The Angaza Project

the success of Jane Wamboi

2012-01-04T02:12:00.000Z

When Scott was in Nairobi last summer, he decided to sponsor two children's education for one year, including a daily meal. One of those children was a very special girl, Jane Wamboi, the other a wonderful boy named Joseph. Here is Jane and Joseph letting you know who they are, and their dreams for the future :

Scott recently received an e-mail about Jane...

Do you remember the little girl call Jane Wamboi? she did VERY WELL in her final exams. She had 314 marks this is very high marks in Kenya. She was so happy! Eunice called me this morning to let you and me know how she has made her (her school) proud. Eunice asked if we can help her go to high school. Did you talked with her last year when you were here about any assistance for high school?

It gives the Angaza project great joy in knowing that a small sacrifice is making a difference in the lives of these children.

Scott & Jane

The generosity of children

2011-12-23T21:30:00.000Z

When Scott went to speak to the fourth grade students at Hawthorn recently about Kenya, the goal was to start a pen pal letter writing program. We also hoped to raise awareness and maybe even recruit people to go on future expeditions.
Hawthorn recently completed their letters, and they were mailed to the schools in Nairobi today. In addition, the students came up with the idea of making personalized bookmarks, with their picture at the top so that the Kenyan students can actually see the person they are writing to!


a great response, tons of letters, pictures, drawings, etc!!


Beautiful personalized bookmarks with pictures of the students!

The students and teachers went one step further. They decided that INSTEAD of having a Christmas party at their school, they wanted to do a service project to collect educational supplies to go to the students in Kenya. The Angaza project is so very thankful for the kindness and generosity shown, knowing what a huge impact this will have in the slums of Nairobi.

Items collected by the students at Hawthorn that will go to the schools in the slums of Nairobi.

Helping hands

2011-12-18T19:58:00.001Z

Recently Scott was asked to be on the Board of Director's for the non profit group World of Difference, the African charity he has been a part of as a team member for the past three years.
This has been a great opportunity to learn more about non profit organizations, and to meet some incredible people.
One of those people is fellow board member Katie.
Katie is a young woman that was in a tragic car accident nine years ago, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. But this has not stopped her from living, as she won the wheelchair St. George marathon recently, with an amazing time of one hour, forty three minutes.
Katie is also heavily involved in non profit work, and helps with several local organizations, raising awareness, funds, and collecting donations.
Scott had several boxes of donations leftover from his last trip to Kenya ( as he was unable to take them all), and Katie had mentioned to him that if his donors were willing, she had a charity to help women/children that have had a hard time this last year and could use some of the items Scott had collected.

The donors were happy to see the items go to their local community, children's books, soap, learning games, notebooks, crayons and chalk.
Angaza firmly believes that
whether you are helping people halfway around the world or in your local community, helping hands helping each other is what it is all about.

The Quest Academy

2011-12-16T13:59:00.001Z

Angaza reached out to over seventy third grade students, teachers and volunteers at the Quest Academy in West Haven, Utah on December 15th, 2011.

Scott, with his brother Jared, talked about their experiences in the slums of Kenya with World of Difference, helping to build schools and provide educational supplies to those that need it the most.

The children were so excited to start writing their letters to the children in Kenya, and before the presentations were over, people were opening their pockets to donate for future projects. Little by little, making a difference.

Spreading the word in Utah

2011-12-09T12:19:00.001Z

We are very excited to help spread the word about the organization World of Difference with three new projects. We have partnered with a skilled nursing facility, Deseret Care Center, located in Salt Lake City, and Lomond Peak Care and Rehab in Ogden Utah, to help us promote World of Difference, raise awareness, and start a donation bank for the children in the slums of Nairobi.

We have also partnered with the Quest Academy in West Haven, Utah to start another pen pal progam with their third grade students, and they will also continue a donation program throughout the year for World of Difference.

Thank you!

Change for Kenya Kids

2011-11-28T22:12:00.000Z

Last year we started a small Penpal project with a class of 3rd grade students from Salt Lake City, Utah and a school in Illeret, Kenya.

This year, the entire 4th grade Hawthorn Academy in South Jordan, Utah wanted to participate.
Scott went to each class today to give a presentation to the students, talking about what World of Difference does while in the slums of Nairobi, the conditions of the schools, and Kenya in general.

We also came up with an idea for donations for Hawthorn, called Change for Kenya Kids. Each class will make a sign promoting donations for the schools in the slums of Nairobi where they will be writing their pen pal letters. A donation "piggy bank" has been set up at the school, with 100% of the donations collected going directly to these schools for items they need the most. ( i.e. supplies, food, uniforms, playground equipment, etc...)

The kids were very excited, and wanted to start donating even before the presentation was over. Several of the students came up to Scott afterwards, wondering if they could also donate books, pencils, even flashlights and money.

The school also has been thinking about doing a service project for the holidays, and might incorporate Kenya.

We hope to have the first letters written by the end of the week and that they will reach the students in Kenya before Christmas, in hopes that when they see the letters from students in America, it will make their day a little brighter, and give them hope for the future.

This project will continue throughout the school year, as we here at Angaza hope to bring this world closer together with a simple pen pal project, and to enrich lives both in Kenya and the USA through service.

a tree for the future

2011-11-16T14:15:00.001Z

A couple of months ago, Peter set out on the long journey back to his home land. The goal was to start the tree planting initiative with the help and financial assistance of good people in England. In such an arid climate as Illeret is in, having trees in their village will be very helpful. Trees for shade, trees that may provide food, shelter, trees that will greatly improve the quality of life for the villagers.

This trip was quite the undertaking, but all good things take time and hard work. The arduous process of traveling by lorry almost ended this trip prematurely, as Peter's transport became stuck. The crew had to wait a few days with very little food and water, trying to get out of the mud.

But with faith and luck on their side, Peter made it safely back to Nairobi, with the tree planting initiative a big success for the villagers.

A Drop of Water

2011-10-05T23:37:00.002Z

Once upon a time, not so long ago, and maybe not even so far away from where you live now, there lived many animals in a deep, green forest. And they lived in relative harmony, except when one animal was eaten by another animal as sometimes happens in a deep, green forest. But that was appreciated as the story of life and death. And the continuation of life. And in the cycle of things, as they are and as they are meant to be, there was equanimity and peace...

Until one day, a fire raged and raged in the deep, green forest. And all the animals gave chase or took flight to try and save themselves from the inferno. While running away they felt huge despair at the thought of what they were leaving behind... their only home.

When they reached a safe distance some of the animals stopped to look at the raging fire, and noticed a small spot of red in the blue sky, circling back and forth, from a clear, cool lake to the blazing, burning forest... What was it? It was the red-throated hummingbird. And in her beak she ferried a few small drops of water to try to stop the fire. She flew back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth again.

The animals below looked up in amazement. The lion looked up, the elephant, the badger and the bear. They all looked up at the red-throated hummingbird in disbelief.

And the lion roared: "Red-throated hummingbird, what do you think you are doing up there with your one drop of water?"

Undeterred by the impossibility of it all, the little hummingbird simply answered: "I am doing what I can.

Join us with your drop of water below...

Support the Angaza Project.

Supporting the Hope Learning Centre with necklaces

2011-09-08T23:31:00.000Z

When Scott was in Nairobi last June, he was approached by the people that run the Hope Learning Centre in the slums outside the city. Needing money for the most basic of necessities for the school, they asked if he would be willing to take home necklaces that they had handmade, and try to sell them in America.

Scott with other team members checking out the necklaces at Hope Learning Centre.

Scott gladly brought home over 130 necklaces, and decided to promote the sale of them through the Angaza Project here. With generous contributions from friends, family, and our workplaces, we have raised $1021.00 USD or $95,718.00 KSH!

Isaac, the headmaster of the Hope learning Centre, called Scott yesterday to let him know that because of the rise of food prices in Kenya, it has been very difficult for the school to provide the one meal they give each student daily. He was very grateful for the work that was done in the sale of these necklaces, as the money raised has directly impacted African lives with the most basic of needs, food.

To read more about Isaac and the Hope Learning Centre, as well as the work that the non profit organization World of Difference does, please read this POST that Scott wrote.

The Angaza project would like to thank all of those that bought a necklace for this worthy cause.

Thank You!

P.S. We still have a few necklaces left, and we can get more if anyone would be interested in raising additional money for the Hope Learning Centre.

Possibilities

2011-07-22T04:19:00.008+01:00

I remember the day as clearly as I remember all the important moments in life...sitting in my room at the Amani Centre, packing up to leave Kenya in 2009 while digesting all that I had just experienced, when a knock came at my door.

Peter.
We talked for hours about his dream of wanting to help his people, his country of Ethiopia, and for Kenya, the country he was currently living in while going to school. He taught me about the current practice of female genital mutilation, about his dreams for a better life for his younger sister, his community, and of Africa.
I promised him right there that I would do everything I could to help, and I meant it.
Returning to the USA, I felt unstoppable. I wanted to tell the world about what I'd seen, and felt if they could just hear my stories, see my pictures, and feel me honestly that I could single handedly make a difference.
The true realization hit me hard that this would not be the case.
My stubborn nature would not let me give up though. Peter and I kept blogging about our goals, about what the needs of Africa's children are, about what people could do to help make this world a better place.
Slowly, things started to change. People were taking notice. We were starting to make a difference.
It has been three years of hard work, dedication, and a tireless commitment to this website, but two people's vision of making a difference was slowly becoming a reality.

Here is the latest e-mail from Peter about his meeting Katie, and the progress of our latest project :
I met with Katie the (Girl from England). She is so beautiful in and out. She came with her family (Father and Mother). Who were to eager to see me and learn more about "Angaza project" (our project) It was such a wonderful meeting. She talked on how she is going to raise funds for the tree planting project, and also asked on how the tree planting project will be implemented which I explained to them very well. Lisa sent me Pound 110 this KES16600 which was meant to buy few uniforms and especially to experiment on whether the seedling will grow as well as making awareness of the tree planting project. I highly appreciated them and recognized this as a very important step of this good initiative.

We also mentioned on how I will go St. Benedict before she do the fund raising so as to make a lecture of the need of tree planting and what this school link up project need to achieve, as well as talking more of Africa just to fund raise. But this is not yet clear, she is going to see the possibility of that and will communicate back.
I was so moved by this step and I am looking forward for more development in the near future. She really want the publicity of all activity of this project on our website!

Peter ( left) with Katie

I am so proud of what we have accomplished, and look forward to more great things in the future. Thank you to everyone out there that follows our dreams, and supports this effort.

St. Benedict's school in England

2011-07-14T01:17:00.002+01:00

The Angaza project has been working very hard over the past few months making connections with a non profit organization in England, and a primary school there as well. We are thrilled to announce that St. Benedict's school in England is also starting to participate in a pen pal correspondence with the Elbokoch primary school in Northern Kenya.


students from St. Benedict's junior school in England.

here is an excerpt of an e-mail from Lisa, founder of Chain of Hope, and the teacher of the students :
Hi Lisa,
Here is a few words for the introductory letter.
My name is Katie Larsen and I am a teacher at St. Benedict's Junior School in England. I have been working in St Benedict's for only one year and I am really enjoying it. I was brought up in Nairobi and my parents still live there. I am very lucky as I get to go home to Nairobi once a year. My class have been learning little things about Kenya throughout the year, including some of the tribes, the different types of food, different traditional clothing etc. They have loved learning about Kenya! The children have written a few letters explaining what their life is like over here which I hope you enjoy reading. I have spoken a little about the drought up in Northern Kenya and they would like to help as much as they can. They thought a cake sale might raise a little money and any money raised can go to the tree planting project. We are still organising dates but hopefully the cake sale will take place before the children are off school for the summer holidays!

Here are a couple of the letters that the children sent. No matter where you go in the world, it seems that children, their ideas and simple wonder, are all the same.

In addition to having another school added to the pen pal project in Kenya, Lisa is working to help Peter and the Angaza project with the planting tree initiative mentioned earlier. This is all very exciting. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks!

Penpal letters from Elbokoch

2011-07-10T16:17:00.001+01:00

While in Kenya recently, Scott received the pen pal letter respones that the students in America had sent in April. The students at the Elbokoch primary school in Northern Kenya were thrilled to get the letters from the American children, and equally happy to write back.

We at Angaza truly hope that this type of continued correspondence will enlighten minds both in America and Kenya to each others similarities and differences, while ultimately opening their minds to the greater world at large.

Some the the children's immediate similarities was their love of football/soccer, their families, animals (horses and dogs in America, cows and goats in Kenya), art,dancing, and going to school.

The differences are best summarized by the children themselves :

"I love ugali and meat. I do not know corn." from Nachi Korie ( Kenya)

"My favorite kind of wild animal is a girrafe. I live all the way across the world from you." from Rebecca ( America)

"I am happy to hear from you. I want to teach you Kiswahili language. Jambo - How are you. Kwaheri - Bye. Pangesi - Thanks. from Koriye Nyemeto ( Kenya)

"I am a boy too. I am 9 also. I like Legos. Legos are things that you can build with. What do you play with?" from Logan ( America)

" I am happy to read your letter. I am happy today. I do not have birthday." from Dorale Korie ( Kenya)

"I am so happy to hear from you. I was waiting so much. We can be good friends, yes. I have not heard of California or Utah." from Titus Hide ( Kenya)

Such a simple thing as a letter can have a profound impact on a child's life. These letters will be delivered to the school's principal in the fall when the children return to school, and hopefully The Angaza Project will continue throughout the coming school year. Thank you to the Hawthorn Academy!

If you would like to start a correspondence pen pal program with a school in Kenya, please contact us, or leave a message in the comments section.

Back to Africa

2011-06-15T00:07:00.000+01:00

In just a few short days, Scott will be heading back to Kenya with the non-profit group World of Difference and will be reunited with Peter. We here are very excited as our fundraising efforts this year will allow Scott and his brother to be taking two hundred pounds worth of educational supplies, tools, and medicine to Kenyan children. In addition, we have enough left over supplies that Peter's project will be sending a care package once a month, starting in July, directly to Peter.

Peter will then hand out these packages to schools that he feels have the greatest need. We are very happy that we will be able to continue this program throughout 2011. If you would like to sponsor a care package, please let us know.

We look forward to coming up with more ways to help promote education and support Africa's women and children while together in Kenya this year.

Thank you to everyone for their support of this site.

Your rafiki's,

Peter and Scott

Donations

2011-05-24T01:01:00.000+01:00

I used to find it hard to ask for donations for Africa. I felt somewhat uncomfortable and didn't want others to feel obligated to donate. With my two previous expeditions with the non profit group World of Difference to Kenya, a had a couple of people donate money to my trip, and it felt good when I shared with them my stories and the good that came out of their contribution. So this year I wanted to expand upon that and get more of my community involved.

I started by asking around at my work if anyone would like to donate. I also asked them to mention about my non profit trip to their neighbors, friends, and church groups. My thought was similar to fishing, keep throwing out lines and see what bites...

A co-worker of mine came up to me a few days later saying that he had a kid that might be interested in helping out. I was put in contact with him, and came up with the idea to make an Eagle scout service project out of collecting donations for my trip. A few months went by, and I wasn't sure if the project was going to work out or not. This past weekend changed all that though. Logan ( the kid's name who did the Eagle scout project) called me to let me know he had gathered up all the supplies he could, and I could come pick them up anytime. He mentioned though that I might need a truck...

I was overwhelmed by all of the items that Logan was able to get! I couldn't believe the support our community had given his project, and thus to the children of Kenya. Not only did we get plenty of school supplies, but we collected much needed tools for the work project...

Logan and his community also gathered tons of soccer balls, pumps, basketballs, and other toys for the children as well.

These are just as needed, as exercise and playtime are just as important as books and paper. Logan's Mom also came up with the idea to send over basic medicine, which will be extremely useful!

Involving our community to help the world at large really is an indescribable feeling. Logan gathered such an abundance of supplies that not only will we have enough for our World of Difference expedition, but Peter's Project will be sending over the surplus of supplies to additional schools throughout the year.

Thank you Logan, and the city of Bountiful, Utah!

Penpal letters from Hawthorn to Kenya

2011-05-08T20:41:00.002+01:00

After visiting the students at the Hawthorn Academy , we let the students take some time to think about what they had learned about Africa, and the life of some of the students in Kenya. We encouraged them to think about their own lives, and to then write a letter back to the one of the students at the Elbokoch Primary School.

We were very pleased with the results of our first attempt at establishing a pen pal correspondence. The children were so excited to be able to participate, with each of them writing letters and making drawings for the Kenyan students.

The letters have been mailed to Peter in Kenya. He will deliver them to the Kenya students at Elbokoch. Our hope is to increase awareness about the world at large, and to give hope to the students in Kenya letting them know that people on the other side of the world care about them, and have similar interests and questions as they do.

The students here in the USA can not wait for a letter back from Kenya. The excitement generated from this idea is amazing, and we look forward to a long, continued relationship between schools and students. Thank you to both the Elbokoch primary school and the Hawthorn Academy. You guys are the best!

Elbokoch Primary Tree Planting Initiative

2011-05-01T22:51:00.002+01:00

The following is an email correspondence between myself and Peter. Since we first met in June 2009 and started discussing ways to raise awareness about our cause, we have both been working in our own countries to find ways to get our goal accomplished. Peter has made great strides with some people in England about his Tree Planting Initiative.

Dear Rafiki.

Guess what! Lisa has just called me today and told me that the school she linked with Elbokoch primary is Fund raising for the tree planting project! she told me that another school also requested to be involved in the project! am so happy! this will really blow our project up! The tree planting project will kick off the coming month (MAY). Please announce this in the website!

They are also talking of raising funds so that the school will have land to plant some crops which would be used by school. This is so exciting too. How are the linking going up there in US?

Please check in the attachment the planting project ideas I sent them.

Thanks,
always your friend.
Peter.

You can view the whole project proposal below :

We are all very excited and thankful to Lisa and her students and connections in London to help with this. Thank You!

The first PenPal project is underway!

2011-04-19T00:15:00.003+01:00

A few weeks ago we had mentioned that our Project was hoping to start a pen pal correspondence between primary schools in Kenya with schools from other countries. Our hope with this project was to bring together an understanding of different cultures and how different children live and go to school where they are from.

Today was our first such meeting. Myself, Scott, was able to go to the Hawthorn Academy in West Jordan, Utah, and speak to a group of 25 students about my personal experiences in Kenya with the non-profit group World of Difference, and how I met Peter and our current cause we have here at Peter's Project.

I will admit that I was nervous. This was our first such project, and you never really know how it will be received, especially by a bunch of eight and nine year old's. I wondered if they would understand what we were truly trying to accomplish....

That all changed as soon as I walked in the door to the school. I had children run up to me in the hallway, asking if I was the 'Africa guy", and they couldn't wait to see the artifacts I brought with me.

As I started my presentation ( knowing I only had one hour and fifteen minutes) I thought to myself, did I have enough material to keep the kids entertained and fill the time slot given?

That turned out not to be an issue. The kids and teachers hung on my every word, and I always had a hand raised up, ready to ask a question. This project exceeded our goal. As I told them about how we go to Kenya to take school supplies and help build schools, they all wanted to help themselves. I'm sure that all their parents are getting questions right now about going to Africa.

The teacher was so moved that she is going to start gathering supplies from the whole school to donate. I had one girl ask if she could put some of her saved pennies in her letter that she writes to help the children there. And one little boy told me that he just had a birthday and his Grandma gave him ten dollars that he was saving but now wants to give that money to the kids in Kenya. It filled my heart with joy and brought tears to my eyes.

I took all the letters that Peter had sent me from Kenya, along with pictures of the kids from the school, as well as drawings from the Kenya kids, and gave them to the school. I asked that each of them write a letter back to them, sharing what they would like about their dreams, their life, their hope for the future. They all asked if they could write more than one letter.

I had to turn around again to wipe the tears from my face.

I found myself going over on time, but with the excitement on all the children's faces, and the joy in their teacher face, I knew that we here at Peter's Project had succeeded in our goal. The education provided and the chance to connect with another child half way around the world is a priceless commodity.

I will be hopefully picking up their letters in a week, and mailing them to Peter to deliver to the school children In Kenya.

If you would like to have Peter's project come speak to your school, or any other group, and be a part of this pen pal project, please let us know!

We ended the day having quite a bit of fun showing this little video about the Maasai. The kids loved it, but I think the teacher was a little sick.....

The African Acacia tree

2011-04-09T12:37:00.002+01:00

OWN A TREE AND SAVE A SCHOOL IN ILERET NORTHERN KENYA.

photo credit C Goodsell Barton from WoD 2009

It takes over 50 years of tolerance and perseverance for an Acacia tortlis tree, to fully mature.
This tree has topped other tree species to emerge has the only dominant and visible tree in
this semi arid desert northern end part of Kenya. Armed with long tap roots, acacia tortlis
is able to absorb underground water; some are even known to send their roots as far as 300-
400 meters deep. This has helped it to survive scorching temperatures, low precipitation and
periodic droughts. It thus in turn provides browsing mammals, insects, birds and even the
local Daasanach people with abundant leaves, bark, pods and flowers throughout the year. The
dasaanach people glide tortlis pods to make cooking flour and bark for medicine.

Unfortunately with the severe droughts which have been regular in this part of the country,
companies in Marsabit and Nairobi have been going for the kill. Due the loss of livestock, the
local community has turned to charcoal burning .The old acacia trees which have been faithfully
supplementing their needs have become the victims of charcoal burners. Which a sack going
for has little has 2 USD; the evergreen acacias have almost been completely wiped out. The so
called easy profits are immediate but it leaves the area destitute of foliage and inhospitable for
our people, their livestock and other animals.

We have been teaching, preaching & pleading with the community of the necessity to preserve
the remaining trees for their own good, but they have turned deaf ears. We have therefore taken
to salvaging the schools for no learning can take place in an open field in the desert

With this we have found it worthwhile to cooperate with locals who are near Ileret and Elbokoch
primary school, to buy these live acacia around and near the vicinity of these schools from them,
put marks and labels on them, then whoever is given cash should be the guardian to make sure
the tree is not felled. This approach will not only preserve the surrounding environment but will
also render a conducive learning environment for the pupils in these schools. For if things left
at the state they are now in a year or so, with the strong winds which have been threatening to
pull down the fragile timber classroom, we will not only be salvaging the classrooms but also the
remaining pupils who will have the hearts to withstand this torment.

This is why we want to partner with your school, so that you can help us realize this dream
of "an oasis of hope in the desert". You can facilitate this by organizing a fund raising event and
the monies can be used to purchase these trees and in the end transfer the ownership from the
community to a joint ownership between the person whom the tree is bought from, the donor
who gives the cash to buy that tree, the students, and the school, to make sure the tree lives to
be has old has it was destined to be. In the end, the labels in these particular trees will have the
names of the donor and it will be a living proof to the future generations of sacrifices made by
people who are worlds apart but willing to change our people’ s destiny, and also a living proof to
the passing generation what a mean people they were.

I hope you find the need to intervene and help us accomplished this lifetime mission.

photo credit C Goodsell Barton from WoD 2009

learn more about Elbokoch ( from Peter)

2011-03-26T00:23:00.000Z

Elbogoch Nursery and Primary school

2011-03-12T16:03:00.003Z

gWe here at the project have been working on several new idea's to help raise awareness and support of our cause. First, we want to thank the kind people at Defunct Books in Iowa for their generous donation. With this and some other donations, Peter was able to provide an addition fourteen uniforms to students that did not receive one in our last uniform project.

We at Peter's Project are currently working on a student pen pal exchange program between students at a elementary school in West Jordan, Utah and students from a Primary school in Illeret. Peter and his cousin Omo have gathered pictures, drawings, and personal letters that will be mailed to the USA within the next few days.

Scott will then be taking these items to the school in Utah. He will be talking to the students about his experiences in Kenya, and will be encouraging the students there to write to the students in Illeret. Our hope is create a more global awareness. We are also hoping to auction the drawings at local community events, with 100% of all proceeds to go directly back to the African students.

To learn more about the school in Illeret, Peter has provided the following :

ELBOKOCH NURSERY AND PRIMARY SCHOOL

Can a Daasanach Girl like me go to School?

The Elbokoch Nursery and Primary School was built by an Organization called B.T.L (Bible Translation and Literacy) in the year 2009. The building of this School was to help the Pastoralist children go to School. In addition, hoping the parents would settle while their children go to School. The first enrollment was in the year 2010 and 360 children were enrolled to Nursery class. However, due to lack of food and water in the School the number of students in School greatly reduced to 120. Since there were no meals in the School the children were to move with their parents in the cattle camps where at least they can get a cup of milk mix with blood in a day. Drought in the North Kenya had become something frequent and gives no time for people to breath/relieved from it. The few students who are at Elbokoch School both in the Nursery and in class one might soon leave the School due to the problem mention above. BTL are now thinking to hand over the School to community for they cannot get funds to run the School. This idea left the community with hopelessness.

TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATION.

Illeret is a remote outpost on the Eastern shore of Lake Turkana,on the northern boundary of Sibiloi National Park, 20km from Kenya and Ethiopia boarder The nearest district town and headquarter is Marsabit, which is 600km away from Illeret. Poor roads, lack of transport and communication, distance from the main trading and administration center. These are main disadvantages to the community. However, the Kenya Airport authority has a large main airstrip in Illeret, which has saved the community to over come some of the challenges in transport despite of the cost.

CAREER

Most of these young ones once are asked the careers they want; some says that they would like to be expertise in agriculture so to help the community in production of food. Others says that they would like to become doctors to treat sicknesses that are affecting the Community and others says, they would like to be Teachers and help more kids go to School. Others says that they would like to be veterinary and treat their sick cows not to die.

What to be done to Elbokoch Primary School

Since B.T.L. is asking the community to take over the Elbokoch Primary School, it would have been a blessing to the Community if any charity can come in and take over the School. For the Community cannot afford to maintain the School. By taking over the School, is the fulfillment of the dream of Daasanach children. Through is way is that: the full Primary School can be setup, Teachers houses, boarding for both boys and girls and employing more teachers. The drilling of borehole and feeding programme is the first step to be taken in order to maintain the children in the School.

******

Would you like to start a penpal correspondence of your own, either personally or as a group? We have no shortage of schools and would love to make more global connections. Please respond in the comments section below if interested. Thank You!

One Day in Africa

2011-02-02T20:23:00.001Z

Brook Silva-Braga's documentary DVD called, One Day in Africa, is a showcase of the daily lives of six Africans from various countries of the continent. We here at Peter's Project like to showcase such documentaries, as they truly open the world to a life and culture that few have seen.

Here is a preview of the documentary :

Flex Spending accounts for Kenya

2011-01-26T00:03:00.000Z

As a package arrives unopened, the anticipation of what the contents inside may contain is very exciting, as this is the first box of donated supplies for our upcoming World of Difference expedition in June 2011. Each team member will take over two 50 pound bags of donated supplies (i.e. school supplies, tools, books, blankets, etc...) and to already have received a donation is very exciting. It was even more so when it was opened...

and found that it was full of first aid kits, etc...which are very necessary items in Kenya. We want to thank Darin and Janae , supporters of Peter's Project and World of Difference, for their creative idea of using money in their flex spending account to purchase these for us to take with us.

You guys are the best!

Michael Cronhelm Foundation Trust

2011-01-13T00:54:00.002Z

Just after our last post about the success we had providing school uniforms, I recieved an e-mail from Peter's cousin, Omo Korie. I met Omo last summer in Nairobi, and Peter and I shared our vision to help those less fortunate. Omo's e-mail to me let me know how much the new uniforms meant to his community, and wanted to share with me a newsletter from another organization that was helping out his community last fall......

DECEMBER 2010 MCFT NEWSLETTER

Latitude: 4.316667 : Longitude: 36.21667 : Latitude (DMS): 4° 19' 0 N : Longitude (DMS): 36° 13' 0 E

These are the co-ordinates for Ileret, Kenya and close by is the site of the Michael Cronhelm Foundation Trust Memorial Library lovingly crafted by hard physical work and the generous donations of many.

The village of Ileret, Kenya. The building at the bottom of the photo is the Michael Cronhelm Foundation Memorial library – a quiet area of learning. Aerial photo taken when Amy, Sharon & Dave flew over the village on arrival.

It is my very greatest pleasure to share with you that during the September 2010 volunteer trip to Ileret we succeeded in our quest to complete the MCFT library and to hold an opening ceremony to celebrate this momentous occasion.

                                          September 2010 MCFT team:
                                                        Grey, Morani, Abdia, Amy, Tony, Sila, Faye, Sharon, Syvester, Dave, Johana, Mutuse.
                                                        Missing from photo: Liza, Alfred and the Daasanach building team.

Backtracking a little, on August 23rd this year Grey, Faye and I flew to Nairobi to begin, along with our crew an intense three days of provisioning the vehicles for the long arduous trip to the Northern Frontier. In Nairobi we stayed at Whistling Thorns campsite on the outskirts of the city, where we would see the night stars and most importantly have the space to lay out all the camping gear and provisions. Mick’s great friends, Morani and Abdia, joined us from Laikipia as did Sila Ndunda, head of our crew..

Tony Butt, a volunteer and long time family friend joined us from New Zealand. Sila, Grey and Tony spent their days in Nairobi finding bookshelf makers on the side of the road and sourcing the best deals on cement and the additional building materials we would need to take with us to Ileret.

On one occasion I went with Faye and James Korie, head of the Daasanach translation project into the text book centre in central Nairobi. We had been given a list of books from the Ileret Primary School headmaster for all the class readers which gave us a good head start. Korie was instrumental in helping us choose as many of the general interest books as we could find. Of those purchased approximately 40% were written in Swahili and the rest in English.

Primary school, although compulsory, is sometimes overlooked in favour of children minding stock especially in outlying remote areas. One way parents deem their children ready for school is to wrap their child’s hand over the side of their head and if their fingers can touch their ear then they are of an age to begin school.

Dr Jack Harris, Faye’s brother, very kindly assisted us with the loan of a Unimog truck ably driven by David Matuse. Cooks, Johanna and Sylvester, along with our other driver Alfred made up our wonderful crew. After an all day effort to load the two Land cruisers and the Unimog we left Nairobi mid afternoon on the 30th August, heading north to our first stop in Nanyuki.

Not being on the road for long before darkness fell we made the good decision to overnight in Karatina, just 40 kilometers short of our intended first nights destination. On hearing of atrocious road conditions from Rumuruti to Maralal with the road being closed, we took the long route via Isiolu.

Apart from a blowout on the Unimog as soon as we hit the dirt road, we reached Maralal that second night to the warm and welcoming Yare Camel Camp.

Whilst waiting for a new tyre to be sent up from Nairobi we unexpectedly spent the next three days at Yare. Fortuitously as it may have been as the road conditions on the long haul up the Maralal hill, were pretty tricky.

Maralal to South Horr was a pretty smooth run with outstanding views of the Great Rift Valley as we started the long descent off the Loroghi plateau. Approaching the village of South Horr at the base of the towering peaks of Ol Donyo Nyiro and Ol Donyo Mara, the drive along the valley to Samburu camp was nothing short of spectacular.

South Horr to Loyengalani although a relatively short distance was hot and incredibly slow going. Driving over boulders and shattered lava beds, that first glimpse of the Jade Sea made it all worthwhile.

In Loyengalani, we stopped outside at the village well to fill containers with 200 litres of drinking water. We stayed overnight at Mosareti Co-operative Camp - a basic, windy camp studded with doum palms with a hot spring running though the middle of the thatched hutted camp ground.

Our last days drive from Loyengalani to the Ileret riverbed took 15 hours and 15 minutes. We pulled into the riverbed at around 10:00 pm at night and immediately began setting up camp. After a hot meal hastily prepared we were happy to sink our weary bones to the ground.


The riverbed camp at Ileret.

The local people and especially the children always greet us with grand excitement, jumping up and down and trying their best to get in the way and help unload the vehicles. It’s utter glorious mayhem!

A few days after we arrived in Ileret we were joined by Amy and lifelong family friends - Sharon Conlin and her brother-in law, Uncle Dave Conlin, all flying in from the USA. They had an overnight in Nairobi before catching a commercial flight to Lodwar on the western shores of Lake Turkana.

From Lodwar we had arranged to charter a four seater plane from a foundation who distributes medical supplies to communities on the Western shores of the lake. The pilot very kindly took Amy, Sharon and Dave shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables prior to take off, a luxury to have in the field. Even better, they cleared the goats and stones off the runway for a smooth take off!


Sharon & Dave – from our big plane to the small four seater.

Ten long days of hauling water from the lake, mixing cement, hammering and sawing in up to 45 degree heat we finally finished the MCFT Memorial library. As Sir Edmund Hilary had said "we knocked it off". This was an enormous feat and massive team effort by all. Uncle Dave, Tony, Sila, Morani and Alfred along with key members of the Daasanach community who worked on the library were instrumental in assisting Grey with giving the final big push to complete the building.

Whilst the library building was being finished Faye, Sharon and I worked on the process of deciding who would work at the library. We posted announcements all over the village that interviews would be conducted in a few days time. On the day, we had nine enthusiastic people show up for Faye and Sharon to conduct interviews in the back of the land cruiser.

We had previously asked that a basic CV or a letter be written giving us a brief outline as to why the applicant should be given the librarian position.. We received carefully worded responses and even recommendations from other projects in the community.

Originally we decided to have a librarian, an assistant librarian and a warden to work at the library. However with the high caliber of the applicants we soon decided it would be fair to give all nine a position. Of course to be the librarian, whilst most prestigious was also paid the most, so this was the position all were after.

Faye and Sharon decided the successful applicants on merit and that the librarian and assistant librarian would be ably assisted by three wardens working in shifts. There would also be three others who would read to the children and help them with their studies.. A committee of three was selected to oversee the library with James Korie as head of this, Mary, an assistant to the principle together with another key woman in the community.

In addition to working with the library applicants Faye and Sharon spent a fair amount of time working in the back of the Unimog covering the books in plastic. The headmaster also gave us the use of a classroom and all the MCFT workers spent a whole day with Amy covering the books.



The team adding the MCFT book plate into each book with a donor’s name and covering the books.

The library looked absolutely magnificent on opening day - book shelves loaded with books, tables and chairs, posters on the walls, a photo of Michael, the donor’s plaque, and sitting on the table, a globe of the world. With ribbons and balloons tied to the rafters a celebration was ready to take place.



The opening ceremony was truly an emotional experience. Most of the sixteen elders who advise the chief were present, along with many of the adults from the community and nearly all the school children. The children stood on the top of the escarpment above the library site, a long row of blue and pink uniformed kids. As they approached the library in a long line they began singing. Amongst our volunteer group there was not a dry eye to be seen. It was an uplifting and unforgettable moment.



The children danced with great enthusiasm and fully embraced the excitement of the day. James Korie acted as the Master of Ceremonies and did a very fine job of this. Jennifer Lonyaman, Councilor for the district spoke as did the head of police. Faye spoke in reply and Tony read a poem his father had written.
It was an incredibly moving experience for all. Faye cut the ribbon and opened the Michael Cronhelm Foundation Memorial Library to the community - their appreciation was most evident.



On the 17th September we packed up our riverbed campsite and did a last drive by the library to show our cooks Johanna and Sylvester. They too, were truly amazed at what had been achieved.

Dear readers of this newsletter, rest assured, all your efforts, donations and support have enabled the MCFT library project not only to get off the ground but to be successfully opened and to have such a positive impact on the community of Ileret. It was a wonderful feeling to be leaving Ileret knowing the library was left in good hands.

Since then the letters we have received from the head librarian, Stephen Lokori and especially James Korie have inspired and uplifted us. The library is being well used and in the words of Korie" This is a big change in Daasanach history! "
Here is an extract from one of his emails.

Dear Liza,
Many Greetings from Ileret! I am so very sorry that I did not communicated with you since you and the Team left Ileret. The internet is a problem to access but now the situation has been solved. Yes, Our (Michael Cronhelm Foundation Trust) Library is doing very well. All the staff are doing a wonderful job.
The Library has been and is a big support for the Ileret Primary School. Every day during break times the students are always in the Library and no space for them in the Library. On Saturdays class Seven and class Eight spends the whole day in the Library studying. Even the Secondary students sent a word to us that they need to be considered using Library during School breaks. We told them that the Library will be open throughout except night times. Other people like police, few Daasanach Elites and Teachers use the Library. This is a big change in Daasanach History!! A lot of thanks to all of you who put their minds, energy and money together to bring a change to Daasanach People.
Every week the Library Committee do visit three times to check on the staff and the work. It will be better if the Library can have another shade where other people can do their studies, because there are no enough space for everyone. It will be good also to have printed T-Shirts ( MCFT ) for the staff. The library needs to have a Toilet for the people to use. We approached the Elders and the Area leaders about the Library land and they had agreed to give us the space of Land we need. Therefore it is now you to come up with the plans of when and how it would be fenced.
Thank you very much.
Blessings,
James Korie

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

We are now looking forward to the next volunteers trip to Kenya in 2011 – and there is still much to do! The people of Ileret have requested more books, a toilet for the library and a fence to keep stock out of the grounds. We are also planning to build a shaded area out over the verandah to accommodate more students as the library usage is in such high demand.

If you would like more information on our upcoming trips please contact me. Volunteers fully fund their own flights and trip costs whilst in Kenya and it is truly an incredible adventure.

To the many who so generously donated, to turn Michael’s Memorial Library from a dream into a reality, we say thank you. Without such support we never could have achieved the building of Michael’s Memorial library, in one of the most remote parts of the world.

We will keep you posted, though in the meantime we wish you all a prosperous New Year filled with much happiness and health.

All the very best.

Liza Cronhelm

New Zealand Charities Commission Registration No. CC44749
MCFT Contact information:
Email: info@michaelcronhelmfoundation.org
Website: www:michaelcronhelmfoundation.org
Liza Cronhelm:
Email: lizacronhelm@yahoo.com

traveling great distances...

2011-01-08T13:32:00.001Z

We hope that everyone had a joyous holiday season, and is ready for a new year. We here at Peter's Project are very happy to share with you our latest endeavor, new uniforms for a school in Peter's homeland of Ethiopia!

After Peter finished with his university studies in December, he traveled home for the holiday break. With a last minute donation to the project, Peter set out to find the best means to use the funds donated.

When he arrived home and discussed with the tribal leaders of his homeland about our project, it was decided that new uniforms for the children of a school would be a need that we could fill.

Peter ordered the uniforms, and we were able to provide new uniforms to 43 children.

Peter showing the new uniforms to the children.

The children trying on the new uniforms.

We are thrilled to be able to help, and know that compassion and caring shown to these children and the community at large will have a lasting impact on their education, and our hope will be that this could lead to a change in cultural perceptions regarding the current practices of female genital mutilation.

Would you like to help a school? Please let us know how you want to be involved. There is no lack of things that can be done.

We want to wish Peter a safe return to Nairobi ( about a two day journey for him on a Lorry) so that he can continue with his university studies.

Loneliness

2010-12-17T16:24:00.000Z

The following was written by Millicent Akolo, a Kenyan friend that we met while there with World of Difference.

To hear this from the people that live in these areas and deal with this on a day to day basis gives a new perspective to life in these areas. Enjoy.

*****

■Have you walked down the street and found a child crying,what did you do?

■There is this widow/orphan next door what do you do to attain the value of a neighbor or are you a neighbor because you live next door?

■Loneliness takes away the lives of many compared to dreadful diseases like Cancer,HIV/AIDS,name them,It has been proven that AIDS rarely kills a victim what kills him/her is stigma

■During this period One needs a person who will give them hope and comfort.

■This mostly affects the aged and the poor.

■During this period the affected is defeated and discouraged,he/she needs another person to help,encourage,support and comfort him.

■Within three months of distress and loneliness the afflicted dies.

■To attend to people affected by loneliness you need to learn to

1.listen

2.be available

3.be patient

■You need no training to achieve any of the above you only need assistance from our dad above, which is always a prayer away.

■Live is pretty short and if you don't concentrate you will end up achieving nothing.

■Thank you for being there for me when i needed you most.

■I will never stop saying thanks to you mum,my siblings and all my friends across the world.