Give A Child Life

Enough to Eat

Over the past few weeks, infant care in Kiandutu has taken a new turn. Two days ago infants between six and twelve months old began receiving a hot, nourishing daily meal...courtesy of GCL friends like you. In homes where mothers scrape by on odds and ends and a decent meal is hard to find, the right nutrition can make a huge difference. Chronic hunger at this age affects brain development; lack of sufficient food can make it hard for a child to ever learn or control emotions like anger.

Starting this week, GCL is providing meals to infants at three day care centers. We're also fixing hot meals for young children brought by their mothers to a central location. The goal is for every young child in Kiandutu to have enough to eat.

 Debbie

Mother Running Small Businesses.

Yesterday I received the first batch of ledgers from mothers running the small businesses in Kiandutu. A few weeks ago, I spent my last afternoon there helping set up the accounts so they could track their expenses, income and profit. This was a new concept for most of the women, all of whom ran businesses such as selling handfuls of vegetables or candy or pairs of rubber shoes on the street. The one who "got it" best was Zipporah. Her ledger was almost perfect, aside from one math error and a lack of detail for the expenses. But my heart broke when I looked at her profit. For the first two weeks of January, she sold about $20 worth of spinach, $11 worth of mangoes and $10 worth of cabbage. Overall, she took in $66. Buying the food to sell cost her $50. She had a net gain of about $16.

 We're going to keep working with the women and help them track what works best and what doesn't. If you'd like to help, let us know.

Debbie

 

Allan is Now Back With His Family!

 

Note: Three years ago, Give A Child Life found Allan near death at his grandmother's home. With his grandmother carrying him, we took him to a center where he could stay and get food, medicine and other help. Carol, the GCLK program director in Kiandutu, recently updated us on  what happened last weekend.

Baby Allan is reunited back with his family!

News from the elders at Kiandutu came on Monday that baby Allan has been brought back home.

Yesterday I visited Allan at his grandmother's house – Zabina Zaumu- and found him playing with his toy car. He had been bonding with the grandmother and he was so happy though he left the place while still so young.

He is a happy, healthy baby!!

GCL K will continue to assist Allan now that he is back with his family. He will be joining Kiandutu Juniors School nursery level.

Carol

Small Actions Make Huge Differences!

When I was in Kiandutu a few weeks ago, I didn't think Cecilia would make it. She looked so pale and thin. You could hardly tell she was pregnant--even though she was due to deliver any minute. A few days later, she had a lovely baby girl. Look at her smiling! One reason is because GCL provides child care for her two children under age 5.

The same day I saw Cecilia, the village elders asked me to fix the house of another GCL member, Beth. It needed only a few simple repairs to prop up the walls and fill the holes.

Often it's not the big actions that make the most difference. It's the small ones. $3 a month for child care; $3 to buy small bags of flour and beans for dinner; $45 to shore up a house, etc. What matters is that GCL is on the spot when children have a need. Working with Kiandutu's village elders, GCL helps within the hour. Isn't it nice to be a part of it?

Debbie    

 

She Worries Constantly About Caring for Her Children.

Rose Nungari has four children: three under six and one nine-year-old who is deaf. Since she and her husband separated in 2010, she has not been able to provide even the most basic necessities. They have all stopped attending school because she can't afford the fees. Her three-year-old daughter is weak and malnourished. Her youngest, a two week old baby, has no clothes. Both girls have bug bites covering their bodies, but she cannot afford mosquito nets. She lives in a one room house that her neighbors are letting her use, but they have no furniture, bedding or cooking supplies.

She worries constantly about caring for her children, but she maintains hope. Once her youngest is about a month old, Rose will be able to carry her on her back while she looks for work. Until then, each day is a struggle to provide food for the children. Right now, she does not even have sufficient breast milk to nurse the baby.

GCL has provided emergency food for the family and is working on a long term plan to help them.

 

Mothers can Start or Grow Their Small Businesses...

Last week, our program director in Kenya sent us an important update and proposed we start a new project…

Our monthly meeting in Kiandutu was held last Saturday. We had many parents turn up. We gave a presentation on Family Planning, and it was interesting to see how well the parents participated with questions and contributions. Next topic will be on breastfeeding.

We then discussed the issue of learning simple math for small businesses. We acknowledged the efforts of a few women who have successfully started businesses and kept books and asked if others were interested in doing the same. Parents who wished to open or expand upon small businesses included:

Nancy Adhiambo needs kshs. 1,000/$10 to sell roasted maize after providing day care services.
Amina needs kshs. 2,000/$20 to boost her perfume business.
Zipporah needs kshs. 1500/$15 as she already has a vegetable stall and wishes to sell charcoal also.
Sahara Isaac needs kshs. 2,000/$20 because her snack business went down when she was nursing a sick child.

In total it will cost kshs. 6,500/$65 to have these ladies in business.

After discussion, the ladies suggested that this be given to them as soft loans repayable within the first month after one has made profits, so that others could borrow and benefit.

Do you think we could try this and monitor it? Say create a revolving fund of kshs.10,000/$100 earmarked for small businesses?  

Kindly put forth your thoughts and suggestions.

Carol

We forwarded this email to our supporters and the result was wonderful; we raised enough to start the program, which will lay the groundwork for real, lasting change. Carol will teach these women to add, subtract and calculate a profit. She’ll also go over their books with them on a regular basis so they understand the process. With these lessons and a little seed money, the mothers can start or grow their small business, and perhaps someday will be able to support themselves and their families without our help. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. 

The Story of Bernice.

Bernice is a new arrival in Kiandutu. She has five children: a baby, a toddler, a five-year-old, a seven-year-old and an 11-year old. Until recently, Bernice and the children lived with her husband on the other side of town. He had a stable job and they were happy. But then he committed a crime and went to prison. At the time, Bernice was pregnant, and she was dismayed that he’d done this to the family.  

She moved to Kiandutu to start over. But she had to care for a one-year-old and couldn't look for a job. Then she had the baby, who is now only a month old. The family of six lives in a small, dirty room with no furniture, bedding or utensils. Bernice hasn't been able to pay the rent for a while.

During a visit by GCL staff, the children fought over a very small portion of ugali flour...they are very hungry.

Though Bernice is tired and struggles desperately to make ends meet, she says, “I have seen and gone through so much, but I do not feel sorry for myself. I live each day at a time with my children.” What she wants most is food and child care for her young ones, so she can work to get back on her feet. 

From Carol, the GCL Kiandutu Program Director 

 

This just in from Kenya!

This just in from Kenya:

A team of 5 ladies have generously donated 10 a.m. snack for the children at the day care so today I delivered 8 packets of porridge flour, 2 kgs of sugar, blueband margarine, milk and cooking fuel. That's enough for one month.

A big difference to the young ones!!

Thank you
Wanjiku Mbugua

Recently Give A Child Life provided an overhang so the babies cared for by Mama Mickie in Kiandutu could have some shade. A little goes a long way.......

Debbie

Beatrice came to Kiandutu three years ago with the hope of a better future.

Beatrice Mwikali came to Kiandutu three years ago with the hope of a better future for her five children. Instead, the family was struck by one tragedy after another . Beatrice was recently diagnosed with HIV and TB. Last month, she was rushed to the hospital.

While she was there, her children were left home, alone, for four days. They had nothing to eat. Because they had missed several months of rent, the landlord took that opportunity to kick the five little boys and girls out on the street. The oldest was 14; the youngest only 8 months.

Neighbors took them in and fed them. When Beatrice was released from the hospital, she moved in as well. But she is unable to work, or even get out of bed. Her 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son have dropped out of grade school to look for work. The children are always hungry.

When we heard about the situation, GCL helped provide emergency food and medicine. We'll do what we can until Beatrice is well enough to work. 

 

Merry-Go-Rounds are How the Poor Save Money.

When I was in Kiandutu, the Give A Child Life group of mothers that meets one Saturday a month really surprised me. Almost as an aside, they mentioned that they had formed a merry-go-round. Now this isn't a piece of playground equipment. In Kenya, merry-go-rounds are how the poor save money. Every month, each member puts in 20 shillings (about 25 cents). Then they write two Xs on little pieces of paper---the two members who draw the Xs each takes home 130 shillings ($1.63). It's a wonderful way for mothers who scrape by penny to penny to get a small windfall. Mothers have used the funds to buy cooking fuel and pay school expenses. One entrepreneur bought some paraffin that she sold at a profit. The merry-go-round is an indicator that these families can make it.....if they receive a helping hand.