to her back – scared of losing her job and her house.

All of this has had an impact on the children at the school in the past few years too, with absence rates being very high and the performance of the kids attending being below average. Thankfully, the work Kipawa is doing here is making a big difference.

I met with the headteacher Joseph this morning who couldn’t have given more praise for what our donors have achieved here. His clear view is that the food programme (we are doing breakfast porridge and lunch for all the kids at Oaklands) has delivered “a drastic change in performance: for example, there is no absenteeism any more. Two years ago, there were sometimes up to 100 absentees every day, but now it is more likely a handful. And that’s because there is food available”. He also thinks that the KCPE performance will improve this year – from an average of 215 to 250 – and that is because the children are better able to concentrate. Our social workers there – Mary and Moses – agree. They’ve noticed a change in behaviour since the feeding programmes started; kids are no longer lethargic and sleepy but energetic and motivated all day.

We are making improvements to the facilities too. I saw the final stages of the new girls toilet block today, with a solid watertight building in place with proper latrines and a very deep pit. This is not only safer and healthier (for disease prevention) but more dignified too. What was also interesting is that the Government had started building a new boys toilet block earlier this year: but it remains uncompleted on the site, with no reason given for its current state.
Picture
The toilet block built by Kipawa
Picture
The unfinished toilet block, started by the government.
At the end of my time there at Oaklands, a young girl called Faith spoke on camera on what Kipawa has done for her and her friends. She can speak for herself:
Later in the afternoon, I had lunch with the 15 students Kipawa is sponsoring through a few secondary schools in the Ruiru area. These young people were identified as they left primary school as being able to benefit from secondary school but whose families would likely not support them financially to do so. The money our donors are sending to Kenya is doing two things for these vulnerable kids: ensuring that a lack of fees, uniforms and other equipment isn’t preventing them from attending school regularly; and it provides wrap-around support from case workers like Monicah who works on the secondary school programme. Monicah spends all of her time checking on the welfare and wider environment of these students, intervening where needed.

The kids range in age from 14 through 17, with the oldest five of them due to sit their KCSE exams (the Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education) throughout October and November. Like teenagers anywhere, they were shy at first but were soon chatting away: They were keen to find out about where I live in Scotland, about education in the UK, and the girls in particular were amazed to hear our Prime Minsiter and First Mininster are both female.
Picture
Most importantly, they were enthusiastic about their time at school, their interests and their ambitions for the future. And it was terrific to hear one of them really wants to be a doctor; another wants to study electrical engineering; a couple more think they they’d be good social workers. There was some discussion on the way home tonight about the next steps for some of these kids: certainly, we at Kipawa should be thinking about if and how we can continue to support some of these young people should they move into colleges and university.

I have few more trips planned for tomorrow, including going back to Mukuyu School to hand out some new books, footballs, toys and other things. These were purchased today using money donated in a recent appeal. You can still donate to the appeal here:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DavidWelsh
0 Comments

Help us take some gifts to the children in Kenya

20/9/2017

0 Comments

 
It's that time of year again where we head off to Kenya to meet with our partners and to see all the work your donations have been making possible. David will be visiting Mukuyu and Oaklands schools at the end of the month and would love to be able to take some gifts with him. We have had a particular request for toys and other equipment for the nursery classes and would be very grateful for any contribution you can make.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DavidWelsh

Picture
0 Comments

Read all about Kieran and Paddy's visit to Kenya

30/7/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Our President, Kieran Hudson, and his brother, Paddy, visited Kenya last month to visit the various projects funded by Kipawa. Read all about the people they met and the work they saw there - all made possible by our generous donors. 

"After a long day travelling on the Wednesday, Marnix (the Director of Macheo, our partner organisation in Kenya) collected Paddy and me from Nairobi and we arrived back at the volunteers' house at Macheo Children’s Home just before midnight.
 
We only had two full days with Macheo and lots of things we wanted to see and do, so we made an early start on Thursday morning and headed out to Mukuyu Primary School. 
 
My last visit to Mukuyu was in 2011 when our project was in its first year and things have changed so much since then. The school looks much better thanks to the classroom refurbishments, the new toilet blocks and the pathways around the school grounds that have all been provided by Kipawa in the last few years. I had seen photos of these from previous Kipawa trustee visits but it was nice to be back and see everything for myself. 
 
The children were excited, as always, to have Scottish visitors and were keen to say hello, exchange hand shakes or high-fives and have photos taken. They were also particularly keen to touch our hair, if they could reach!
 
It seemed we had brought some Scottish weather with us as it was damp and relatively cold, by Kenyan standards. The ground was very muddy so we did not witness a huge outdoor school assembly as is usually the case when we visit. Instead we dropped into each classroom individually to say hello and introduce ourselves. It was probably better this way as we were able to speak to the children more easily and see what they were learning in class. Many of the classes had prepared short poems or songs that they were eager to perform. It’s always great to see the kids singing and dancing so enthusiastically.  
 
This year we had brought with us some handmade cards from Victoria Primary School in Edinburgh. The p4 children there had drawn pictures and written messages about their school and about Edinburgh too. It was really lovely to see how delighted the Mukuyu kids were to receive these and how interested they were to hear about life in Scotland. We had arranged in advance for the equivalent aged children at Mukuyu to do something similar for us and we were duly presented with a large bundle of drawings and messages to bring back with us and give to the kids at Victoria Primary. It was so simple to arrange but has been a really positive thing to do for the pupils at both schools. Now that the children have made a personal connection we can hopefully keep the link going between the schools and exchange photos and messages throughout the year.

Picture
​We saw the feeding programme in action at lunchtime. There is a new kitchen containing new stoves since I last visited and the whole operation is bigger and more efficient than previously. The older children help to organise the younger age groups and it is impressive how quickly the two cooks manage to serve up hundreds of meals to the children.

​At lunchtime we also saw the new playground equipment that was purchased by Kipawa for the nursery class. This was money raised during May and June this year, specifically to take on this trip and spend on items for the schools. A slide, swings and a see-saw had been purchased and installed at Mukuyu the previous day and the children were obviously very excited to have this new equipment.
Picture
In addition to these large items, we also purchased some building blocks and other toys for the nursery class. We took these into the classroom and helped the kids open boxes and start playing. While we concentrate the majority of our efforts on the essentials, such as food, education and health, it is great to be able to provide some toys and games for the children to enjoy. Thank you so much for making this happen by supporting us and donating to our fundraising effort in the build up to our trip.

​One of the community projects funded by Kipawa away from the school is the Family Empowerment Programme. Families are given small amounts of seed capital as well as training to start their own small businesses. There is ongoing support and these businesses provide a more reliable source of income for the families involved, allowing them to pay rent, purchase food and pay school fees.
Picture
​We were able to visit two of these businesses in the Ruiru area. Both happened to be fruit and vegetable stalls but there are other business options available. The first woman we visited was Jane and she has successfully been running her stall for over a year now. She has two children attending Mukuyu Primary School and has been able to pay the fees for her eldest child to attend secondary school. 
​The second women we met was Joyce, who has three children at Mukuyu Primary School and just started in the Family Empowerment Programme one month ago. She said things were going well so far and told us that one added benefit of running a fruit and veg stall was that even if business was slow, any produce leftover at the end of the day could be used to feed her family.
We also visited the home of one vulnerable pupil from Mukuyu who Margaret (a Kipawa funded social worker) has been supporting in recent months. The mother was not home but we found a young boy called Christopher (around 4 years old) outside the house heating up some milk on a stove. The boy was looking after his baby sister, Joy, while their mother was working nearby. To see this tiny baby being cared for by such a young child really stopped us in our tracks. It is a sobering reminder of the harsh reality facing many families in Ruiru - parents being forced to leave young children at home so they can go to work to earn enough money to feed their family.
 
Throughout the day we had opportunities to speak with the head teacher, deputy head and class teachers who are very pleased with the support that Kipawa is providing and the difference it makes to their school. We spent most of our day with the social workers funded by Kipawa, Margaret and Moses. They are the people we rely upon day-to-day to oversee our projects and are the best people to speak to about what is working well and what other areas might need addressed. 
 
After a full day at Mukuyu Primary School we returned to Macheo for a meeting with Julie, their head of Finance. She took us through the processes involved in running that side of the organisation and she was also able to show us receipts for all of the things that Kipawa has paid for over the past year. Our first full day in Kenya ended with a power-cut and an early night, which was probably not a bad idea as we had another busy day ahead!
 
Friday started with a meeting, before heading out to visit our other Primary school. We met with James who is the head of the Monitoring and Evaluation team. He explained the new processes in place for assessing the needs of the communities in which we operate. An extensive data collection exercise has taken place in Ruiru and analysis is ongoing to identify what areas should be prioritised in future. This is a new way of working for Macheo and for Kipawa and we will keep you informed of how this shapes our plans for 2017 and beyond.
 
James also showed us the new software that is used to log the activity of the social workers and other employees in the field. The system has reduced the amount of time spent on administration and allows better data reporting and analysis to take place.
 
After our meeting we visited Oaklands Primary School, arriving just in time to see the porridge feeding programme in action. This year we decided to expand our projects to a new school and this is the first time that a Kipawa trustee has visited Oaklands since the programme began.
 
Picture
Picture
The school is within the Ruiru district but a bit further out from the main town. It is situated in a rural area, in the middle of a coffee plantation. Alasdair visited the school on the last Kipawa trustee visit in 2015 and following that visit we decided to put in place a breakfast feeding programme initially. As this has gone well so far we are confident that a lunch programme will be added in due course and that in the long term we will see similar positive outcomes as those witnessed at Mukuyu.
 
As Oaklands is a bit more isolated and this was our first visit since the feeding programme started, having foreign visitors caused even more excitement here than we are used to at Mukuyu. There was a real buzz about the place. 

As we had done at Mukuyu, we visited each classroom to introduce ourselves and spend some time with the children. Even when were running out of time, the deputy head insisted that we still visit every class as the children would have been disappointed if they had missed out! I think that we are usually so focused on what we want to see and what we want to learn from visiting the schools that it is easy to forget that the students and teachers are also keen to learn from us. We can bring a bit of the outside world into the classroom. Bringing the cards from Victoria Primary to Mukuyu yesterday was a great example of this but we definitely plan on being even better prepared on our next trustee visit!
 
We enjoyed lots more singing and other performances but one of the classes missed their chance to perform for some reason when we initially went round each classroom. As we were leaving they called us over and gave us a great rendition of a song along with some dancing. I don’t know whether they had practiced this for our visit or had just decided on the spur of the moment to do something, but it was not prompted by a teacher and their enthusiasm was genuine and wonderful. 
 
While it was a very positive visit and the children were definitely in high spirits, the school is noticeably more run down than Mukuyu. The main area of need are the crumbling toilet facilities. We knew beforehand that the toilet block was not really fit for purpose but in recent weeks a section of the building had collapsed and it was no longer safe to use. So children were having to go to the toilet in the trees surrounding the school grounds, or some were choosing to walk a short distance to make use of staff toilets in the coffee plantation. As well as the obvious sanitation issues with the current situation and higher risk of disease and illness, there is a significant safety issue if children, particularly girls, are having to leave the school grounds to find a toilet. (Since we returned, the Kipawa trustees have discussed this issue and agreed to fund the construction of a new toilet block as soon as possible).

​
We were also able to see the new playground equipment at Oaklands (the same set as provided at Mukuyu) and we brought with us some toys, balloons  and skipping ropes for the nursery class. Again, all of this was funded by Kipawa donors in our fundraising campaign before the trip so thank you for all of your contributions.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Following our time at the school we visited the homes of two Oaklands pupils. The issues for many of the families here are different to those at Mukuyu. Most Oaklands families have work on the coffee plantation, although it is poorly paid casual labour which is seasonal and therefore, irregular (the average daily wage is 280 Kenyan Shillings which is equal to just £2). Most families here also have houses within the plantation grounds, provided by their employers. These are generally more substantial than the makeshift homes found in some of the areas around Mukuyu. They are also less densely packed together and from the outside appear to be relatively nice. However, on the inside they are often in disrepair, they are small so very cramped for large families and they have no running water, poor sanitation etc. Families here are in a difficult situation as they earn so little but are somewhat trapped as their homes are linked to their employment. Expanding our feeding programme at Oaklands Primary School to include lunch will lift some of the pressure on these families who have very little money to buy food at the moment.

At one of the homes we visited we were confronted by a particularly bleak situation. One boy (around eight years old) was home alone, he had not attended school as he was not feeling well but his three brothers were all at Oaklands. He told us that they had not seen their parents for several weeks and were struggling to find enough food to get by. Some neighbours appeared to be looking out for them but they had nobody caring for them and the porridge provided by Kipawa at their school was the only guaranteed meal they had each day. Margaret, Kipawa’s social worker who had been working with the family, was making efforts to trace the parents and put in place some other temporary measures to assist the boys. A desperate situation but a reminder of how vital the school feeding programme is for those most in need of help.
 
In the afternoon we visited the secondary school attended by the majority of our 19 sponsored children. Today was a mid-term holiday but we had arranged to meet with 8 of the students, as well as one of their teachers who showed us around and gave us a bit more information about the school. It has grown significantly in the three years we have been involved there. As well as a new block of classrooms to accommodate their increasing school roll, they have also a new science block and school office.
Picture
Picture
​We went out for lunch with the students and the Macheo social workers who oversee our sponsorship programme. They have regular contact with the sponsored secondary school students, ensuring that they are getting on well and providing support if there are problems at school or home.
 
After a quiet start to the meal, as you might expect with any group of teenagers, they became a bit more relaxed and were keen to chat about school and about life in general. They particularly enjoyed joking around and posing for photos with Paddy and me. They also took a few photos / videos themselves and were keen that we pass on their messages of thanks to Kipawa supporters back in Scotland. They remembered previous visits from trustees, including from Paddy three years ago and our visits to Mukuyu Primary which they had all attended before secondary school. The oldest in the group are now in their fourth and final year of secondary school and will be the first students we have had to come through Mukuyu Primary and go on to complete their secondary education. It is fantastic to witness this progression and spend some time with these lovely young people.
We met with Marnix (the Director of Macheo) in the evening and he explained some more about Macheo’s plans for the coming year, including the new methods being used to identify and prioritise the different areas of needs in the communities we support. This will have an impact on Kipawa later this year and will shape our plans for 2017 and beyond.

Saturday morning was spent with some of the children who live at the Macheo Children's home. In particular we were delighted to see Idris who I first met eight years ago on my first trip to Kenya in 2008. Idris has learning difficulties and some physical disabilities and for years did not attend school. Thankfully Kipawa sponsorship means that he now attends a school that can meet his needs and he has a safe and nurturing home environment at Macheo. 

On Saturday afternoon we travelled to Nairobi where we stayed overnight before a very early flight home on Sunday. Our visit was far too brief but thanks to our friends at Macheo we managed to pack everything in. They did a great job of organising everything for us and putting together our busy schedule.

I returned to Scotland happy with the progree we had seen but recognising the huge challenges that remain. We are determined to do more where we can, optimistic that we can continue to make a significant difference to those we seek to help and full of pride at what Kipawa supporters have achieved over the last five years.

​A heartfelt thank you to each and every one of 
​you.
0 Comments

    Archives

    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    June 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    July 2012
    March 2012
    November 2011
    August 2011
    January 2011

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    100 Mile
    10k
    5th Birthday
    5 Years
    Abby
    Abby Ingham
    Accounts
    A Child Is Born
    A Day In The Life
    Agm
    Alasdair
    Albert Roux
    Annual Report
    Annual Visit
    Appeal
    Aquifers
    Archerfield
    Back To School
    Bank
    Bank Account
    Bank Details
    Bank Transfer
    Bbc
    Boys Toilets
    Broomfield House School
    Celebrate
    Challenge
    Charcoal
    Charity
    Charity Christmas Cards
    Charity Dinner
    Childcare
    Christmas
    Christmas Appeal
    Christmas Cards
    Christmas Owls
    Clare Jones
    Clare Thompson
    Class
    Classroom Refurbishment
    Classrooms
    Coffee Plantation
    Comedy Night
    Communications
    Concert
    Counselling
    Counsellor
    Craft Robin
    Crafty Robin
    Cycling
    Cyclist
    Daily Record
    Dave Shepherd
    David Welsh
    Dennis
    Development Goals
    Deworming
    Diarrhoea
    Donate
    Donations
    Donors
    Drivers Sports And Social Club
    East Lothian
    East Lothian Courier
    Easyfundraising
    Edinburgh
    Edinburgh Fringe
    Edinburgh Police Choir
    Education
    Equality
    Events
    Family Empowerment
    Feeding Programme
    Fidra
    Finance
    Financial Support
    Flux
    Footballs
    Fringe
    Fruit And Vegetables
    Fundraiser
    Fundraising
    Gdrp
    Gifts
    Girls Toilets
    Gitathua
    Glasgow
    Golf
    Golf Day
    Guardian
    Gullane
    Gullane Primary School
    Half Marathon
    Happy Birthday
    Happy Christmas
    Health
    Heartbreak Diet
    Heineken
    Help
    Hogmanay
    Holy Cross Church
    Hunger
    Hygiene
    Idris
    Infrastructure
    Isavella
    John
    Joyce
    Juliah
    Kailyard
    Karen
    Keep In Touch
    Kenya
    Kenya Elections
    Kenya Trip
    Kenya Trip 2018
    Kickstarter
    Kieran Hudson
    Kiltwalk
    Kipawa
    Kipawa Fundraising
    Kipawa Newsletter
    Kirsty Welsh
    Kitty Elsmore
    Launch
    Lego
    Leith
    Leith Primary School
    Lilypad Retail
    Lindsay Given
    Literacy
    Little Brick Show
    Livvi
    London Marathon
    Louis Quail
    Lunch
    Macheo
    Mailing List
    Main Street Consulting
    Malnutrition
    Manchester
    Marathon
    Marathon Double
    Marnix
    Marnix Huis Int Veld
    Marshgate Primary School
    Meals
    Meet The Trustees
    Merry Christmas
    Millenium Development Goals
    Minutes
    Monitoring And Evaluation
    Moses
    Mr Peter
    Mukuya
    Mukuya Nursery
    Mukuya School
    Mukuyu School
    Mwangi
    News
    New Year Challengeg
    Nursery
    Nursery Classroom
    Oaklands School
    Odongo
    One World Shop
    Order
    Order Form
    Paddy Hudson
    Pancakes
    Pauline
    Photos
    Pizza Express
    Playground Equipment
    Pollock Pavillion
    Porridge
    Poverty
    Presentation
    Projects
    Prudential Ride London
    Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
    Quiz
    Quiz Night
    Regular Donations
    Reintegrate
    Ridelondon
    Ridelondon Surrey 100
    Roadrunner
    Rod Gillies
    Rsvp
    Ruiru
    Ruiru Township Secondary School
    Running
    Safari Lounge
    Sanitary Towels
    Sanitation
    Santa And Presents
    Scottish Rugby
    Secondary Education
    Secondary School
    Second Chance
    Seed Capital
    Seminars
    Shoe Collection
    Small Businesses
    Smarties
    Smartie Tubes
    Social Work
    South Leith Church Halls
    Spice Pots
    Sponsorship
    Summerside Bowling Club
    Support
    Supporters
    Sustainable
    Sustainable Development Goals
    Teacher
    Text Donations
    Thank You
    Toilets Mukuya
    Toilets Oaklands
    Toy Donation
    Toys
    Training
    Transgression Park
    Trustee
    Trustees
    Turkana
    Underwear
    United Nations
    Video
    Virgin Money Giving
    Visit
    Vulnerable Children
    Warren Elsmore
    Warrenelsmore.com
    We Three Kings
    Woodland Creatures
    World Porridge Day
    World Toilet Day
    You Tube
    Zoe Flood

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.