THE INTERNATIONAL CHILDCARE TRUST - KENYA
STREET LIVES
Holidays in Kisumu
This year, there was a long Christmas holiday and all the children who did not go on home visits because they do not have family or guardians, went on a two day trip to Kisumu. Kisumu is an old colonial port on the banks of Lake Victoria. Once it was a bustling hive of commerce and an important link to Uganda and Tanzania. Now over 90% of trade uses road links and much of the natural harbour of Kisumu is choked with water hyacinth. It's importance as a port has been much reduced although it remains an important regional capital. It was a great learning experience as well as fun for the children. Many had never seen a large expanse of water, seen a hippopotamus, been in a boat, or gone fishing.
Training to Work
Some of last years trainees have completed their training courses and now are moving on to work. Patrick Odour and Peter Amodoi have completed their Mechanics training and both are now employed at local garages. Liyavo Village Community Project (LVP) has supplied each of them with a small tool kit to help them get started. Although they are both on a minimal wage while their employers assess their capabilities. It is hoped that they will receive adequate payment and become independent of the project in the near future.
Second year Dressmaking and Tailoring students have also had successes seeking remunerable employment. Two of the three students resident at LVP have found permanent employment and have left the projects to begin their independent lives. The Social Worker and staff monitor their progress from a respectable distance.
The Community and it's Development
It is not always easy to quantify community development. ICT-K has helped Liyavo Village community through it's projects to evolve in spite of periods of extreme uncertainty. The serious ethnic unrest and tribal clashes throughout the area in the early part of this decade forced many people from their lands to take refuge in settlements like Liyavo, emancipating the problems already faced by these impoverished rural communities. The LVP compound includes a Community Clinic and Shop which have helped further cohere the community. In recent months LVP has been working closely with the Liyavo and nearby Kapsituet and Namanjalala communities to repair the access road which links the 3 communities together and joins the main access road to Kitale town. Both roads are unpaved with the Namanjalala-Liyavo-Kapsituet section becoming impassable during much of the rainy seasons. The road has been graded with culverts dug, pipes installed and 'marram' a surfacing material, laid on the worst patches. The community supplied the labour, the government gave the mechanical grader, marram and an engineer. Transport was provided by a large land owner in the area while the project gave the labour to dig and load the marram at the government quarry. LVP used it's buildings to hold meetings where this issue was discussed and solutions found.
In other news the Liyavo Primary School Committee approached LVP for support with building 2 new classrooms. The school has over 700 pupils who were cramped into just seven small classrooms. LVP contributed cement, water and a builder with his mate for this project. The classrooms have been built and are in service even though a few finishing touches remain.
 |
The grader in front of Liyavo Primary School with the new classrooms under construction |
Textbooks, a necessary burden
The supply of new textbooks has become an increasingly expensive necessity. The school curriculums have changed and now look set to change again. With each new curriculum come different requirements and reading lists. So far these costs have been covered by our overall budget although increasingly we are looking towards private donors for books, school fees, school equipment, etc.
Some interest has been shown by private individuals in sponsoring secondary school children which would be a relief on our often strained budget and help ensure the child's future through university, if successful.
NGO Deregistration
Following the devastating August bomb attack in Nairobi, in which many hundreds of people were killed or seriously injured. The Kenyan government, with the help of the American FBI, investigated the blast and came to the conclusion that some NGOs, mostly with Muslim connections, may have been involved directly with the blast. In an unprecedented move the government deregistered 5 NGOs, terminating their employees visas and threatened 11 more NGOs with deregistration. Among them was the International Childcare Trust-Kenya. This action has been halted, in ICT-K's case, after 6 months of appeals, mobilising support, and finally through the courts. Six months of uncertainty has led to delays in the implementation of new initiatives planned by ICT-K, among them a new Street Children's Programme to be based in Kitale, and a wider ranging Mosquito Eradication Programme aimed at reducing incidents of malaria and the devastating effect this disease can have on rural communities.
Now ICT-K has it's future secured in Kenya we face the daunting task of reinstalling confidence within the donor community and proving our continued dedication to ICT-K's existing projects.
If you would like to help or require more information, contact us:
ICT-K, PO Box 1745, Kitale Kenya.
Tel: +254 54 31323
Fax: +254 325 30246
e-mail:
ictk@africaonline.co.ke
Drawing by Peter Burudi age 11 years