Information Letter / Newsletter

4. Newsletter Oktober 2012

The joy at receiving the support was huge

Dear Friends,

This May, Birgit Stolz-Hofmann (a member of our association) and I spent 10 days in the area where our project is based in Mbale. We were most delighted to find the nursery school children in good general health and to be able to look into beaming children’s eyes. The children, who had been listless and sad a year ago, could hardly be recognised. During our visit, we could also view the progress being made by the continuing project, as well as plan and initiate new activities.

What has happened over the past year?

Thanks to your support, we were able to ease the dire situation of women and children in Mbale in many ways and to improve their living circumstances.

Through medical care:

  • At this year’s medical camp, 265 children and adults were examined by two doctors and four nurses and, where necessary, received immediate medical care.
  • As a precautionary measure against malaria, we have purchased mosquito nets for our 40 nursery school children.
  • In addition, each child has received a warm jumper to protect against the cold. Mbale lies around 1400m below sea level and winter often tends to be susceptibly cold.
  • During our visit, we ensured that immediate assistance was provided to a grandmother who had been looking after her five grandchildren alone, because the children’s parents had died. The children were in a critical state, both nutritionally and in relation to their health. We provided immediate medical care, supplied clothes and food, and equipped the hut with mattresses for sleeping and mosquito nets. The joy at receiving the support was huge (see photo above).

Through provisions, education and upbringing:

  • In our nursery, founded in 2011, 40 children are now being looked after and taught by two pre-school teachers. The children receive two warm meals a day, which are freshly prepared by a cook.
  • Meals are also cooked for the children during the holidays.
  • This year, we have also begun to accept primary school children into the project. During the visits this year, we have come across a total of 50 girls and boys at primary school age who require our assistance.

The total number of children receiving support from hope now amounts to 90 girls and boys between 3 and 14 years old.

We are urgently looking for sponsors for the school children.

By helping others to help themselves:

  • Pursuant to our motto “helping others to help themselves”, we have bought three sewing machines, which 20 women are being trained to use by a skilled tailor. The seamstresses have already produced school and nursery uniforms as well as canvas bags.
  • We have provided training to women from Mbale interested in the process of producing greeting cards and jewellery out of banana leaves and recycling material. The training was conducted by a Kenyan Fair Trade organisation. The women now make products for sale. The income from the sale of these products benefits the orphans and their relatives in need.
  • The choir, constituting the women from the support groups, now comprises 40 singers, who regularly meet for rehearsals, give extremely successful performances in churches, and thereby contribute greatly the church services.

With her truly outstanding work, our coordinator, Recky Awino Kyalo, ensured that all of the projects ran smoothly and were conducted correctly again this year.

A special thanks goes to “Trio de la Noche” and Hermann Riffel, who enthused the audience with their songs and text at their charity concert for our association in the Altenbürghalle in Karlsdorf-Neuthard.

Thank you all for your amazing support in 2012.

Yours sincerely,

Marlies Huber-Boch, Chairperson

3. Newsletter November 2011

Gabi Lingenfelder-Lutz handing over Nursery bags in June 2011

Dear Friends,                    

For hope, a pleasantly successful year is coming to an end – a year full of events and activities, both in Kenya and in Germany. By means of this letter, we wish to inform you about the most important developments which our young association has initiated and realised over the last 12 months.

A significant event was certainly the opening of the nursery, which we were able to celebrate during our visit (Marlies Huber-Boch and Gabi Lingenfelser-Lutz) to Kenya in June 2011.

A qualified pre-school teacher now looks after the children on a daily basis. Since many of them are undernourished and in a state of bad health, all of the children receive two warm, nourishing meals a day – which are prepared by a cook. On admittance to the nursery, every child receives a uniform, each sewn by the women in the support group. hope provided funding for equipping the nursery with benches and tables as well as for the materials needed for pre-school teaching. The personnel costs have been divided up between our association and the support group on location.

As the number of children attending the nursery has increased from the originally planned 25 to 35, we will be employing an additional member of staff for the coming year.

During our visit to Kenya, we were able to once again inspect the excellent work carried out by our coordinator, Recky Awino Kyalo, who has initiated many activities and realised many projects. We would like to thank her sincerely for her commitment and dedication, both on a personal and professional level.

Sponsors are extremely important for the provision and care of the children. This year, we were able to obtain sponsorship for 24 children – of which we are proud. However, further sponsors are urgently needed!

Just €10 a month is enough to cover a child’s attendance at nursery, incl. meals, uniform and learning materials, as well as the necessary basic medical care.

Under our coordinator’s guidance, a team of doctors and nurses travelled from Kisumu to the Western Province for a medical camp on 23rd December 2010, where they examined, treated and cared for 100 children and 32 adults. For many of the patients, young and old, it was high time that they received medical attention as they had been suffering from life-threatening conditions.

Throughout 2011, we have additionally been able to ensure that severely ill children have received immediate medical treatment. In December 2011, Recky Awino Kyalo will again organise and run a medical camp in the Western province.

With a row of fundraising events in 2010, we enriched the cultural scene in Karlsdorf-Neuhard, caught the attention of the populace and informed visitors about the aims and responsibilities undertaken by hope.

In this way, many new friends and sponsors could be found. Peter Weickgenannt from the band “badisch talking”, Thomas Huber and Rudi Schreiber gave guest performances in the library on Mühlenplatz, where they presented entertaining and humorous texts and poems in dialect. We also witnessed two musical highlights in the foyer of the Altenbürghalle: a high-class jazz concert performed by the Contra Brass Big Band with singer, Liv Wagner, and a wonderful evening with soulful songs and texts, presented by “Trio de la Noche” and Hermann Riffel.

Many thanks for your fantastic dedication in 2011, which is now coming to an end!!!

You sincerely

Marlies Huber-Boch, Chairperson