Hearts4Kenya
is a
501(c) (3)
not-for-profit organization.
All donations are
tax-deductible.
President: John Willingham
Contact John Willingham:
502-459-4582
Nancy Gary:
502-896-9070
We brought back great hope from our Summer
2008 Trip!
The
2008 trip to Oyugis, Kenya was more than a success... it was
a trip that gives us great hope at the opportunities we have
for the Oyugis community.
First, the co-op which Hearts4Kenya has been
working on has become a reality. I met with the Kenyan
Government officials responsible for the overseeing of
cooperatives in the community (District Cooperative Officer
of Oyugis ). She was thrilled at the proposal we presented
to her. Our first requirement was to have a meeting with all
the farmers and have them request the formation of a co-op.
Minutes of that meeting must be presented to the District
Officer (Pam Kemu).
The meeting was held on Tuesday, June 24th.
The District Officer was there and explained what it meant
to form a co-op. She explained the requirements for forming
the co-op and how the District Officer would help. The
farmers were excited and voted to begin the co-op. The
minutes of the meeting were prepared and presented to the
District Officer. The co-op has begun. The District Officer
is now helping the leaders of the co-op to write the by-laws
that will govern it.
Secondly, I met with the Agriculture and
Environment Program (AEP) of the Catholic Diocese of Homa-Bay.
They are an organization that helps in marketing of crops
grown in the Oyugis district. George Orero, who is the
Director for the Oyugis District, was present at our
organizational meeting on June 24th. He praised the group
for their work and their desire to form a co-op that would
make them self sufficient. He promised the help and support
of AEP in the marketing of the crops they produced. He will
be working with the leadership of the co-op in determining
the crops to be grown for the best marketing advantage.
Hearts4Kenya’s first goal with our farmers was to have them
produce enough crops to feed themselves and their families.
This has been done for the 80 farmers we support. Our
second goal was to form a co-op for the farmers so that they
could become self sufficient. The co-op is now in place and
we have a marketing strategy for the crops that are grown.
This is an unbelievable opportunity for Heart4Kenya and all
those who support us to break the circle of poverty and to
make this group of people self sufficient.
The 11 schools supported by Hearts4Kenya are
also doing a wonderful job. The students are taking
responsibility for the crops with the help of the teachers.
They are learning to plant, cultivate, and harvest the
crops. The crops are then used to help feed the orphans in
the schools. This allows the orphans to have at least one
meal per day.
Many of the schools are giving the students a
grade for the plots for which they are responsible. They are
learning to farm which will help them to work and be
productive in this agricultural economy of Oyugis.
We also completed an irrigation system for
one of our farmers. We want to see if this type of system
would work during the times of drought in the area. This
will allow for better crop production during the dry season.
The trick to irrigation in this area is no electricity... so
no pumps. This farmer’s crops are grown on a downward slope
about 80 feet from his house. Therefore we put two 1200
gallon tanks at the corners of his house; put a gutter
on the house; then attached pipe to the gutters that were
connected to the tanks. Rain water could then fill the tanks
during the rainy seasons. We then ran pipes from the tanks
starting with 2” pipe and reducing to ˝” pipe, to allow for
good pressure, to the edge of the field on both sides. The
farmer can now irrigate his 1 acre field with hoses attached
to the faucet at the corners of his field. If this idea
works well then we can adapt irrigation systems to many of
the farmers. This will help increase production and
therefore increase the amount of crops that can be sold.
While we were there Kay, Sarah, and Tammy
gave out around 550 pairs of reading glasses. They
were given out at Amani, 2 schools, Imani AIDS group, and
our orphans in Rongo. There is no eye care in the area
and there are many people with eye problems. Hearts4Kenya
has found that these reading glasses are very helpful to
many people. But unfortunately we can’t help with more
severe eye care.
Also while we were there, Hearts4Kenya
supplied the wood and other materials to make 12 tables and
72 chairs for the orphans at Amani. In 2006
there were 86 orphans and now in 2008 there are 214 orphans.
They have not had enough tables and chairs for the orphans
to sit and do their school work. Three carpenters are
completing the project for us over the next few weeks.
Hearts4Kenya--with the help of Diane Kenny--supply one meal
per day for these orphans. A cow, that is expecting in
about 6 weeks, has been bought so that milk can be added to
the diet to increase nutrition and calorie intake.
Hearts4Kenya also helps supply school supplies and uniforms
for these orphans.
While there we also visited our orphans in
Rongo. With the support of St. Matthews Episcopal Church in
Louisville, these orphans are making great progress. They
are beginning the construction of a new dormitory. They will
have bunk beds with mosquito nets to help with Malaria
problems. The water purification system is working well and
the number of orphans with intestinal problems has been
greatly reduced. They are working on their farm and are
producing much-needed crops of Corn, beans, and vegetables.
The orphans are also learning the trades of
tailoring and carpentry. The work is going very well.
Thanks
to your generous and compassionate support, the people of
the Oyugis community are LEARNING:
how
to grow their own food and maintain it
how
to generate greater revenue
how
to HAVE HOPE for all their future opportunities
I want
to thank you for continuing to make this world a better
place for the children, women and men of Oyugis.
John
As you know, our financial needs continue if
we are to meet all of our remaining goals of helping the
people of Oyugis become fully self-sufficient. Please
– if you can help – use the secure PayPal button below for any amount
you want to give. Your donation IS tax deductible.
:
OR send your tax
deductible check to:
Hearts4Kenya
1514 Norris Place
Louisville, Kentucky USA 40205
Contacts: John Willingham:
459-4582
OR
Nancy Gary:
W502-896-9070 or H502-895-9170
Every time you
buy groceries OR gas at Kroger
with our card,
you contribute 4% to Hearts4Kenya! Click here to find out how!
