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Gillian and Lea are in Kenya . Read how they are interacting with the children and other news

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Arriving in Nairobi and from there going 5 hours up in the North, I had time to really arrive in Africa with all its impressions! Till the point of time when I entered the airplane I wouldn’t know if it really would work out because of these times of uncertainty.

When I was finally back I first needed time to realize that and I can tell that it is amazing to be back in a community that I was so happy to see again. People I have met before, faces that would be welcoming me so much!
Arriving at Ngaremara Kindfund, I immediately felt in a way at home in this special place that is already known to me. Also I’m glad that I still could identify the kids, that they have not grown too much since I left them last time.
After a few days of compulsory isolation, I was ready to meet the kids face to face. It was overwhelming. In a good way but at the same time literally overwhelming as the kids wouldn’t stop requesting my attention and besides I was trying to get used to the quite warm temperature at that time of the year.
I couldn’t change the fact that I’m only one person. Therefore I was glad that after 2 days everything settled down a bit, so that I could have good encounters with single kids. Something I enjoy a lot is to improve a bit of my Swahili, the kids are the best little teachers one could wish for.
Being on the road in Africa (like a trip to nearby Isiolo) is always an adventure, I love it and at the same time it can get scary. Here is to mention that Gillian is a tough driver keeping calm no matter what!
As I finish this initial report I am looking forward to travelling North to visit the Kindfund children in the homes at Ndikir and Wamba before returning for a short few days at Ngaremara to complete the administration required now for flying home to Austria.
Time flies by so fast. I’m here for a total 4 weeks and know already that I’m going to miss the people and the country after this. Thank you for having me Kindfund Family I will write further when I return home.
Lea
26h August 2021

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Gillian has now been in Kenya for 2 weeks and she has truly jumped

into the deep end.

Usually after a short break of a couple of months between visits there is plenty to keep us busy when we arrive back at Kindfund. However with the 16 month Covid break there is a lot that could overwhelm on arrival.

Since landing Gillian has isolated for 8 days, taken a covid test and then been thrust into the middle of Kindfund activities from issues with Government Departments to preparing the July financing arrangements and much else besides.

How pleasant then to receive the photograph of her visiting one of our boys in hospital after he had an operation on his foot. I understand he can’t wait to be released to get back to school. Top of his class he doesn’t want to be missing anything.

The children – all 130 of them and more besides when we think of those who have left us but still need support – are our primary concern although the ‘other’ aspects of running three children’s homes can place huge demands on us and limit our time with them.

So with lots to do and decisions to be made we need to know the mind of God and Gillian needs wisdom to pace herself as she carries the load at the sharp end for the next few months.
In mid August she will be joined by Lea from Austria returning for her second visit. Please pray also for her as she makes arrangements and travels.

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Saturday morning early saw the arrival of the party at Ngaremara from Marsabit with 5 children and 3 babies.

Very sad circumstances but received with joy in the name of Jesus.
What a privilege to play our part to secure their future and encourage them to realise their potential.

The staff and other children have been thrilled to receive them. A lot of work and dedication required for which we thank our staff

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Sisters of Charity at Marsabit, who have referred several children to us in the past, have been asking us for help for a number of weeks. Three families with babies and young children in urgent need of assistance.

Assessment has been held up by Covid 19.

On Friday Raphael travelled from Ndikir to Marsabit to meet the Sisters, families and the children. After discussions and evaluating the situation in conjunction with the Child Officer eight children including three babies (twins – boy and girl at 6 months and a 4 month boy), 4 boys – 10, 9, 8 and 6yrs and a girl of 3 years are being considered for a move to Kindfund within a week.

Quite an exercise and lots to prepare to receive them well we value your prayerful support for management and staff

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“Hi Ken! The above WhatsApp is from one of our Secondary School children saying thank you to you for being there for her these last 12 years. She is just finished final exams at school.”

Apart from our heading above what were her words written to one of our managers (slightly amended).

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The manager of our home in Wamba Samburu has received his first jab today.

Supplies are limited but he is hoping to arrange for all the staff in the home to be vaccinated in the days ahead. Here he is in the Catholic Mission Hospital at Wamba going for the jab

We have asked for the managers of our other homes to check with their local clinics to see if they can arrange a vaccination programme for their staff

Update 6th April
This morning ten of our Wamba staff were able to benefit from their first vaccine at the Wamba mission Hospital. We thank God and continue to pray for the roll out of the vaccine in Kenya and especially for the protection of our children and staff.

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Yes in spite of the devastation of Covid throughout the world life goes on more or less as normal in Northern Kenya

Here are a few photos – sports day at school, birthday celebrations, hospital trips and family

At home here in N Ireland we are praying for things to open up shortly and vaccinations to be completed to enable us to begin ravel again to Kenya

Remember to continue with thanksgiving

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Lea from Austria tell us about her visit, Pamela spends Christmas 2019 with the children, Ken joins her and they visit Ethiopia, Gillian experiences prayers answered as she returns home unexpectedly, new baby, baptisms and birthday celebrations are all in the mix together with life under Covid and more.

If you have any questions after reading, please write to us and we will do our best to answer. Do help us by posting this article on social media – or email it to a friend – using the links below. Thank you!

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Earlier this month Shalline the Manager in charge of Tuition at the home during Covid held the second birthday party this year this time for those born in the second half of the year.

Again a brilliant time for the children and we were happy to provide a few extras to make it a special day for them. You can see from the photos that they enjoyed.
Thank you to Shalline and all who were involved in making this a special day for the children.

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This month September 2020 we have been approached by Government to rescue three babies from

very tragic but wholly different circumstances. After discussions it looks like a relative will take one of them and the first just a week old will be with us today. Investigations are still proceeding in respect of the other baby and we await the recommendation of the County Child Co-ordinator.

We are gearing up our baby unit and purchasing provisions to welcome the new arrivals. There is an air of excitement among the Kindfund family as they prepare to welcome the babies.

Update 29th October 2020
Baby was very small and came to us at 3 weeks. Now 7 weeks old she is doing well although as you will see from photo plenty of room in her clothes.

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In 2019 we were approached by several of our older teenagers who had been participating in a Friday evening bible study group. They had been discussing

baptism and requested if they could be baptised. We agreed that we would ask a local pastor to organise a class for them and if they still wanted to be baptised, they could be at the end of the teaching.
“…. go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matt 28 v19
We were pleased when five of them stayed the course and were baptized. The group included three boys and two girls all in their middle teens. Nzau, the manager at Wamba had the pleasure of witnessing this joyous occasion. The service was led by a local pastor.

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I thought you would like to know how the children and staff have been getting along under Covid shutdown. I have therefore selected some photographs which I think illustrate what has been happening.

Despite the restrictions life has been going on and management and staff have borne up to the challenge remarkably well.
The Government acted quickly in March to close down the Country as soon as the first cases were identified. You know Gillian was by the grace of God able to return to NI at the end of March. During that period we equipped the homes with sanitizer and masks and issued guidance to them to reduce the risk of transmission. Schools were closed and we re-employed most of our teachers as tutors as we replaced school with Home tuition. We could not, for the sake of their health and general discipline have so many children idle.
Previous reports describe hardships being experienced by many and the action we took in one situation.
In the homes we have organised some special activities for the children. We have had a birthday celebration for everyone in each home. Many children are unaware of the date of their birthdays so a general celebration was organised. Team sports have been a feature for the older children at Wamba.
Of course all the normal things have continued and this has included hospital visits for those ill and two children obtained long awaited surgery. Management has been reporting to us here formally on a monthly basis although hardly a day goes past without some contact thanks to Whats App and Messenger. Routine maintenance continues along with monthly shopping although we have taken steps to pay bills electronically and pay many staff to their telephones to avoid the need for visits to Isiolo the County town.
We give thanks for Raphael and Bosco two of our local Trustees who have helped management with advice and guidance on the ground. We also thank the local Government administration which after some initial confusion has rowed in behind our management with support.

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The purpose of this short article is to bring you up to date with Kindfund’s children’s work in Northern Kenya and a recent visit to Ethiopia
In November 2019 Pamela travelled to Kindfund Kenya to be with the children at Christmas. She

was joined at the beginning of December by Lea a teenage Austrian girl keen to share some of her year helping needy children in Africa, before going to University. During her stay at Ngaremara and Wamba Lea made an immense contribution to the work; having come to Kenya well prepared with material and ideas to engage with and spend quality time with the children You can read more about Lea and her experience in the previous News blogs.
It was a remarkably busy trip for Pamela as she dealt with a few management issues and oversaw the preparations for Christmas ensuring that every one of our 125 children received an appropriate Christmas gift. In this she was supported by Esther and other staff members and some of our teenage children. All went well and the children all received a small gift and a selection of items in their ‘Christmas stocking.’
Pamela was keen to share with all our children so a few days before Christmas, accompanied by Lea they visited our most remote home at Ndikir, in Marsabit County and 180kms North of Isiolo. The children were pleased to see them. They shared together and the children sang some hymns and repeated memory versus they had been learning. Lea’s creativity was appreciated as the children learnt new craft skills and each one received a gift from Lea of a pair of sunglasses.
Returning to be at Wamba for Christmas Pamela encouraged the staff and children to prepare a drama of the nativity which they were able to perform on Christmas day. It was a high point for Pamela, and she was so thrilled to witness the response of the teenage children as they discussed and rehearsed the drama. It was a time for bonding with the children in the home and appreciating the several older young adults who visited her at the home to share how they were getting along outside in the wider world. Here at Wamba as at Ngaremara Lea quickly settled to a routine with the children introducing them to new and constructive activities and songs.
After Christmas they returned to the home at Ngaremara to share more time with the younger children before Pamela travelled 110 kms South to Nanyuki on the Equator to await my arrival on New Year’s Day.
Travelling over the year end proved to be a good decision as my ticket was upgraded and I enjoyed a little luxury on the flight from Amsterdam. It was good to be with Pamela again after being apart for 6 weeks. We stayed 2 nights at Nanyuki before returning to Ngaremara to prepare for a Kindfund Team Management meeting on 4th. A good opportunity for us to be updated on the work and issues at each home and for me to touch on key management themes in relation to our policies – child protection, education, and employment contracts etc. Bosco one of our local trustees, had attended a conference and AGM of the Children’s Homes Association of which we are a member. He updated us on their work and areas where they could assist.
Before leaving our home in N Ireland I had booked a visit to Ethiopia from 5th to 12th January as something of a surprise break for Pamela (this year is our 50th wedding anniversary) but also to meet a good friend of ours who had been inviting us to come and help him to start a work in rural Ethiopia. The Ethiopian calendar is 14 days behind our Western calendar so by travelling on 5th we would get to spend Christmas with our friend Mattewos (for 16 years a brother in Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity) and his family(wife and child). I will write further about that visit but in the meantime I would like to ask you to pray for direction in connection with Mattewos’ proposal to us to begin a work with orphans and poor children (something he is very experienced with from his earlier background), in a rural setting 250kms South of the capital Addis Abba.
Returning to Kenya we were busy as Pamela tackled many issues aimed at upgrading our children’s Kindfund experience. As many of you will have seen from sponsorship photos the children continue to thrive physically and we could see first-hand the benefits of a caring and loving environment for their development. Of course, like any large family we have problems with a few, and these require specific attention. The beginning of the calendar year heralds a new school year with all the activity around children moving up a year and transferring from nursery to primary to secondary and to polytechnic. This year was no exception with two teenagers to Secondary and four to Polytechnic.
Having been absent most of 2019 through some health issues I tackled a backlog of small projects which were aimed at upgrading our facilities. Managing three fairly large children’s homes, nursery and primary schools with sites running to c.30 acres in total requires a constant programme of maintenance and investment and I like to achieve as much as possible when in Kenya to reduce the risk of things going wrong. The result was we were on the road a lot between Ngaremara, Wamba and Ndikir.
One incident of interest was the car breaking down at a very remote spot on the road to Wamba. Of course, no telephone reception so I immediately started back towards the last village we had passed about 3 kms down the road, leaving Lea and Pamela to wait. I was soon able to stop a vehicle and obtain a lift to the point where the telephone would work. I called back to Archer’s Post to ask Mike the local mechanic to rescue us – something he has had to do on several occasions over the years.
One hour later, in the heat of the early afternoon, at the side of the road a matatu on the way to Wamba stopped and out stepped Mike. After a brief chat room was somehow made for me to ride back up to where I had left the car and Pamela and Lea – well almost. You can see Pamela having a go engaging front axle to four- wheel drive in the photo. Lea was amazed as this almost 73 yr old granny had started the car, turned it round and now needed four-wheel drive to get out of the sand to drive down to meet me. We dismissed the mechanic with thanks after he had checked around. The car continued for the next week until we returned to Isiolo and I had the clutch stripped out. The plate was in pieces and only a miracle had kept it on the road.
Time arrived for Lea to leave at the end of January and we travelled with her to Nanyuki from where we parted as she travelled on with Joseph, our good friend and taxi to the airport in Nairobi. A remarkable young lady who made a valued contribution punching well above her weight.
Just a week later it was time for Pamela to leave. Arriving home, she had time for a final week with her last aunt and cousins. Aunt Winnie at 90+ had in her own words, ‘Fought the good fight, kept the faith and finished the course.’ We will miss her.
In my last month I rushed to finish the work started while treating a chest infection which would not move despite a second antibiotic. At the same time news of the oncoming Covid 19 was beginning to occupy my mind. Despite this I managed to fit in a trip to the Samburu Safari park with our teenage boys organised by our friend John Doherty a world expert on the reticulated giraffe.
At the beginning of March, we welcomed Gillian while wondering about the gathering cloud of the virus which had not yet hit Africa. Some of you will have read Gillian’s blog on her experience. We give thanks that she was able at short notice three weeks later to return to N Ireland on 24th, the day Kenya was closing to protect the country from Covid 19.
However at this stage in early March we were still planning to bring our Primary School principal, Shalline over to Northern Ireland at the end of March, as part of an exchange with Dunclug Primary in Ballymena, and as I took my leave of the children, staff and Gillian, Shalline travelled with me to Nairobi to visit the British Council and present herself and visa application documentation. However, it was not to be as Covid 19 took over world affairs.
I flew back to Ireland on 12th March the day the first Covid 19 case was detected in Kenya and to a rapidly changing world which demanded immediate action in Kenya to protect our children. I will write more on that later.

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“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” Joshua 1 v 9

Life for us all has changed dramatically in the last wee while. Things that we did before without thinking we now cannot do, for example, giving someone a simple hug! When I arrived in Kenya at the beginning of March, I had so many wee arms round me and smiling faces.

What a welcome, and though l miss them terribly since leaving, I’m not sure how I would have coped or if the small ones would have understood why I had stopped greeting them with a great big hug. There are many things we as adults don’t understand but a child coming from a background of rejection or abuse seeing me withhold the arm around the shoulder I once gave and being too young to understand I was doing it for their own welfare, it must be very confusing. Maybe even that feeling of rejection all over again and there is nothing I could do about it. Heart breaking, and this is only one example.
The verse above from Joshua 1 is a verse that is close to my heart. It was the confirmation of God’s leading me to Kenya in the first place and as this story of my miracle journey back to Northern Ireland will show, it is God’s confirmation that He keeps His promises and is very much still with us in all the drama this world throws at us.
It was so good to be back and see our kids again. They seemed to have missed me!! I had missed them. We laughed, played, talked, sang (well they did the singing!), visited the older children at polytechnic, the car broke down, problem with solar electricity, an unwelcome visit from an awfully long snake etc etc. Just the usual first week but that is where normal ended.
My visit of two months ended up being just over three weeks. With the first confirmed cases of coronavirus in Nairobi confirmed the government acted quickly and closed schools. Our older kids at secondary school and polytech returned home to us and we immediately started to put in place measures to keep everyone safe. Isolating the homes, no visitors, restricting travel to essentials (food etc) purchasing gloves, sanitisers etc. This meant that I was not able to see our children in our other two homes as travelling to them was not an option.
In all this preparation, hearing news of how the situation in Northern Ireland was moving fast, knowing Kenya had already stopped foreign travel in to the country around the same time as they closed the schools, I never once thought I’d need to make a decision about leaving. Naïve or just busy? I do not know, but when I heard that Kenya were going to close the airport in three days I was left with a dilemma and not much time to solve it. Should I stay or go? I spent the next few hours walking around the Home, praying about it. If it were right for me to leave, God would make a way. The next three days were tough but as I look back, it was in these days that I felt the Lord renew His promise to be with me wherever I go.
I went to town in search of Wifi the next morning to see if I could change my flight. Wifi was a bit slow and intermittent but worked. However, I could neither change my flight online, contact the airline or even book a separate new flight as there were none available in the days left before the airport closed. Next, I tried British Embassy Nairobi office. A few numbers were out of service but eventually I got through. They took my details and said they would contact me the next day. This was a problem, because if they contacted me the next day and said, we have a flight going in two hours’ time, it would have been no good to me because I was nearly six hours away by car. I would not make it. I had no choice but to pack and head for the airport early the next morning in faith that I would get a flight. This had all happened so quickly the kids did not know I was leaving until that morning. It was so emotional, and just the beginning of a very emotional day.
Two hours into the journey I received a message telling me of something that happened after I left. I very nearly turned in the road and returned to our kids. But I had to go on and trust them to God as well as the decision to go to the airport. I arrived at the airport just before 3pm. In the carpark as I was getting my bags the phone rang. The girl from the Embassy asked where I was and then told me that there were still no flights to Belfast or Dublin available. I went on into the airport to check with various airlines. Quite a few had already stopped flights. I nearly ended up in quarantine at this point before airport security realised, I had come from Northern Kenya and not just arrived on a plane! This was when I met the first person that God put in my path. I was with this lady for nearly 5 hours that afternoon. She worked with a travel agency at the airport and set about looking for any available flights before the airport closed the next day. She could find none. This was an exceedingly difficult moment, as I was now at the airport and potentially at risk of picking up coronavirus I could not return to the children without a period of isolation if I did not get a flight. And then, I heard a shout from the office. I have a flight! A flight from Nairobi-Doha-London-Dublin the next day, one hour before the airport closed. a few minutes later I received a phone call from the British Embassy telling me she was sorry but there were still no flights available before the airport closed! A miracle. On one hand I was being told there are no flights and on the other, here I was with a flight. The next issue was paying for it. My bank card did not work. Long story cut short, the flight was paid for but with my bank card blocked, little cash left and me being absolutely exhausted and an emotional wreck who had hardly eaten anything all day I was planning on finding a spot in the airport for the night as my flight wasn’t until 11pm the next day.
This was when the second person that God put in my path appeared. I was curled up with my bags on a hard chair crying to myself when a commotion started at one of the check-in desks. There were people being turned away from a flight. I got chatting to this guy, airport staff I presumed. He explained to me what was going on and told me people were being sent to a hotel for the night as their flights were being rearranged for the next day. He insisted I go to the desk and check on mine. As usual, being a bit backward and at this point, wiped out, I was hanging around at the back of the group of people when he came up to me again and insisted I go forward to the desk and enquire. The result being, I got a hotel room for the night and was able to get on the flight the next day well rested and fed. A flight that I could not get checked in online and that was not even listed on the departure board right up to take off. And that was not all. As well as getting near the last flight out of Nairobi, when I got to Dublin, I got the last bus to Enniskillen. That service was being temporarily stopped the next day.
Incredible, God had made a way and given me the strength to make the journey and deal with all the obstacles that appeared. Now that I am back in Northern Ireland and struggling at times with leaving the children in such a difficult time I still need to look to Joshua 1 v 9 “……Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” We trust and pray continually that God will be with the children and with us as we do what we can from NI to help them.

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The 12 men who joined the relief scheme turned out to be 13. They worked well for the 5 days and just in time made enough progress with the flood barrier to divert very heavy rain on the third day.

They repaired damage caused by the torrential rain and completed phase one.

Pleased to finish the job and receive their pay they posed for a team photo.

Well done to the men who can now buy suipplies for their families and to Raphael and Lucy who recognised the need and approached us to help

Covid 19 continues to spread in Kenya and today we were told that the first case had been identified in a local town close to one of our homes

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You will recall we had suggested a small relief scheme to help the neediest villagers impacted by the Covid 19 lockdown which had closed the livestock markets.

Raphael has wasted no time to get it underway with the first 12 families sending one person each to benefit from 5 days work at 500 ksh per day. A total of 2500 ksh into each household. A small but eagerly awaited amount as you can see with the progress achieved in building a flood barrier around our home site at Ndikir.
Tonight I was able to send 30,000 by mpesa to Raphael’s phone so that he can pay 2 days pay after work finished tomorrow to encourage the families.
Thank you to those of you who have been praying for and supporting this effort. Each family will receive just less than £20/€23/$25 not a lot for us but a life saver in Northern Kenya. Thank you.
This is just the first batch and we hope to help more as we are able

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Memo from Raphael and Lucy who manage our Children’s Home at Ndikir in N Kenya

Last week I received this communication from Raphael:
‘Hi Ken and Pam how are you we are OK in the Lord. There is hunger in our neighbourhood which has affected our staff. All livestock markets are closed (Government reaction to Covid 19. This is devastating to the local Rendille community who totally depend on their animals for survival as they live in scrubland on the edge of a desert) and every single person are crying of hunger. Members of staff besiege for food. Relief is needed for 400 households since this Covid 19 not only claim by virus it demand on famine. Tell brethren in Christ. Greet Pam and all our prayers are on you for protection. Raphael
Footnote: Two elders have passed on in two weeks interval not because of Covid 19 but hunger Raphael
I have suggested to Raphael that we provide a relief scheme for some of the worst effected villagers. There has been heavy rain and there is a danger of flooding our home if it continues so I am suggesting he has a barrier dug in the sandy soil to divert water running from a nearby hill.
In response Raphael and Lucy have identified 40 of the neediest village families who could send a member to join a relief scheme and we would pay 300 ksh per day (c.£2.30). We have suggested starting with 20 and initially giving 5 days work and depending on how our resources enable we could extend.

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Everything gets alive when I’m looking at the ton of pictures and videos I’ve taken in the two months of December and January. All those smiley faces!
I’m already back at home since quite a while. However, I’m looking back with thankfulness to the time I was able to spend in Kenya.

It’s kind of crazy how quick you dive back into your „old normal life“ but all the single moments which I‘ve collected there will not just disappear but they will have an impact on my life. It’s worth it.
Back to the time in Kenya and African surprises:
School started back again for the kids in January. Pamela & Ken were away and there was no teacher for class 1 at Primary school in Ngaremara! So within seconds I got the new ‚mzungu‘ teacher. Whereas the fact to be a ‚mzungu‘ (white person) made me more of an attraction to the little ones than a person to.
It was a real joy and challenge to teach a bunch of very energetic kids for the rest of the week.
Situations like this leave you speechless in the way how spontanious things often are in Africa. However I really got used to it. One day I was saying to Pamela: „It’s probably about just stepping out of the door and trusting God.“ Pamela promptly said:“You got it Lea!“
I experienced that Africans don’t seem to judge you with how you do things. Unhealthy pressure which you sometimes find in our communities doesn’t really exist there.
It’s amazing, even little ones are involved in a Sunday service no matter of which age or character they are. I remember little Joy just 4 years on one Sunday stepping out in front of the whole community and singing her little song. This girl just loves to sing and God can use this gift in her!
My task in Kenya was not just waiting for extraordinary/special incidents like the teaching, but all in all to spend time with the children which was an absolutely thankful job. I had a full suitcase with me with lots of gifts from people of Austria. We were doing crafts like knitting, playing games, trying to learn the recorder, climbing a tree, slacklining and ongoing. Something they untirelessy love to do is playing football. I prefered to play with the small children as football is not what I usually do. With that I felt very equal:). It’s not about materials but to simply spend time with the kids. They enjoy that so much. Although they don’t own a lot of equippment they are not getting bored but creative with filling their time with simple things. I had my eyes opened as once a little one approached me showing a bug to which he had tied a cord and was going to take it for a walk like a dog!
My prayer was that God uses situations where I could say the right things to the children and show love to them. Pamela and Ken also encouraged me to share what was on my heart at the regularly fellowships and I also had the experience to take a Sunday school. I’m thankful for that. It wasn’t always easy for me to carry through programes as I was on my own. Therefore I had to work my way through how to handle the adventorous lively big groups of kids. A good way was to divide the kids and doing things with a limited number of classes. An example was when I unpacked the guitar which I had brought with me. Everyone was curious and eager to play it. So I lined them up (about 20 kids) and one by one they played the guitar for a few moments. I stood next to the guitar and said „Okay now it’s the next one’s turn.“
When there were challanges or even conflicts I strongly remember what Pamela once said: „Do good anyway.“
Someone might think, those poor people in far Africa, they must be so thankful with all that they get gifted from generous people like us. However they are the same humans as we are, including evil roots. Sometimes you experience greed or feel like people see you as a person who is throwing around gifts / gift machine. Pamela said and I’m sure this also counts for Ken that God gave her the love for the people in Kenya and that this is what is important in the long run to endure and do what God has prepared.
Something which personally touched me was one day when we went shopping for the older school kids in town (which took hours like typically!). I had an encounter with a little streetboy. With shining eyes he said „yes“ after I had asked him if he knows that Jesus loves him. It really made an impact to me to see that a child like this boy has to live in such a condition and you wish that those poor people have at least the hope of Jesus which noone can take from them. Next to me one of the older boys was standing and told me: „I was in the same situation on the same streets!“ How wonderful it is that with Kindfund children get a new chance for life and the opportunity to hear the truth of God’s word!
Something I’m not missing to mention is what cool and loving „Mum“ and „Dad“ Pamela and Ken (both 70 +) are for the kids!!! Pamela once started a water battle and Ken was playing volleyball with the children! Amazing!
I truly can recommend to all you guys to take the chance if you have one and step out to immerse into a project just like Kindfund. I experienced it as a real blessing. Besides I personally find it extremely healthy if everyone of our western world would get at least once in a lifetime a glimpse of poverty. Better still getting to know people with their individual stories and not simply seeing horrific pictures in the media. It gives us an idea of how disadvantaged many people living on the same planet as we are. And it brings you to the conclusion of how unthankful we often are, taking things just as granted.
Let us also pray for Kindfund family in this current situation of corona virus. It hasn’t stopped in Kenya and they need the Lord’s comfort and help especially as they don’t have access to needed resources as a country.
Thank you Kindfund Family for having me! I would have liked to return soon which isn’t possible for now. God knows if and when there’ll be the next chance to visit. That will be a joy to see again all the precious faces there.
Asante sana.
Lea

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Wow so many experiences and impressions I get here in Kenya at Kindfund.
It’s the first time in Africa for me – I’m 19 yrs old, my home is in Austria and I just finished school in 2019.
For many years the thought of going to Africa has stuck in my head. God put it on my heart and now I am actually here and I truly can say that I’m very thankful for it.

Kindfund family and Pamela (Ken has only arrived on 2nd Jan) made it easy to settle in. Its a blessing to spend time with Pamela and Ken and seeing what God has done in their lives through his grace. One day in the beginning I was not well but thanks to God I had recovered the next day.

Running programmes with the children on your own brings some challenges. Pretty soon I realised I could not always be, ‘the lovely Lea’ who does and gives everything the kids want but that strickness and firmness is needed in some situations.

I get to know time after time backgrounds of the children where many can break one’s heart. Only God can heal those kids.

Sometimes the kids bring me to exhaustion but then they bring so much joy and show you their thankfulness for spending time with them. They can sing very, very beautiful- even the little ones impress.

I very much like the personalities of the children. What sometimes annoys me is being so visible as a ‘mzungu’ especially when I walk outside and the young men approach me because they think I must be rich because I am white.

I will write more later but in short I am very blessed here and can personally learn more about God as I deal with the children. It is my prayer that God will make it clear to me if he wants me to continue with my interest in Kenya and Africa.

Time flies by – the two months will be over at the end of January.

You definately don’t get bored – this past week I got an African surprise! More of that next time I write.

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Esther & Nsau visit Northern Ireland, Andrew & Paul travel to Kenya…it’s the latest Kindfund news, with reports from Sally, Daphne, Andrew, Paul, Alastair and Gillian.

If you have any questions after reading, please write to us and we will do our best to answer. Do help us by posting this article on social media – or email it to a friend – using the links below. Thank you!

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What a welcome! It was so good to be back in the place that stole our hearts just over one year ago. Last time out, we experienced a pretty eventful and sometimes frightening few weeks with local violence in Ngaremara leading to the evacuation of the entire centre on our final day. Praise God that since that day, Ngaremara

has been a relatively peaceful place and God has protected each and every person within Kindfund in that time.
We got out of the jeep after a long 2 days of travelling to be greeted with many hugs and happy faces, faces we had got to know last year and were delighted to be reunited with. We spent our first 2 days in Ngaremara spending time with the younger children as well as a few of the teenagers who had been attending secondary school in the area. It did not take long for these little ones to recite back and sing everything we had taught them last year and for us to be reminded of how energetic and fun this bunch of youngsters were. It was also great to reunite with Pamela and Gillian who once again went out of their way to make us feel welcome and made sure we never went hungry. (Not an easy task!)

After these 2 short days, we headed up to Wamba to be reunited with the majority of the children we had met last summer. Arguably this welcome was even more impressive and humbling than the last. We could hardly get out the door of the jeep due to the volume of kids mobbing the vehicle. After many more hugs and high fives, we soon settled back into life in this beautiful part of Kenya. It was so great to see all the kids again, particularly those we had been sponsoring and praying for through the year and seeing how many of them had grown and matured.

Our main vision and goal for the 2 weeks was to share Christ with these precious kids both through sharing the gospel and simply spending time with them showing them God’s love. Having been out last year, we had a much clearer idea of what to expect and had decided to split the group of almost 80 kids into two main groups. Each morning we held a meeting for the younger children that largely took the form of a Bible Club for the week. During these meetings, we shared a different miracle that Jesus performed through his lifetime and considered what these meant to our lives today; namely that Jesus provides, heals, empowers, understand and saves. There was also some fantastic singing on show as well as a lot of healthy competition in our quizzes between the boys and the girls.
In the evenings, we brought together the 27 teenagers for a separate time of worship and teaching that was more relevant and useful for their age group that took the form of discussional workshops. During these meetings we both feel that God really spoke, teaching these young people about their incredible value in Christ, the seriousness of their sin, how to read the Bible/have a quiet time and how to be salt and light to others around them.

The majority of the rest of our time in Wamba, consisted of playing games, making crafts and getting alongside these amazing kids. We also spent one afternoon climbing a nearby mountain with some of the kids, something they found a lot easier than we did in the scorching heat while trying to avoid the many 3 inch thorns on the ground below. Each night also consisted of some incredibly intense games of Uno with both children and leaders regularly showing their passion and competitive edge. It is fair to say that despite the kids love of the game, we both will be taking a considerable break from it and don’t want to see another Uno game for a long time.

Our short stay in Wamba soon came to an end and it was time to pack up and head back to Ngaremara for a day before setting off on our homeward journey. After a few more games with the little ones and one final game of Uno, we waved goodbye to Kindfund for another year, praising God for his goodness and provision during another memorable stay. We already miss our Kenyan friends and we can’t wait to get back out again in the future. We love you guys and we thank God for you all!
Andrew and Paul

Quote from Andrew:
“Kindfund has grown a special place in my heart and personally for me, this year even outshone last year’s trip. God continues to do amazing things in the lives of these amazing kids who once again inspired and challenged us in ways they will never realise. I leave Kenya once again feeling greatly blessed by those I met and only encourage more of you to invest time, money and prayer into this amazing work. Asante Kindfund!”

Quote from Paul:
“Coming back a second year and seeing the kids reinforced how much I missed their infectious smiles and endless energy. These 2 short weeks again again struck it home how blessed these Kindfund kids and young people are to have a loving home with safety, shelter, food, education, friends and above all the gospel message presented to them. It was such a privilege to witness how Kindfund has impacted their lives and how Ken, Pam, Gillian and all of the staff are working tirelessly to care for these kids. Let’s keep on supporting and praying for Kindfund!”

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Children

In 2019 we have received 12 young children into our three homes one of which was under 6 months. Total numbers are c 130 as a few of our older teenagers have moved out to their communities and relatives.

Four of our teenagers moved to polytechnic in January (three girls undertaking catering and one boy vehicle mechanic). They are currently on August break and the three girls are enjoying helping with the cooking at Wamba home where we have just over 60 of the children. They have been introducing some more exotic food to the children and staff). In January also four of our teenage boys did well enough in their end of primary exams to go to Secondary School.

The Primary School for our children is progressing well with Standard two to eight at Wamba and Standard 1 and Nursery at Ngaremara. Remoteness means that the 25 children at Ndikir are taught on site there along with some children from the local community who attend our classes. One of our Board members here in NI who is headmaster of a primary school in Ballymena has set up an exchange with Kindfund Hope Primary sponsored by the British Council and already a teacher from the Ballymena school has spent two weeks at Wamba. A Hope primary teacher will visit Ballymena later in the year.

The first week in August we hosted a large team from YWAM Athi River (South of Nairobi) of young people reaching out as part of their 5 month discipleship training course. They shared with the children at Wamba and Ngaremara for the week of Bible teaching fellowship and games. A small number visited Ndikir for one day much to the benefit and pleasure of the children there.

This week we have two young men from Fermanagh Christian Fellowship (a teacher and a hospital worker following up on their visit last year) running a bible camp at Wamba including time with the teenagers every evening. Last week for a couple of days on arrival and next week for a few days before departure they are engaging with our younger children at Ngaremara.

Staffing

Staffing has remained stable in 2019 with a small turnover. We have had a few issues which we have had to deal with requiring disciplinary action but otherwise less stress than 2018 when we had some key staff ill.

A temporary manager engaged at Ngaremara to cover illness has been let go while on probation and we have restructured to promote two of our long-standing staff to fill the roles. An additional House mother for Wamba has been recruited this month to address the proportion of our children at this home because of the location of the primary school there.

We continue to run seminars on Child Protection and are alert to address any signs of poor behaviour on the part of staff.

All our staff have signed employment contracts.

The manager for Wamba and his wife visited N Ireland for three weeks in April/May. For the first week they attended the BES International Conference at Enniskillen. We extended the visit as a holiday in recognition of 10yrs service with Kindfund

Government

We remain closely in touch with Government officials at all three homes. We continue to receive referrals of new children from the Child Officers and the local Chiefs (Government administrative officials).

We have issues (as do all Children’s Homes in Kenya – we have recently joined the ACCI – Homes association) with the Government over their failure to renew registration for our two main homes and accept the registration of the third. This also applies to the registration of our primary school. However, we continue to press on and to function, enjoying good standing with the local Government representatives.

Projects

Apart from replacing two double latrines at Ngaremara and carrying out regular maintenance work we have had no major projects since we installed the water tanks at Wamba. We still need to install electricity at Ngaremara and have other wish list projects for the future.

Currency

The £ has fallen in value from a peak of 164ksh to the £ pre the Brexit vote to currently a recent low of 123ksh to the £. Until the more recent changes in the Government we were achieving c130 to the £.

Common sense dictates that we conserve our resources to cover running costs in case of further deterioration or until the £ recovers

Management by Kindfund UK

Pamela Dobbin and Gillian Stevenson are currently on their second (June to Sept) extended visits to Kindfund Kenya this year and Ken Dobbin will travel to Kenya mid-September for his slightly shorter second visit (5 weeks). All three expect, God willing, to be out again this year with Ken and Pamela spending Christmas and New year there with the children.

Kindfund’s AGM is scheduled for 10th September this year.

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It may be Bank Holiday Monday but at Manoo it was time for some serious work.

Today we decided gardening would be a good way to relax and Nzau was keen to get to grips with some of the equipment. We now have a fully fledged trained gardener. He enjoyed getting on the ‘Bob the Builder’ gear, wellies and being let loose on the grass.
Next job will be the chain saw and some logging and splitting with an axe. Ken will be sorry to see him go home

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Nzau and Esther continue their exploration of Northern Ireland with a visit to Bangor Co Down.

After their stay with Daphne in Co Antrim and the fresh artic air of the North Coast they have moved to join Heather in County Down. Exploring the Christian Heritage at Bangor Abbey where St Columbanus studied before going on his missionary journeys across Europe in the 6th Century has been exciting and gave Nzau the opportunity to dress in mediaeval monks attire.

A visit to the Friday mornings mens fellowship (over 100 men) at West Church Bangor proved encouraging before relaxing at the local gardens.

They are taking the opportunity to meet many Kindfund supporters in North Down at West Church on Sunday morning before journeying back to Fermanagh for their final week

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Nzau has been the manager of our Children’s Home at Wamba Samburu Kenya for 10 years this year. The home houses 62 of our children and Standards 2 to 8 of Kindfund Hope Primary School so it is a very busy and demanding environment.

The BES International Conference has given us the opportunity to bless Leonard and his wife Esther by extending their stay in Northern Ireland to have time together and relax enjoying the beauty of the countryside and the people involved with Kindfund at this end.

This week is in Counties Antrim and Down while next week they will be back in Fermanagh with a visit to Londonderry

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Nzau the manager at our children’s home in Wamba Samburu attended the BES International Conference held at FCF Enniskillen Co Fermanagh

The conference focussed on the development of the Bible Education material used and distributed by Kindfund in Kenya. It was an opportunity to meet and have fellowship with those who produced and distributed the material as well as having fellowship with many committed distributors from across the world

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A few of our young boys modelling their new school uniforms

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A young girl of 13yrs has been rescued from early marriage by the Child Officer

who has placed her in one of our homes until the Court has an opportunity to rule on her future.
We have a photo, not published for confidentiality reasons and I can confirm she is just a slip of a girl.
A very sad situation but we are pleased to be able to help

Update 25th Jan 2019

The young girl – turns out she is only 10 yrs was taken by the Child Officer from our home this week to court. She has now been committed to the care of a home in the County town where the Court is held. That is three hours travel on rough road from our home.
Thank you for your prayers

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Here’s our latest Kindfund news, with reports from Gillian, Sally, Hazel and Alastair.

‘With friends in Ireland, our dream shall come true Your sponsorship to all needy children, regardless of race or creed
We cheer and cherish you
Kindfund Hope: Wonderful partner.’
Shalline Kegode

If you have any questions after reading, please write to us and we will do our best to answer. Do help us by posting this article on social media – or email it to a friend – using the links below. Thank you!

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Find out how children, staff and summer visitors got on during a particularly eventful July in Ngaremara!

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On Thursday the baby we had been expecting was collected by Pamela from a remote village and brought to the Kindfund Home. We were expecting

a three week old girl last week but in the event it is a four week old boy. Sadly the mother died in childbirth. The baby slept quietly on Pamela’s knee during the journey.

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Today the Kenyan Minister responsible for Interior Security visited Isiolo and assured the residents of Ngaremara that there would be peace.

This afternoon Pamela and Gillian organised the return of all our children and staff to Ngaremara. We thank God for the return of sanity and peace. Thank you to all who have been praying for the situation.
We were much blessed by Vicar John and the parish of Waso at Isiolo who received us with open arms. Thank you.

Five of our secondary school children have missed four weeks at school with Ngaremara secondary still closed we are seeking to make alternative arrangements especially for the two who will be sitting KCSE later this year. Please pray specifically for them.

One of the photos shows a small sample of what was found in the grounds and around the perimeter of the home

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The Kindfund family were very warmly welcomed and fussed over by the Vicar and Parish of Waso the ACK (Anglian Church of Kenya) on Southern outskirts of Isiolo

The Christian family there have showered the children with love and restored our joy in being part of the Christian family. Well done to the Vicar and his team. We thank God for you and bless you in Jesus name.

The Vicar has been in touch with the Government, the County and the Red Cross and has co-ordinated support including 3 bags of rice, mosquito nets, blankets and rubber shoes. The women of the parish have risen to the challenge and are supporting the management team to provide for the children nineteen of them are under 7 yrs.

This morning Monday 16th July Pamela and two of our young men drove to Ngaremara and arranged security cover for the site with some of our men. We don’t know at this stage what the future holds in relation to returning to the site but the feeling is that the problem is on-going for the moment and some dramatic intervention is required to bring peace and stability to the area

The two visitors from Fermanagh in N Ireland Paul and Andrew left for home this morning

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1.This last three weeks there has been a battle going on between the police and the young men who look after goats, cows and camels. This has resulted in a lot of disturbance for the local population after the death of a policeman as the police have extracted a price by their actions. There has been gunfire regularly as police have patrolled the road and on occasions it has been very dramatic and extended

Kindfund Home (46 children and 15 staff) and HQ is 300 metres from the main road through the center of the village and and has been used as a refuge for women, children and some old men. Up to 70 people have been seeking refuge at night sleeping on the floor of our classrooms/dining.
The staff have provided some mattresses from our store and more recently we have been giving porridge in the evening and in the morning as the conflict has dragged on. The Catholic Mission on the other side of the road from us is also a refuge for some.

Pamela and Gillian along with two young men visiting from Fermanagh are there at the moment and are well and in good spirits although occasionally their movements have been restricted. The opportunity has been taken to engage the local population in praise and prayer for the situation and that has been much appreciated.

2.After several quiet days last week, and what seemed like an end to the trouble, the violence escalated on Fri and has continued over the weekend. During this time several bullets have struck the children’s home close to children and staff. Some of the children are quite terrorised by the events. Today after consultation with the Government who failed to reassure us of the safety of the children, given our experience on the ground, we have taken the decision to move the children and team from Ngaremara to Isiolo leaving only a skeleton team at the camp to maintain security there. We are thankful for a doromitory that has been made available to us at the blind school at Kambi Ya Juu whom we have been supporting with food for a long number of years. We are also thankful for shelter given at the Anglican Church Kenya (ACK) in Isiolo.
Our two visitors will leave tomorrow as planned. They have been moved to a hotel in Isiolo for the night. Pamela and Gillian will look at longer term contingences in case this distruption continues.

We value your prayerful support at this time.

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We hope you enjoy this round-up of our most recent news from Kenya!

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Our latest arrival is now happily settled in our baby unit. Due to illness mother is unable to care for the child. She was brought to the home by Grand Parents

Dorcas 7 months, has been warmly received into the Kindfund family and has settled well. She is a good child and is feeding well on formula milk and fruit and veg.

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Since arriving in January, we have been running the electric pump weekly to pump water from our new 60,000 litre storage to the top of the site 30,000 litre storage from where it is distributed throughout the home at Wamba.

We are very thankful that the town supply which is turned on twice per week is continuing to top up the main storage so that in total we have been maintaining a reserve of 60,000 to 80,000 litres.
The materials for the construction of the roof have now been delivered in our pickup to Wamba and the welder and builder are working together to complete the task. When complete the tanks will be shielded from direct sunlight and the storage facility will be completely enclosed to protect from curious children and the occasional elephant which breaks into the site at night. The large roof will also be harnessed to collect water to the tanks
Again, thank you to all who have been praying for the water provision at Wamba. Currently we are sitting on 80,000 litres and with an expectation that we should see some rain by the end of March which will replenish the tanks. We will be monitoring the situation carefully to manage the resource.

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Christmas day has passed and as we rush towards the New Year I would like to update you and give you some thoughts for prayer.

Pamela and Gillian have now been in Kenya since 24th November. During that short 5 week period they have had to deal with many challenges as one might expect in any organisation/family with 125 children and 50+ staff. They can become tired and at times frustrated. Beside the matters coming their way for decisions they are coping with temperatures over 30 degrees and eating a restricted diet. Please hold them in your prayer.

The couple I traveled to Mombasa to meet in September with a view to their employment, David and Agnes, visited Ngaremara in early December for a week with two of their three children to meet Pamela and Gillian and to see the work of Kindfund first hand. They engaged deeply with the children and staff at Ngaremara and more than a few tears were shed when the time came for them to leave. I am pleased to report that they will be joining the team in early January 2018 and will be based at Ngaremara. Please pray for them as they prepare to travel the 700kms from Mombasa to Ngaremara, as they sort out their affairs in Mombasa, and as they discover God’s plans for them in the work of Kindfund – they are a gifted couple who have spent 8 yrs in mission with YWAM and who we believe will bring a fresh impetus to the Kindfund family.

January is the start of the new school year with its challenges, hopes and disappointments. Please pray for all the children especially those who have reached a change point at the end of Primary and at the end of Secondary. Also remember the work of our own Hope Primary School, the headmistress, Shalline and staff as they prepare for the new term and not forgetting our feeder Nursery Schools at Ngaremara, Wamba and Ndikir.

We are also helping five of our teachers to gain professional qualifications through vacation study at colleges of further education and they welcome your prayerful support

God willing I will travel to Kenya in early January

Ken

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Our October Prayer Letter brings updates on Kindfund news from Honey Hill, Wamba, Ndikir and Ngaremara.

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October 2017
In September Kindfund decided to go ahead with a water harvesting project estimated at just over £6,000. A concrete platform has been laid in the middle of the site and six by 10,000 litre tanks purchased and delivered along with a pump and associated plumbing equipment to facilitate the collection of rain and town water and its subsequent pumping to three by 10,000 litre tanks on a raised platform at the top of the site from where it is distributed. In total there will be storage for 90,000 litres. The impact will be kept under review.

Mon 20th March Update
Thank you! Your prayers are being answered.

Pamela spoke to the Manager, Nzau this morning and they are getting a little water from the town system. They have been visited by the Government and town water officials and they are being supported as well as they are able for the present. Some water at low pressure is coming through and the staff and children have been working our moneymaker foot pump to assist it up into our raised tanks.

Please don’t give up continue to pray for the supply and also pray for rain for this area of N Kenya which is on the verge of famine.
—-
We have been struggling for the past year to keep our home at Wamba supplied with water. We are connected to the town supply and have a buffer of 30,000 litres in the form of three raised 10,000 litre tanks. We have regular meetings with the Town officials and with the Government representatives – District Commissioner and Chiefs of the area.

For our part when the supply is turned on and the pressure is low we deploy a Moneymaker foot pump to ensure we maximise the little which comes through.

What seemed like just another of the weekly crises escalated today after our manager met with the Water Engineer and Government representatives to be told that there is no supply.

I have received a note today 17th March from the manager telling me if there is no water from the supply tomorrow “You advise us what we do?”

We have over 60 children on the site who need to drink, wash and food has to be cooked not to mention clothes washed.

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On the slopes of Honey Hill the strong dry winds that herald the onset of the dry season that will last until October roar across the hillside and off into the lowland desert valleys and plains.
Inside the temporary sheet metal structures that make up the shelters of Honey Hill Home, doors and windows are closed tight to keep the wind from blowing out the flames of the gas cookers where the children’s foods simmer. The long, slow cooking of meat stocks and vegetables for the children’s special diets requires a lot of fuel. Firewood is scarce to non-existent around all the towns in the north and Marsabit mountain in particular is under great environmental stress. The unique and special rain forest is more and more endangered. Anyone who can afford it uses bottled LPG gas. The price of the gas is high and our usage is also high putting a strain on the budget simply keeping up with the children’s cooking needs.

As the home is situated on a the farm where the camels provide reliable milk and the sheep and goats provide the children with meat and milk, a biogas digester would convert the abundant manure into an ideal renewable cooking fuel. This will help manage the mountains of animal waste, enrich vegetable gardens and eliminate the need for any outside fuel for cooking and water heating.

At Kentainers, “BlueFlame BioSlurriGaz” a home sized unit costs $950 with a capacity of 6 cubic meters. This will provide at least enough gas to cook all the children’s food with more for other cooking. We currently spend more than $100 a month on LPG gas.

There doesn’t appear to be any downside on biogas!

There is more information on Honey Hill on this website – home for physically and mentally challenged children

Update at October 2017
Kindfund purchased the Biogas system from Nairobi in September 2017 and donated it to Honey Hill

If you would like to support please identify your donation Biogas at Donations

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Read more in our first Prayer Letter of 2017.

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On Thursday morning 23rd February we were pleased to host a breakfast meeting with representatives from Saab Kenya who were joined for the occasion by Evelina a Director from Saab, Sweden

We have had a developing relationship with Saab Kenya based at Nanyuki for the last few years. Brian Drummond who heads up the Kenyan team is from Scotland. Around 2 yrs ago Saab donated two large tea chests of baby and children’s clothes to Kindfund and we have since been meeting occasionally to consider how we might take the relationship forward for the benefit of the children.

Recently along with Saab Kenya we had a joint meeting with the Helen Crooks Foundation with a view to exploring the feasibility of providing small play parks for the children in our three homes.

Evilina toured the Ngaremara home and was deeply touched. She met the two generations of Samburu/Rendille children rescued as babies from cultural extremes. Evelina enjoyed the visit to the Kindfund Nursery School where the children sang several songs

We continue our discussions to identify a suitable project which Saab can support

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Andrew and Helen, from Bangor Co Down, crammed a lot of activity into their two weeks at Kindfund. It was their first visit to Kenya and they took to it like the seasoned travellers they are.

Andrew quickly found himself on a busman’s holiday when Caroline one of our teenagers with Diabetes took ill. He accompanied her to the District Hospital in Isiolo where she was given treatment. He was surprised to be put on the street at 6pm along with Caroline because the Doctors were on strike and the hospital was closing.

Ken picked them in the car and took them to a small private clinic in Isiolo. Andrew waited patiently while they sorted her out and installed two drips – antibiotic and insulin and agreed to admit her. After some thought that evening we decided the best course was to take her to Wamba (110kms) where we have a children’s home and there is a Catholic Mission Hospital. Next day we collected her paid the bill and she accompanied us to Wamba where Andrew again spent time arranging for her admittance and discussing her treatment. (Caroline spent over 2 weeks in hospital till she was stabilised and the hospital are continuing to monitor her after discharge – the bill at the mission hospital is covered by NHIF insurance which we pay monthly for all the children)

Meanwhile Helen was enjoying the kids playing games and showing them handcrafts. Both enjoyed the break from winter at home and basking in heat as high as 35 at times.

It was not all fun and games and Andrew experienced some of the driving on tarmac and rough roads. Andrew and Helen took three of our teens to their new Polytech (70kms away) on their first day stopping by at the Uniform shop in Isiolo to purchase all the requirements – something of a Kenyan experience for them.

They were both very helpful and excellent company during their short stay. As we said goodbye to them on 21 Jan we welcomed William, from Kesh for two weeks

Thank you! Andrew and Helen for your visit. The kids will miss you.

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December was the second month of school holidays and it was important to keep the children occupied.

Well Ken soon came up with a few ideas for the boys who took to the work with relish. The next generation of mechanics were soon discovered and to our amazement several boys enthusiastically joined in digging an extension to the septic tank (Irish navvies look out). I never saw boys so keen to use pick, shovel, jemby and crowbar. It was a revelation. They were at it before breakfast and I had to stop them at dusk to go and get washed before supper.
In no time at all – a few days they had a hole 8 ft deep and 2ft 6 ins by 10 feet long. I miss them and am going to have to employ a couple of men to finish it off now that school has started.

Christmas day at Ngaremara was fun and especially for the youngest discovering presents. Esther and Damaris completed a great job ensuring everyone received their bag on the day.

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Shower cubicles, cooking area, food preparation area, food store, general office and raised platform for two 10,000ltr water tanks
have been added to the original classroom/dining room to complete this phase of our development at Ndikir, Laisamis.
We now have facilities for 28 children on site and a readily expandable platform to add additional steel house dormitories.
The 10 children we have had in the home for the past few years happily moved to the new site and buildings a few months ago but development has continued as we improved the central core of the home.
Water remains problematic as we continue to purchase supplies by bowser drawn from Ngurnick 50kms away. The long-term answer is our own onsite borehole when we have the funds and the expertise.
We also need to acquire and install cooking pots similar to our other homes at a cost of c£2000/$2500
Raphael, Lucy and the small team at Ndikir are preparing for the phased intake of additional children as we identify the most needy from the Rendille and Samburu areas of Northern Kenya.

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Marsabit (Honey Hill)
This new facility for a few children with severe physical and learning disabilities, requiring 24-hour care is now up and running (see new Web Section on Honey Hill) with two children and some others under consideration. Please pray for the right staff and resources as the Laroche family seek to develop the vision for this unit in conjunction with Kindfund. There is a chronic need for such facilities in what must be the poorest and most remote area of Kenya.

Ndikir, Laisamis
Work has continued at Ndikir in our absence to complete the building of the Central Core of the home which is the Classroom/dining room, food preparation area, cooking room (we now need to buy eco-friendly cookers like we have installed in our other 2 homes), shower cubicles, clothes washing and raised water storage for our two 10,000 ltr tanks.
We now have accommodation for 24 children with expansion up to 64 readily achievable as demand builds.
The 12 children have remained healthy with a few seasonal colds. Raphael Lucy and family and staff have settled into the new accommodation.

Wamba
Children and staff doing well and in good health apart from normal seasonal ailments. The four youngest babies 2 to 4 yrs are progressing well with Caleb the youngest at 2 yrs 6 months experimenting with words. Damaris from Ngaremara (fresh from her 5 month YWAM discipleship course) has spent 2 weeks at Wamba sharing bible stories and encouraging the children to grow in their Christian walk.

Ngaremara
The children again are generally well. We have admitted three new children to the home in October. In all cases the mother had died and the children were being neglected. A brother and sister age 5 and 12 yrs and a boy age 7 yrs. There are a number of other children in need and we ask you to join us in prayer for wisdom for the right course of action in each case.
We are still seeking progress with the renewal of our registration of the Ngaremara home as a CCI (Charitable Children’s Institution) but wheels grind slowly. Please pray for speedy progress.
Baby Rescue Unit at Ngaremara
Our four babies at the unit are doing well making satisfactory progress. The oldest Joy has just begun to walk at 12 months. They all attended clinic this week to receive a clean bill of health and good progress report
Two new babies have been rescued in the past 2 months and they are currently at Oldonyiro.

Rainfall
Lack of rain is creating problems at all our homes. Especially at Ngaremara we will need to take decisions on pumping water which is currently manpower dependent.
Although into the short rains (Oct – Dec) there has been no worthwhile rain during September and October at any of our homes. The North of Kenya has been experiencing the driest short rains for 10 years and in some places animals are dying and the people are in crises. The Government comments ‘marked worsening conditions which require fast implementation of some response activities to support livelihoods until the onset of the forthcoming rainy season.’
Please pray for adequate rainfall this next month

Kindfund International
At home in UK and Ireland God has remained faithful through his people supporting the work. He continually surprises us breaking new ground.
In Netherlands our representative has submitted an application to have donations to Kindfund recognised by the Government for tax relief.
In USA Robert has just returned to Kenya after a 3 week visit to his home Virginia and we are looking forward to catching up with him when we travel to Kenya at the end of the month.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has contacted Kindfund with a view to doing a story for their news

Over the winter Ken Pamela and Gillian will be in Kenya and will be joined there in January for short visits by William, Andrew and Helen. It will be a first visit to Kenya by the latter two. Jonathan plans to come out later in February for a month.

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Find out all our most recent news in this latest edition.

If you have any questions after reading, please write to us and we will do our best to answer. Do help us by posting this article on social media – or email it to a friend – using the links below. Thank you!

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Wednesday 11th November brought many blessings to our Children’s Home at Ngaremara.

At 3pm in the afternoon Robert and Catherine arrived from Oldonyiro and in the car two new babies rescued by them in the previous four weeks. Shortly after their arrival came the long awaited rain which has since been repeated on a number of days.
Babies Joy and Diana had been unwanted and their lives were in danger. Catherine had brought them under the care of Kindfund and on Wednesday 11th they were safely delivered to Ngaremara into the care of Aris and Esther.
Diana was premature and quite small at 1.6kg. Please pray for both the girls and the staff at Ngaremara as they nurse them through these early weeks

Update Monday 16th November 2015
The babies were taken to the hospital baby clinic in Isiolo today, a 40km round trip.They were examined, weighed and vaccinated. Both have added weight since last Tuesday when they were last weighed at a clinic in Oldonyiro. Joy has increased from 3.1 to 3.15 kg while Diana has shown a big increase from 1.6 to 1.9 kg. The improvement in Diana is a particular blessing. Continue to pray as the nannies at Ngaremara care for the babies.

Update Wed 25th November 2015
The local clinic at the mission in Ngaremara confirmed today that the babies are continuing to do well and gain weight. Joy is now 3.5kg having increased by 3.5 grams in 9 days and Diana has broken through 2kgs at 2.1 showing another 2 grams in the same period. We thank God for his mercy and for the four young ladies acting as nannies.

Update Wed 2nd December 2015
Joy has increased by one gram to 3.6kg and Diana by 4 gram to 2.5kgs. Both babies are doing well and are comfortably settled with their nannys. Please continue in your prayers for them and all one hundred and twenty-five children at Ngaremara, Wamba and Ndikir

Update Mon 11th Jan 2016
The girls are continuing to do very well. Every day they improve and their recognition increases. Smiling when they see familiar faces and hear familiar voices. They are a real blessing. At the clinic today Joy weighed at 3.9kg and Diana at 2.7kg. The nurses are pleased with their progress. Please continue to pray for them and the nannies who are being so devoted. What a blessing.

Update Mon 7th March
The two girls were joined by a third baby Jonathan born on 1 January 2016. All three babies continue to show healthy growth with the smaller ones rapidly catching up. Today Joy weighed in at 4.6kg, Diana at 4.5kg and Jonathan Alan at 3.1kg. Consumption of baby formula milk has increased with Joy managing one tin of Infacare 2 every 4 days and Diana and Jonathan between them drinking 1 tin of Infacare 1 every 2 days. Diana will join Joy on Infacare 2 later this month.

Update Mon 4th April 2016
Three babies visited the clinic in Isiolo today and we are pleased to report further weight gains. Joy 5.4kg, Diane 4.9kg and Jonathan 3.7kg. We are happy with the progress and give thanks for the girls looking after them. Damaris had to hand over Diane in March as we have sent her to YWAM Athi River on a 5 month discipleship course. Please continue to remember in prayer the babies, our other 122 children and the staff

Update Thur 30th May 2016
Three babies visited clinic again this week. Joy now 6kg Diane 5.1kgs and Jonathan 4.2kgs. All progressing well. Staff thank you for your prayer and support

Update Mon 12th September 2016
Our three babies were joined by a fourth, Gideon, in June. Good progress continues Joy now 7.54 kgs, Diana 7.28 kgs, Jonathan 6.1 kgs and Gideon 7.82 kgs. Please continue to pray as we hear another has been rescued last week and may come in our direction.

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After getting back and settling into reality in Ireland, our time with Kindfund in Kenya feels like a dream!
Ruth’s family have been involved in the work of Kindfund for a number of years and were hosts for the Kindfund Outreach Programme in the UK during 2014. When the children returned to Kenya after this visit

it was amazing to see the impact they left behind, they had inspired many around them with their stories, singing and smiles. It was now our turn to visit the children in their home and to hopefully leave our mark for the children in Kenya. It was lovely to see the children who had been in N. Ireland and to see how they had grown and to hear their stories of life after the Outreach Programme as well as getting to meet all their siblings and friends whom we had heard so much about.
Matt, having just finished his degree in Primary School Teaching in Stranmillis University College in Belfast was excited to meet the new children and to do what he loves doing in a new environment and to learn from the children and the Kindfund School. Neither of us knew what to expect but it was exceptional and better that we ever could have imagined.
From the outset we were greeted by a mixture of familiar and new faces along with some heart -warming singing and we were instantly made to feel at home. The children insisted on carrying our bags and showing us to our rooms and this was just the beginning of what they would do for us during our visit. They took the time to introduce themselves and to find out a little about us, inquiring about all the host families they had met and their sponsors. It is hard to imagine the impact any of us can have on one of these children’s lives but the light in their eyes when they spoke of the previous visitors and the host families said it all. It was clear to us both from the first minute we sat down and were surrounded by all of the children at Ngaramara that we would love our time with Kindfund.
We spent our first few days getting to know all of the amazing children and hardworking staff. Monday morning and the beginning of our first school week in Kenya quickly arrived and we got the opportunity to meet Dan, the headmaster of the school at Kindfund, and the two teachers who worked in Ngaramara, Stephen and Robert. Our days during that week were spent working with the teachers and getting the opportunity to teach the standard 5, 6 and 7 classes based in Ngaramara. The children were wonderfully welcoming and extremely passionate about their studies, they even had to be persuaded to leave the classrooms during their midterm break (children at home could learn a lot from them)! We spent our evenings playing with, getting to know and entertaining the children. They learned some new songs and games, even some Irish dancing. While we learned some Swahili and a number of interesting Samburu dances, with varying degrees of success! Ruth was even invited by the staff and children to help prepare dinner for everyone at the Ngaramara home, which was certainly no small task. Our first week came to a close with a seminar, taken by Matt, with all of the teaching staff from Ngaramara and Wamba. Here we were introduced to Felix and Grace, the two teachers working at the Wamba home. The seminar focused on all the progress made by the teaching staff and Dan as headmaster so far and we discussed how we could further progress the school, to improve the pupils’ experience and success.

Our trip to Wamba was made via a road unlike anything either of us had experienced before. Wamba was an equally amazing but completely different experience. The younger children at Wamba, some of whom have been at Kindfund since the first few days of their lives, were unimaginably loving and caring. They provided constant entertainment and were a source of love and laughs throughout our time there. We also had the opportunity to spend time with the four girls in standard 8 of primary school during their half term break. The girls were extremely generous with their time off, showing us around Wamba, helping us gather groceries in town and even taking us on an adventure up a mountain where we experienced some of the most breath-taking views imaginable, before we were caught in a heavy rain and had to run back to the home! During the school day with the standard 1, 2, 3 and 4 classes, we worked with Felix and Grace to implement some of the changes we had discussed at the previous week’s seminar to a great deal of success, shown in the huge overall improvements in all the school children’s’ midterm exam results. We even got to visit the home at Rendille to see the ongoing construction that looked to be creating an amazing site. After some emotional goodbyes at Wamba, we headed back to Ngaramara for our last few days with the children there, with just enough time to squeeze in a very successful trip to see elephants, giraffes and other animals in the Samburu park. After some more very emotional goodbyes at Ngaramara, our journey at Kindfund ended and our journey home began.
Our visit to Kindfund was an experience that neither of us will ever forget. We want to say a huge thank you to everyone involved with the charity. Firstly to all those who fundraise and spread awareness of Kindfund. Trust us, your thoughts, prayers, donations and support are very much appreciated and really do fantastic things for those who need them most. Pamela told us ‘what these children really need is to be loved’, so please continue to love them with all your heart. Secondly to all of the staff at Kindfund- you welcomed us with open arms and showed us the way throughout our time there. Thirdly to all the children in all of the homes at Kindfund. We may only have spent a small amount of time with each of you in our short time in Kenya but you will forever be in our hearts and minds and don’t forget to keep your promises to write to us. We hope we will see you again soon. Lastly to Ken, Pamela and Jonathan, we cannot thank you enough for allowing us to come and be part of these amazing homes that you have built. It was clear from the beginning that you put all your hearts and souls into everything that has been done in Ngaramara, Wamba and Rendille. The experiences we had during our visit will stay with us forever and we look forward to seeing you very soon!
Ruth and Matt

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We have just said goodbye to Matt and Ruth after three very worthwhile weeks at Kindfund Kenya where they made a brilliant contribution to the work – sharing, teaching, playing, contributing and enjoying the children.

A few wet eyes were to be seen as they set off to return to N Ireland. Ruth met some of the children she had hosted in her home as well as others she remembered from the 2014 outreach by 24 Kindfund children to N Ireland.

Matt – just graduating from Stranmillis College in Belfast as Primary School teacher this month – put together two seminars for budding teachers in conjunction with Dan our young headmaster

An early introduction to the babies at Ngaremara and football and other activities with the older children there was followed by more fun and games at Wamba as well as some serious inputs.

Their visit was rounded off by a quick visit North to Ndikir where work was progressing with the children’s home and a quick visit to the Safari Park behind Ngaremara where a variety of wild life was enjoyed.

Many thanks to them both for their enthusiastic and valuable contributions – the kids will remember Mr Noah

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Catch up on what has been a busy six months at Kindfund…with lots more on the horizon too!

Plus, this breaking news for our USA supporters: you can now benefit from a tax deductible receipt when using the ‘USA Donors’ option on our How to Help page.

If you have any questions after reading, please write to us and we will do our best to answer. Do help us by posting this article on social media – or email it to a friend – using the links below. Thank you!

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Look at the photograph of Glory and Moses sitting on the bonnet of our pick-up. Can you imagine Glory just gone into P2 (class 2) at primary being surrounded by 109 other children, cramped on too few desks and with one teacher – sometimes absent?

The reality of Kenyan public primary education hit us like a bolt in February this year. This was our Glory our first baby at Wamba. How could she possibly do well in this situation? All our input in her life to date was in danger of being negated. As we reflected on this, and the situation of our other 57 children in the primary system, we began to appreciate why a number of our middle ability children were beginning to show signs of poor behaviour. We had to do something radical.

It is not that we had been doing nothing. We had tutors helping with studies at night, although with a 5.30 am start the brains were exhausted in the evenings. We had supported two of the local primary schools with a classroom assistant but this was a drop in the bucket.

In October last we had sent 4 of our P7 girls to a private school at Wamba having sent 2 up from Ngaremara. The teachers strike had been on for 4 weeks and these girls would be sitting their end of primary exam in October 2016. We could not leave them to the mercy of the system. By February this year the change in those 4 girls could be seen clearly and within a month their term exam results had shown a 25% improvement. However, it was their disposition, self-esteem, deportment and ability to hold a conversation in English which impressed and contrasted with some of our other kids who at the extreme were starting to play truant.

We had the accommodation in classrooms at *Wamba and Ngaremara. Only running costs to consider (teachers, books, furniture, computers etc). Our Board when they considered the problem on 9th April wholeheartedly agreed that a Private School was the answer so at the beginning of second term in May we have a two campus private school in operation. Classes 1 to 4 at Wamba and 5 to 7 at Ngaremara (we have not disrupted the 4 girls in Std 8 keeping them at an independent private school in Wamba). The children have gone boarding as the younger ones at Ngaremara moved to Wamba and the older at Wamba moved to Ngaremara for term time.

We were fortunate to be able to recruit a young qualified teacher to manage the school and 4 Secondary School leavers who have the qualifications to go on to teacher training giving us a pupil teacher ratio of 14:1. Each teacher will be responsible for two very small classes which will share a large classroom.

We need your prayers and we need your help to make a success of this. If you are prompted in any way to help please get in touch. We have a newly qualified teacher from N Ireland going out in June for 3 weeks and several of the teachers who have previously visited us in Kenya and who met the children in 2014 have expressed an interest in helping. Whether a teacher or not hold this in your prayer and consider if you would like to help financially.
*Our Wamba, Samburu and Ngaremara, Isiolo homes are 85 kms apart (two and a half hours)

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Recently, while attending Sunday worship in a Samburu village, I once again was struck by the sad reality that there were no men, young or old, in attendance! Where are the men and why don’t they come to church with the women and children?

One reason is because they are out tending to their animals; cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. During the dry seasons and in times of drought they will travel many kilometers away from their families in search of water and pasture. Another reason why they don’t attend church has to do with them wanting to preserve their traditions. Many Samburu men, both young and old, see Christianity as the “white man’s religion” and a threat to their traditions and their way of life. In other words, in their minds, to be a Christian is to stop being Samburu.

Daily living for Samburu women in desert-like conditions is tough. They live in small huts framed by twigs and plastered with a mixture of cow dung and mud. Samburu women shoulder the responsibility for most of the domestic chores including tending to the children, fetching water, washing clothes, cooking, cleaning, collecting firewood, and building their homes. All this they do and more while under the constant threat of recurrent drought and increasing insecurity due to cattle rustling. Samburu women are also the victims of various forms of harmful traditional practices including forced early childhood marriage, FGM (circumcision), and “Beading” in which a very young girl is given beads by a moran (warrior) as a symbol of their “engagement” for sexual purposes only. The tradition of beading frequently leads to cruel forceful abortions or to newborn babies being abandoned.

As an outsider observing their world, I see how tough life is for the Samburu; especially for the women. I think about the physical and emotional pain they must suffer due to harmful traditional practices and I wonder if it is for these reasons that they are more drawn to Jesus Christ and the Gospel than are the men. So often when life is hard and appears to be hopeless God lovingly draws us to Himself giving us hope and peace. Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. I praise God for my Samburu sisters. Please pray with me for the men, the warriors and the elders, that they too will become followers of Jesus Christ, the God of hope and peace. Then, perhaps, there would no longer be a need to rescue babies!
Robert

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Ken and Pamela accepted on behalf of Kindfund a very generous cheque from Marks and Spencer Staff at Sprucefield on Tuesday 26th April 2016 presented by Patrice and Stephen, managers at M&S.

The funds had been raised through a whole range of activities over the last 18 months. Inspiration for the fundraising and the desire to ‘do something’ was triggered by the visit of the Kindfund Children from Kenya in September/October 2014. Stephen Hilliard a manager at M&S Sprucefield along with his wife Paula hosted two of the children as part of the Kindfund Lisburn team who invested three memorable days with the 26 visiting children and staff.

As a result of Stephen’s drive and enthusiasm the staff at Sprucefield took Kindfund as their charity for the year 2015. During the course of the 18 months they were assisted at the various fund raising events by the Kindfund Lisburn team under John Steen a member of the Kindfund Board

The funds will take the Kindfund work in Northern Kenya forward on four fronts – the further development of Kindfund Children’s Home at Ndikir in Marsabit County, to 50 beds; the expansion of the Kindfund School at Ndikir as a public school catering for all the children of the village; the provision of a solar pump and water storage tanks to an existing borehole at Ndikir to provide secure water to the projects, and the improvement of the educational facilities for the children of Kindfund.

The new facilities will bring to 170 the number of beds for orphan children in Kindfund’s three homes which currently provide for 125 children.

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The first rescue of 2016 happened immediately in the new year when Catherine was informed of another baby at risk outside Oldonyiro. On 18th Robert drove to Nanyuki to meet Jonathan, who had taken the matatu from Isiolo, and both of them journeyed to Oldonyiro to collect the baby and meet the police and the Chief of the area.

There was heavy rain during the night so the journey on Tuesday from Oldonyiro to Ngaremara via Kipsing and Isiolo, 120 kms was at times quite treacherous. We thank God they arrived safely at 4pm along with Catherine and her daughter Doris. Baby J A had weighed in at the clinic at 2.1kgs, had coped with the journey well and was soon in the arms of Esther enjoying a bottle of formula milk.

Here a few days later he is well settled and in the nursery with Joy and Diana now 3 months. All three are doing well and the three nannies now have a baby each to manage along with other duties. The babies have their own mosquito proof tent and are are being very well cared for.

If you feel you would like to help with this work rescuing babies from death please visit our How to Help page.

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Ken and Dominic set off early with 7 teens from Kindfund homes Ngaremara and Wamba on Tue 19th January to visit a Polytechnic 57 kms away in Meru District.

Along with Jonathan we had had a good meeting with these teens on Sunday evening explaining the options open to them and our desire that they individually discovered God’s plans for their lives.

The college delivers 12 different practical courses and it was good to see the facilities, meet the lecturers and understand what exactly was being offered including certificates at the end of the 2 year courses. The teens also had an opportunity to meet yr 2 students especially Bernadetta who had worked for a year with Kindfund before commencing her course there last year. She fielded many questions and all enjoyed meeting.

The College seemed a caring environment and had most of the basic equipment for the various courses. This may be an area we can help them with as our relationship develops.

The seven now have to make up their minds in relation to the choices which are before them. Please pray for wisdom and guidance for them as they decide their future direction

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We hope you enjoy this round-up of our most recent news!

If you have any questions after reading, please write to us and we will do our best to answer. Do help us by posting this article on social media – or email it to a friend – using the links below. Thank you!

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Catch up on all our news with the October edition of the Prayer Letter.

If you have any questions after reading, please write to us and we will do our best to answer. Do help us by posting this article on social media – or email it to a friend – using the links below. Thank you!

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On 5th July I began a six week visit to Kindfund. I had visited previously in 2014 and spent time with the children during the outreach tour the same year. After keeping in touch with the children I was extremely excited to see them again.

The children, trainees and staff at Kindfund were again a blessing to me over my visit. They have a beautiful way of gently guiding you to ‘un-become’ everything that isn’t really you so that you can be the person God intended you to be.
My time at Kindfund was divided between Ngaremara and Wamba. At Wamba I was privileged to be able to teach English at the Primary school. It was inspiring to experience the children’s drive to achieve. They appreciated being there. The Kindfund children were all very sweet and caring looking after me as their classmates gathered around excitedly trying to see the visiting Madam.
At the home in Wamba I enjoyed painting a mural in the girl’s dormitory and organising sports activities.
I had prepared a sports day involving team relays as the children were to be split into teams/crews for the “Everest” bible camp coming in August. It was a blessing to see how God used this as an opportunity to teach the children the ingredients required to be effective leaders under Him and to work together as one family of God. With the help of staff member, Martin and visitors Noah and Georgia the children all had great fun. Helen, who is in her final year of secondary school was an inspiration to me during my visit. Together we prepared a choir to sing the praise songs for bible camp. During our practices she led the younger children with patience, gentleness and love. When the bible camp arrived we all learnt of God’s power, love, and provision whilst the Lord provided opportunities for outreach in the community.
The youth of Kindfund have had a lasting impact on my life as God has revealed his plans for my future. I had the opportunity to go into the local village at Ngaremara several times with the trainee girls. It was an eye-opener to see how the locals live their day to day lives. I was blessed as I met their friends, a family member and many Turkana women. I felt I was finally ‘home’ as we walked together, laughing, joking and visiting girls I met on my last visit, who were now grown up and living outside the home. When I saw were these young women had came from compared to where they are now I was extremely proud of them, thankful to the Lord and thankful for the blessing Kindfund is to entire communities. I’ll never forget the sisterly bond shared between us all. The staff of Kindfund, kindly took me into Isiolo town on several occasions. Esther (staff) and I met with a group of street-boys aged around 10 to 16 each time and bought them fruit. They had nothing but the clothes on their back and the bottles of glue in their arms. The way they cope in difficult circumstances is deeply moving.
These few words cannot describe all the emotional experiences and Godly appointments I have had this summer. I will miss the Kindfund family and I look forward to returning to Kenya.

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Our time in Kenya has opened our hearts to the world around us, through the love and compassion that the people of Kenya can give, when they have so little themselves.

It has been inspiring to spend time with the Kindfund family for the past three weeks this year. The radiation of happiness has been influential on our day to day lives in England. The children of Kindfund have a way of showing you perspective, about how the seemingly important things at home never really matter.

Throughout our time in Kenya, we decided to trigger the children’s imaginations by playing games with them such as: rounders, football and even a sports day with the help of our friend Katie Glenn, where the children were able to do races from an egg and spoon race to the sack race. One of our projects whilst we were staying in the Wamba home, was to create a mural in the girls dormitory. We thought it would be nice to have the children participate in the mural, so we decided to do a Kindfund family tree again, using their hand prints to form the leaves of the African Acacia tree.

It has been an emotional journey, where we have seen the work of the Lord bless so many vulnerable children. We will be eternally grateful to Ken and Pamela for inviting us into their lives and for the work that they are doing in Kenya.

God Bless,

Georgia Miller & Noah Kirby

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Five days of Everest Bible Camp came to an end on Thursday evening. One hundred and twenty children and teenagers had enjoyed the experience and were greatly challenged as they moved from Base Camp to the Summit over the five days.

Barriers were broken down, relationships established and the Gospel presented as children and young people were encouraged to follow Jesus.

The team arrived at their journeys end on Friday tired but fulfilled and satisfied that the Summit had been reached and six months work and preparation had paid off.

The team arrived home in Northern Ireland safe late on Saturday and all the children were safely delivered home on Friday to Wamba and Saturday to Ndikir. The host home at Ngaremara drew its breath and returned to normal duties.

A very big thank you to everyone who worked to make it happen and carried it through to a successful conclusion

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Friday was a long day as we drove to Ndikir to pick up 39 Rendille children and teens and two teachers frpm our primary school to bring to Ngaremara for our Bible camp starting tomorrow Sunday and running through to Thursday.

It was a 340 kms return journey taking most of the day. We had set out before 7am in three cars to collect the last of our children and teenagers. We now have 120 on site and preparations are complete for the 5 day camp. There has been an air of excitement all day and tonight the praise is sounding forth as the children enjoy the fellowship

Join with us to pray for God’s loving and saving presence

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Team building and preparations dating back to January began to pay off as everyone arrived on Fri at Ngaremara and travelled to Wamba today for a few days before returning to Ngaremara for the bible camp.

A truly mixed group from across Northern Ireland they have blended together to bring an exciting and challenging programme to the Kindfund children. We are sure much prayer and preparation will bring its own fruit in season.
The journey to Wamba 85 kms was a memorable one in the 1979 landrover and with 55kms off tarmac road in dust and heat. They arrived well and were soon refreshed by the greetings from the children.

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Noah, Georgia and Katie have been working hard during their July visit. At the same time they have been enjoying the children.

Noah and Georgia travelled back to UK on 29th. Katie stays for the bible camp second week in August

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On Sunday 12th July two car loads of 23 adults and children set off from Ngaremara at 8.30am to join the children, staff and friends of Kindfund at a memorial service at our Wamba home.

The service was a celebration of the lives of Sophia (19 yrs) and Supe (9 yrs) two of our children taken home to the Lord in the last year.

The children and staff participated and recalled happy memories of the two girls. We were reminded by John brother of Sophia that we all traveled on the same road as he emphasised the importance of our relationship with Jesus.

All present enjoyed the fellowship together

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Grace a Kindfund sponsored Rendille girl whose sister is in our home at Ngaremara, has been featured on National Television after she was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Special Needs Children’s Welfare in the Student’s Parliament

Grace has been performing with excellence at Isiolo School for the Deaf. She was sponsored there two years ago by Kindfund after her older sister entered our home at Ngaremara. The family live at Korr, the center of the Rendille in the very far North of Kenya

As a further bonus she has also been one of ten students from Kenya selected for a visit to Japan to study their children’s parliament. Each child will be accompanied by a teacher.

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Eight of the nine members of the Summer team visiting Kindfund Kenya in 6 weeks time attended a two day retreat in Co Fermanagh.

The purpose of the weekend was to prepare for the Ministry to the Kindfund children in six weeks time and to orientate the team to life in Northern Kenya.

It was an opportunity to take time out with God, work together on the programme for the bible week and build upon the bonds growing among a diverse group drawn from around Northern Ireland

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Wednesday evening third of June at Cohannon Inn was a special evening for Kindfund and for Phil and Liz Crook as they retired from the Board of Kindfund after over 11 yrs faithful service. It was the occasion of the 12th Annual General Meeting and change was in the air.

In presenting Phil with a personally inscribed Study Bible in recognition of eleven and a half years service as Chairman Ken recalled the small beginnings when six of them, three couples from Ardess Parish church met in Ken and Pamela’s sitting room at the first Committee meeting just two weeks before Ken and Pamela set out for Northern Kenya to begin the work of Kindfund. Ken paid tribute to Phil, his solid reliability, his frank and fearless advice, his faithful support in prayer and in practical hands on administration covering for Ken during the long periods when he and Pamela were in Kenya. He had presided over 12 years of God’s blessing and growth.

Pamela in presenting a bouquet of flowers to Liz who was also retiring from the Committee where she had served for the same period with her husband, recalled some humorous incidents which occurred during two visits Liz paid to the projects in 2006 and in 2009. One such incident involved Liz and Ken demonstrating Irish dancing in a hall in Archers Post to a group of Samburu women who had just been taking part in a traditional dance.

New members were elected and details may be read in the About section.

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A morning of fellowship was greatly enjoyed by all those who attended the coffee morning and car wash at West Church Bangor.

Thank you to all who provided tray bakes and other goodies for the sweet toothed and for those who kindly gave of their time and energy to serve.
We enjoyed and were blessed and the Kindfund children from the pastoralist community in Northern Kenya will benefit from your generosity.

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We hope you liked our new format prayer letter, launched last February.

Find out more about Kindfund’s work inside this month’s edition.

If you have any questions after reading, please write to us and we will do our best to answer. Do help us by posting this article on social media – or email it to a friend – using the links below. Thank you!

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Derry and Donegall Presbytery Choir led us in a beautiful evening of praise with a mixture of traditional and modern gospel songs and medleys.

David and Sally shared a little of what the Lord was doing in their lives and why they were going to Kenya. Sally had been greatly touched by the Kindfund Children’s Outreach and both had agreed that there would be no better way for them to say thank you for God’s grace and mercy to them as they celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.

The service was well supported and everyone enjoyed fellowship together over a generous supper prepared by the ladies of the congregation

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Twelve of our sixty little angels at Ngaremara sitting on our kitchen wall waiting on something nice.

The home at Ngaremara has expanded and we now have quite a number of younger children. This is a group of them over visiting Pamela in the expectation of something tasty.

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St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Sunday School, Templepatrick have been supporting Kindfund for the last number of years and enjoyed a wonderful night with the Kindfund children when they were here last October during their Outreach.

Each year the Sunday School children raise money for Kindfund in their Advent Appeal, so they recently presented a cheque to local Kindfund representatives Daphne Lucas and Catherine McCutcheon.

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Last week we collected the generator from the engineers in Meru. We paid Ksh 77,000 (£560) and ran into vehicle repairs of 25,000 carrying out our good deed.
Later in the week on Sat we travelled to Ndikir and installed the generator. We had a little difficulty getting it started as air had penetrated the fuel system but soon water was flowing. Now the village has a super abundance. God has blessed them with rain giving water in their catchment areas, the solar borehole pump has been replaced and the generator is back in action. However we have a job to do in training them to manage the generator.

It was good to join Raphael and the young congregation under the tree to celebrate Easter morning. We had come up in two vehicles so were able to bring some of our Ngaremara young people to share with our Rendille children.

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Kindfund children took time out on Sunday to say thank you to all their sponsors and especially to those who have been working hard to raise funds recently.

Martin who is this week in Northern Ireland with another of our managers Nzau at the Bible Education Service International Conference designed a thank you card for the children to display

Your support, generosity and prayers have been greatly appreciated.

May blessings flow from Kenya to UK and Ireland as they have been showered on the children

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Tue we drove to Ndikir in two vehicles. Willy drove the pick-up accompanied by Bernard and Simon while for company in the Station wagon I had Raphael, Gigs and Francis. Francis was going to stay at Ndikir to help with the school. He is a 4th form leaver looking for work

We were on our way to deliver food for the month, fuel for Raphael’s motorbike and to see if we could repair the Lister generator. The community are without any water source with both boreholes out of action. This now means a round trip of 20kms daily for the women to get water

Once we had unloaded our deliveries we drove to the borehole and Willy and Simon had soon dismantled the generator and we organised a team to lift it into the back of the pick-up. Unfortunately the damage was worse than we expected and the generator had to travel the 220 kms to Meru where we had arranged for the engineers to assess. Willy with Gigs and Bernard on board set off back to Ngaremara in the pick-up with the generator while Raphael, Simon and I drove first to Laisamis and then on to Marsabit(125kms) – a much improved temporary road with a 35km stretch of tarmac finished.

Today Wednesday Willie and Bernard took the generator to Ali Engineering at Mukatano in Meru and the engineers promised to have their assessment ready by tomorrow.

There is a degree of urgency about fixing due to the chronic water shortage especially in the pastoralist areas of Northern Kenya. Listening briefly to a report on TV last night 1.9m people in four districts are currently described as at risk because of famine. We can certainly see that as we move around N Kenya.

Raphael and I had a successful day tackling the various Government Departments and NGOs on issues of land, birth certificates for the children, education at Ndikir, water and other programmes. This included two Irish charities – Concern International and GOAL International. We are returning tomorrow for some more lobbying of the County administration before travelling to Laisamis where we have a meeting with the Ward Administrator about our plots of land for school and children’s home at Ndikir.

Marsabit is high up and has quite a unique climate. In the morning a lot of cloud hides the sun and keeps the temperature down to quite W European levels. A welcome if temporary change.

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The Lisburn Kindfund Team are off again to raise funds for Kindfund

Visit Marks and Spencer at Sprucefield before Easter and be sure to support Kindfund by purchasing a hand knit chick with egg for £2.50

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On Sunday 8th March a group from Ngaremara Children’s Home drove to Losidan in Marsabit County to rescue a baby.

The two week old baby boy was born outside the cultural norms of the Rendille tribe and his life was at risk. The mother is 14 yrs old.
In the rescue group with Ken driving were Bernard, student mechanic; Christine, trainee; and Saraine, Freda and Saiyea.
They left Ngaremara at 8am and drove for an hour and a half to Merille on tarmac where they turned off road for an hour to Ndikir where Kindfund have their children’s home and school.
At Ndikir they presented water carriers to the Kindfund family to help with the drought situation they are now experiencing. Here the grandmother of the child and Julius a volunteer teacher joined the group in the car while Raphael went ahead on his motorcycle. On the way to Losidan they stopped briefly with the Senior Chief of the area to advise him of the purpose of the journey.
They continued another 25kms off road to Losidan. It is an extremely hot dry and barren area with temperatures 35 degrees +
Arriving at an outlying bomer (family enclosure) at Losidan, the group waited under the only tree for shelter with some of the local children while Christine went with the grandmother to collect the baby.
The group now with the baby comfortably on Christine’s knee travelled quickly back to Ngaremara after a short stop at the “5 star” hotel in Merille for refreshments. At Ngaremara at 6pm along with the Kindfund children in the home I had the pleasure of welcoming the baby.
After prayer for the safe journey and for the baby he was named Caleb. Caleb received his first bath and was dressed in new clothes by Esther who looked after him for the next two nights.
The final stage of Caleb’s journey to his new home began on Tuesday when Ken and Pamela, Bernard, Christine and I accompanied him in the heat of the afternoon to Wamba. After 40 min on tarmac the next hour was spent on a very rocky and bumpy off tarmac journey to the Kindfund home at Wamba. Caleb on Christine’s knee rested his head on my knee and I cradled it in my hands to protect him from the worst of the jolts. I prayed the whole way for him to sleep and I was extremely grateful for God’s grace witnessing his peace which passes understanding firsthand.
Caleb has been very content eating and sleeping well. He was introduced to the children and staff at Wamba home by Pamela and Mary has been given the task of being mother. There was much excitement among the children at this new arrival. Caleb has joined three other Rendille small children rescued in similar circumstances.
Please pray for Caleb as he settles at Wamba and for the work with the 50 children in the Kindfund home there.
I’m loving my time in Kenya meeting both children and staff- confronting fears, moths, heat and squat toilets and finding Jesus in everything in this new, very different and wonderful place

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Today Tue 3rd March 2015 witnessed the culmination of two years of relationship building.

Brian Drummond accompanied by two colleagues from Saab Engineering – Lornah and John visited our home at Ngaremara bringing with them a very generous gift of clothes for the children. The photograph shows the substantial box of clothes being presented to Ngaremara Home.

Now that they have broken the ice with this first visit we look forward to a developing relationship. We thank Brian and his colleagues for their generosity and friendship.

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Arriving back after two months we were immediately impressed by the new two story extension to our original 2004 building.

Well built and looking well it will house the Ngaremara office and the all Kindfund general store. Together with rebuilt paths and a surrounding fence the whole site looks smart. This will allow us to remodel the existing kitchen office and store into a modern kitchen and food preparation area.

It was also nice today to catch some of the smiling faces on the camera. Some things don’t change. There is a happy homely atmosphere about the place and we thank God for the obvious love the children are receiving, the Christian fellowship being shared in this home community and for the obvious response this is drawing out from the children.

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Here is our first edition in it’s attractive new format!

We’ve tried to pack it full of as much news as possible, looking back at where we have come from in 2014 and where we are aiming for in 2015. Plus, there’s feedback about our Outreach and some letters from Kindfund children too.

When you have read, if you have any questions please write to us an we will do our best to answer. Please post this article on social media – or email it to a friend – using the links below. Thank you!

Click to download (3.3MB)

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Returning to Ndikir in our last full week, we serviced the Lister engine and made a permanent repair of the damaged wires from the generator. Bleeding out the air from the fuel caused us a little heartache, but eventually we had it running sweetly!

Next, we loaded the 1000 litre tank into the pickup and, fixing a hose from it to the pipe at the borehole, we had it filled in 10 minutes. A five km drive to our new classroom…and the water was transferred to the 10,000L on-site tank.

Repeating the journey a couple more times gave enough water to allow us to complete construction of the double latrine, a job that had been stalled two months earlier as we were unable to make concrete due to the shortage of water.

Five days later we returned on a short day visit with Pamela for her to see the children – especially two young girls Ntodia and Linah who have been with us for four years. Pamela was surprised to see how much has changed already at the new site, where a pitch has been cleared for the children to enjoy playing football.

Meanwhile, Raphael has marked out a 10 acre site which we plan to fence with local hedging in preparation for the start of building next year.

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The extension at Ngaremara has made good progress during the last two weeks and should be completed before Christmas. It is our first two-storey building and it will allow us to have a significant dry goods store on the first floor.

The transfer of the office to the extension will permit the refurbishment and development of the kitchen at Ngaremara, where we hope to install the same eco-friendly cookers we recently purchased and installed at the Wamba Home, with the help of the Girls’ Brigade at West Church, Bangor.

Part of the development will also improve the pathways connecting the buildings to reduce the amount of mud carried indoors during rains.

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Travelled up to Ndikir this week to find the borehole with the Lister Petter diesel pump had been out of operation for two months.

It seems that the engine vibrations had worn through the wires on the control box. Routing the wires well away from the engine then reconnecting them soon solved the problem. Started up the pump and soon we had water from 300 ft for 1000 people and many camels, cows and goats!

The engine badly needs servicing so have bought new filters and oil and will return later with insulating tape and rubber tubing too, to make permanent the control box rewiring.

Unfortunately very heavy rain last weekend finished off our temporary stick and straw classrooms and bedroom. Just one old classroom remains usable, though back in August we did build a permanent classroom for the use of classes 2 to 5. In any case with school off until January disruption should be minimal.

In Ngaremara at the moment we are taking the opportunity to do some fencing and building work. The kitchen is ten years old and in dire need of refurbishment, so some remodelling work will allow us to fix the kitchen, improve our use of existing buildings and create additional storage space.

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On Sunday 13th September Emmanuel and housemother Josephine set out at 6.45am by taxi from Ngaremara, for the six hour drive to Kijabe Hospital on the edge of the Rift Valley, 50kms North of Nairobi, from where they texted their safe arrival.

After an examination and X-ray on Sunday afternoon, reconstructive surgery was scheduled for the next morning. Josephine spent the night in a chair by Emmanuel’s bedside. They each slept as best they could.

At 9.00am on Monday Emmanuel was taken down to the theatre. After a long wait we received word from Josephine that he had arrived back in the ward at 4.30pm – a very long day for all concerned, but particularly Emmanuel and Josephine.

Later we received word from the doctor that the first stage of the surgery had been successful (the surgeon had used tissue from Emmanuel’s mouth in the graft), but cautioned that further surgery is still needed to complete this phase, plus there are other issues to be dealt with.

We hope that young Emmanuel will be well enough for discharge before the end of the week. Ken and Pamela will be visiting them on Thursday and finding out what the plans are for completion.

See the original story here.

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Our traditional house classroom at Ndikir was in serious need of major repairs. So, at the beginning of August, we decided instead to press ahead with a 30ft x 25ft masonry-built classroom, which will in future also serve as a dining room and study room in our Children’s Home.

It’s now September and we have Richard—the builder—handing over the new classroom to Headteacher Samuel!

This week all of the desks were transported by lorry the 1.5kms to their new location beneath the rock after which the school is named.

We wish the pupils and teachers well as they embark on this new phase of education at Ndikir!

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On the last weekend before starting the new term at school, six of our secondary school girls accompanied us for an overnight in Nairobi. We stayed at the Nairobi Club in the community area of Nairobi and within walking distance of the city centre.

The girls enjoyed the relative luxury of the club and the quick walking tour of places of interest in the centre of the capital.

The visit was made possible by a donation made specifically for some of the children not participating in the Kindfund Outreach to Northern Ireland.

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Fifteen young people from our homes at Ngaremara and Wamba spent 5 days this August sharing the Gospel at Ndikir, the Rendille village on the edge of the desert in Northern Kenya where we have a long-term commitment to build a permanent Children’s Home. Their mission coincided with the commencement of our building programme as we laid the foundation for a classroom which will eventually double as a dining/study room in the new home.

The team were full of enthusiasm and encouraged one another in the Lord as they shared and prayed together before each venture into a local traditional village. They quickly experienced many of the same attitudes and actions from the villagers as the early Christians met, when bringing the Acts of the Apostles to life for them. Reactions of the villagers varied from indifference and avoidance, to chasing some of the girls with a stick (while shouting that their god was the local mountain and they didn’t need to hear). Some others, however, asked for prayer for specific situations and encouraging them to come back again.

The mission was a major life experience for the young people who are already laying plans for their next mission to the village. Plans that are being soaked in prayer. Please join them in prayer for the Rendille of Ndikir that they will hear the Good News and come to know the Saviour.

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Saturday 2nd August will be remembered by the Cosmas family, as four of the five children joined our ever-growing Kindfund family here at Ngaremara, where we now have 55 children. It has taken a few weeks, but finally this small family joined us today.

Throughout we have been working closely with the local chief and the Children’s Office to ensure these children are given a secure home and future. The youngest will join the family at a later date.

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The story of our young boy in need of reconstructive surgery immediately prompted several people to organise a sponsored walk to raise funds for the necessary surgery.

The result was fantastic and, together with other donations, we now have £1500 to assist with the costs. Thank you so much for your generosity!

Regrettably, in the absence of approval from the child’s mother, we have had to instruct an advocate to obtain a court order permitting the surgery in the interests of the child. If this is successful, the first stage of surgery is scheduled for 6th August 2014. We will, of course, keep you posted as the situation develops.

See the original story here.

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Visited and Revisited
by Stephen Scott

This being Catherine’s first visit to Kenya she was understandably nervous. For weeks beforehand, with many unanswered questions, she had been harbouring concerns. But, in her own words, “the minute I stepped out of the matatu and saw the children running towards us, all concerns and worries immediately left and a certain peace took over.”

Having visited before—in 2007—I was quietly curious to see what had changed in the intervening years. After a long and tiring journey, were it seems that little has changed in Kenya, it was immediately obvious that much progress had been made by Kindfund – and not just the development of the sites; the change in the children was abundantly obvious…their love was infectious.

Our time with Kindfund was divided between Ngaremara and Wamba. Just to be able to spend time with the children in their own environment is a privilege and blessing. Yes, they all have material needs, but so many of them are spiritually well-off, they are a living testament to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

A paragraph or two here can never express all the wonderful experiences that Catherine and I had, we can only make mention of the children’s love for each other and their trust in the Lord to supply their needs. Of course, they have desires and wants like anyone else, but many of them also have an inner desire to serve and please the Lord.

We wish to commend the staff for their commitment and love for the children (1 Thess 1:2,3) and thank them all for sharing their lives with us…we are all the more blessed.

Would we go back? Of course!

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Registering our Children’s Home at Wamba with the Kenyan government has been a long process.

In January we reported that we were at last making progress.

We are now pleased to report that the Council meeting on 27th March 2014 accepted the application and Wamba became a registered Charitable Children’s Institution (CCI) under the Child Act of 2001.

Thank-you to all who have been praying about this. Our two main homes with 100 children and capacity for another 20 now enjoy this official CCI status. Child Officers in both areas will be arranging for the Courts to make Committal Orders for all the children resident in the homes.

In Nairobi, at the beginning of May, Ken was able to collect the actual registration certificate for Kindfund’s Ngaremara Home (shown), registered in September 2013.

These registrations are renewable after three years.

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Update: Thank-you to those who joined Katie for the 5 mile sponsored walk last Saturday.

A recent article about young Emmanuel and his need for reconstructive surgery immediately prompted Katie from Northern Ireland to organise a fundraising sponsored walk.

The walk took place in Bangor, Co. Down, leaving Pickie Bandstand at 10am and going to Crawfordsburn Country Park and back (approximately five miles). Thanks to the brave few who joined in!

Please note that you can still contribute on Katie’s Give.net page for a few days yet.

See the original story here: Surgery Consultation at Kijabi Hospital

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Last week outside the local supermarket I watched a group of about ten street boys as they hovered about, looking for people to beg from. Aged from 7yrs to 16yrs, they were calling out “some bread! …10 shillings! …a banana!” to every vehicle as it arrived to park, all the while hiding bottles of glue in their pockets, or under their arms.

I had sat down on a seat outside the supermarket to keep an eye on the vehicle while Kindfund staff were shopping. The boys spotted me and, growing bolder, started to draw close with their begging, still trying to conceal their glue-sniffing. One particular boy caught my attention—the youngest—no glue bottle and clear, bright eyes…a recent street boy, not yet corrupted. He sat beside me and began to chat, and it became clear that he was an orphan, though he then pointed to his older brother—a glue addict—who was also among the group.

I immediately came face-to-face with some hard questions: Can I do anything for this boy? Can I leave him to this? Can I bring him with me to our Kindfund home? I asked him, “Will you come with me to our home?”
After a moment’s hesitation he indicated he would. I got up to speak to some men at a nearby shop and by this time the rest of the group had grasped what I was saying to the boy. They chorused, “Yes, take him. Take him off the street!”

When the other Kindfund staff emerged from the supermarket I explained to them what I was contemplating. They agreed with me, so I started to explain to the men at the nearby shop that I would first take the boy to a police station…and just then a police car rounded the corner!

Sometime later, having officially recorded everything at the police station and got a ledger incident number, we all drove the 20kms to our children’s home, with ‘Moses’ beside me, taking a great interest in the driving.

A quick wash, a change of clothes and into supper where the children surrounded Moses, inquisitively firing off many questions and not waiting on answers. A few hours later…he was one of our boys.

Today we paid a further visit to the police and to the Child Officer (the local representative of the government Children’s Department). Together with the Child Officer we will continue to investigate young Moses’ circumstances to get a clearer picture of how he ended up on the street. Meanwhile, he seems to be slowly integrating into the home. The story is just beginning.

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Josephine, our housemother at Ngaremara, and the boy we had at hospital returned to Ngaremara by matatu (minibus). Leaving Nairobi at 11am and arriving home at 8pm, it was a long day for them both.

Pamela and Josephine had shopped earlier, so Josephine (a trained seamstress who loves dressmaking) went back with enough material to make nine dresses for the children!

Today, Pamela and I have a few things to shop for and I want to visit a solar pump distributor to get some advice. We are also going to be working on a short prayer letter to email home to the Kindfund team who will arrange to distribute it; thanks in advance!

We are looking forward to the arrival of Paul Dickson on Tuesday. He will bring his usual impetus and enthusiasm to help drive forward the laborious process of collecting and double-checking information for passports. His help will also be invaluable as we prepare to go to the court with the advocate to get joint and full legal guardianship for all the children travelling.

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One of our new children from Ngaremara needs surgery, so together with Josephine, our housemother, we travelled to Nairobi.

After an early start the day was spent at Kijabi Hospital perched on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, 60 kms North of Nairobi (a round trip of 700 kms for us). Beautiful views…but what a road! We thought we would never get back up the hill – a lot of first gear and potholes. Kijabi is an African Inland Church Mission Hospital recommended by the doctor at Wamba Catholic Mission Hospital as having the appropriate expertise.

The boy, who is 5 years old, was seen at Kijabi by a surgeon from USA who advised that he needs to return for multiple procedures of reconstructive surgery in relation to some malformation, with the first maybe starting in around four weeks. However, there are complications.

We have two requests for prayer: The boy’s mother is not stable and has refused permission for surgery, so we will have to go to the Court for permission. Secondly, the hospital is only partly covered by the National Hospital Insurance Fund which covers all our children, so we will need some financial support.

The young boy has been brilliant, and a pleasure to be with. Last night at dinner he quickly got to grips with John Doherty—a very good friend here in Nairobi (studying reticulated giraffes for a PhD at The Queen’s University of Belfast)—who had joined our table and was amusing him with ‘fly away Peter, fly away Paul, come back Peter’ etc.

Update 20 March: One Northern Ireland girl and her friends have been moved to immediately start fundraising to help cover the surgery costs!

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The process of organising groups of helpers to travel to Kindfund Kenya in 2014 is gradually coming together.

Stephen Scott will be joining Ken and Pamela in February. Stephen is a member of the Kindfund Committee and visited Kindfund Kenya back in 2007, before we had even established the Children’s Homes…so he’ll certainly notice big changes! Joining him will be Catherine his wife, on this her first visit. Catherine helps Ken with Kindfund administration at home.

In March, Paul Dickson (another Committee member) will make a return visit too, having been a great help last summer. Paul has also been assisting Ken at home with aspects of administration.

Then, after a short break at home, Ken and Pamela will return to Kenya at the end of June, ready to receive and organise a whole host of new helpers.

July will see Georgia and Georgia (two 17-year-old girls from Cirencester in Gloucestershire, one of whose parents have been long-term Kindfund sponsors) who will hopefully be joined by three students from Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, plus daughter and mum team Kate and Anne (our local prayer organiser) from Bangor, Co. Down. Jonathan and Keira Dobbin make a return visit in July. Jonathan (currently studying at Belfast Bible College) is a Committee member, and one of our team which has responsibility for the organisation and funding of the special Outreach event coming up in the Autumn.

Enquiries about helping with projects on the ground in Kenya this year are still welcome!

News updates from the teams will be posted here, plus reports when they return home.

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