Kenya Blog 1 Oct. 13th, 2013

International Day of the Girl was this past Friday and we had a lot to celebrate as we work to make next year’s IDG even better for girls worldwide! You’ve already made a difference! Thanks to you, by this time next year, the orphaned and vulnerable girls in Kisumu, Kenya will have a safe place to go, be nurtured, counseled, mentored, learn a trade and be placed in a safe home after a one year stay.

This has been a great week! On day three leading up to Friday’s IDG, I was featured on the World Pulse Blog and social media outlets for an article I wrote on girls’ education. Hope you’ll check it out here: http://worldpulse.com/about/blog/counting-down-to-the-international-day-...
Just scroll down to day three and click on my story, “The World Will Be Her Oyster.”

In just two weeks in Kenya we’ve already gone to work. We even have our own office at OLPS! Work has started on the Rescue Center and my plans for integration of the center in the community have already begun. I met with two Women’s Groups who we’ll be working with (more on to come), and I hope to integrate them into the longer term goals of the Kisumu Children’s Rescue Center (KCRC). The women in both groups were at one point orphaned and/or very vulnerable and have found self-empowerment through the creation and participation in these groups. Who better to serve as teachers of a craft, as mentors and role models to the girls who’ll be coming through the center for years to come?

We visited the OLPS Rita Rose Farm with serves as a demonstration and learning garden for the community. As of now, many of the women tending the garden are caregivers to many of the children who’ll be placed at the center. In turn they receive a fee for their work, they learn farming skills to replicate at home and they are able to feed the children from the garden. We are working to improve the farm so that not only will it provide all the food for the KCRC, but will also generate revenue for all other necessary expenses at the center, making it a truly self-sustainable home. Our passion and priority now is making their Apiary profitable, so I’ll be working with BEES!!

Thank you all again for supporting this dream, I know we’ll make it a reality soon and I attribute its success to you all.

Thank you again, Asante Sana!