Thursday, August 28, 2008

List of Items Needed

As promised, here is a list of items needed in order to
support the orphans' education:

Pencils
Pens
Erasers
Rulers
Notepads
T-shirts
Shorts (both sports & casual)
Shoes

Please send to either one of the following two addresses:

C/o Gereson Yongo
19 Galemist Lane
Brunswick, GA 31523

- or -

C/o Benta Aloo Odhil
PO Box 020-2038
City Square
Nairobi, Kenya

All donations are greatly appreciated & must be received by:
November 15, 2008

"What I know for sure is that what you give
comes back to you."

-Oprah Winfrey




Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Donating to the Needy and Ways to Economic Sustainability

Donkeys have always been referred to as the "beast of burden". They serve as our "flat bed truck". Owning one or two can help get one out of poverty, as they carry water to the arid areas, and bulky items to the nearest market place. Their care and maintenance is uncomplicated - they eat grass and sleep throughout the night and work all day.

These are the orphans talked about in my earlier posting. Here I am handing-over bales of maize flour, sugar and cooking oil. These are basic necessities which will sustain them for about one month. The cooking oil is for resale. It is repackaged in smaller sachets for the villagers at an affordable rate. This way they are able to purchase other food-stuffs, bathing soap and necessities. The profit from such a venture is always 70%.

In the upcoming weeks, there will be a "Donations" function linked to our blog for anyone wishing to contribute to our cause monetarily. In addition, I will post a mailing address and a list of "Items Needed" for anyone who wishes to contribute in that regard.

I am deeply appreciative of your heartfelt care and interest in supporting Our Vision: to help expand the wealth and beauty in this wondrous world we collectively call "home".

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Why Now?

Every day the sun rises in the east, atop Got Huma (Huma Hills)
with a magnificent glow embarking on a westerly journey. A
journey summed with a spectacular set over Got Naya. In its
wake, scorched earth, withered vegetation, and many-a-time
some dead animals, while its beautiful golden embers later turn
to silver and shine on Lake Victoria.

As the sun, an Agok community child wakes up, too, beautiful
and innocent, to start a sure journey, hoping that today things
might be different. But the sun's glorious set brings a realization
that this was just another typical day. Another hopeless day.

A typical day: a day in which she wakes up with reed marks on
her face and arm, and saliva drool white on the corners of her
mouth. She uses her hand to smoothen the only daily clothing
(if any, which doubles-up as a pajama), blanket, and the formal
covering. She rolls her bed (reed mat, gunny sack, a cardboard
or an animal skin if she is lucky enough to have one) and places
it in a corner, looks for water to clean her face, and the rest is
gloom. 7:00 a.m. and beyond the horizon she can see the first
canoe approaching Gudwa beach. This is the critical time and a
decision must be made, either head to the beach, or to school
on an empty stomach. This is what I grew up in, and as it was
then, it is still today.

I have been going back to my village every year - in my words
to touch base with reality. This is a village I love. Despite all
the lack, they still show love. As a tradition, I usually buy sugar,
tea, salt and corn flour whenever I embark upon this trip, aside
from carrying anything ranging from painkillers and anti-
diarrhea medication to over-the-counter antibiotics. Of course,
don't forget about those used shoes and clothes I carry. In short,
I am a moving "Goodwill". While on the last trip, I had friends
visiting with me. My mother did not have the big chicken I was
looking for, so I sent the word out, who ever had one should
bring it.

Most of the time they would bring it for free as a sign of
kindness, but this year, the crops had failed and the water
hyacinth had covered Lake Victoria's shore. The canoe (baby
boats) could not dock, and the fishermen had to find other
beaches of call. Anyway, at around 9:00 a.m. a young girl,
probably twelve-years old came to our home. I saw her talk
to my mother and from a distance they appeared to be
bargaining on something. After a few minutes, my mama
beckoned me and informed me on what the girl was there for.
She had heard I wanted to buy a chicken and they had one.
The asking price was $2 but we could negotiate. I quoted
$1.50. As my mom offered this young girl a calabash of
porridge, she advised me to go and see the chicken before
making an offer. I promised this young girl that I would
be at their section of the village at around 10:00 a.m.

After she left, I enquired of my mother where their home
was and whose child she was. Mama informed me that she
was the daughter of Ochieng Ogola. Ochieng was my teacher
in middle school, a very enterprising young man. He and the
wife died of aids in 2002 / 2003. When I reached Ochieng's
village, what I saw shocked me. There were two other young
girls about eight and nine-years old, living in what used to be
their parents' grass thatched home. The first thing the
younger one said was that she was hungry and if I could just
buy the chicken so they could get food and a bar of soap to
bathe their emaciated bodies. Before I could enquire any
further on how long they had been without food, a frail looking
man in his late 30's came from the other hut. He called me by
my nickname. "Son of Agok is that you?" I responded
affirmatively. I recognized this man who used to be my fellow
herdsman - he would act as our leader. As other villagers, he
too was dying a slow death. An undiagnosed disease of which
I cannot speculate, but all said, he was in pain, surely, he was
in pain. It hurts to see another human suffer, especially when
all you can do is sympathise. That is what I did besides giving
Kenya shillings 100 ($1.30).

Back to the kids. They had been without solid food for two
days and they had not bathed for four. I was touched, moved,
and embarrassed for not doing anything about all this
suffering. I paid $10 for the chicken, and my wife Susan
gave them some clothes. Then we brought soap, corn flour,
food, sugar, salt and other necessities.

How could I have been so selfishly naïve about where I came
from? The big question on our minds was how could we help?
Whatever we brought was just for this one family. How many
were out there going through the same tormenting life? The
following day I went to the village chief to find out what the
government was doing to assist the villagers, and how I could
help. I did not get much for answers. Meanwhile, my wife
was in a conversation with a local women's group, finding out
how we could assist, what the immediate needs were, and what
age groups were being affected. After getting the answers, we
returned to Nairobi and established a contact with whom we
could stay in touch - this was to be a widow, Benta Aloo Odhil.

We agreed that any orphaned village kid should not leave
school for lack of school fees (high school) and she was to
check once every three months to provide updates. As for
the elementary school, I decided I would be sending money
every three months to buy school supplies. The big question
was how could I make this widow self-reliant while supporting
the schools? At this juncture I came up with a business model
whereby the widow buys the books from the wholesaler and in
return, I pay her the retail price. These books help in a class-
room of 40 pupils. January, 2009 will mark the second
anniversary of this project. Projects like these work and this
is a true testimony that it can be done.

This has given Benta hope that even though it will be three
months, there is something to look up for. Benta is now
responsible for ensuring that I am getting feedback on
the children's progress. She commutes every month
between Nairobi and Agok to check on the schooling
project. I have planned the next trip for January, 2009.

To date, this project has two kids in high school with hopes
that they will become what God has intended them to be.
I have done this with very minimal resources, and know
there are other kids out there who need our help...

One child at a time, one community at a time, one country
at a time, one continent at a time - together we will bridge
the gap. In my next post, I will address ways in which
you can help. I am ever appreciative of your readership
and your desire to support our efforts.

"Every one of us gets through the tough times
because somebody is there, standing in the gap
to close it for us." -Oprah Winfrey

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Recommended Reading

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can
adjust the sails. "

-Bertha Calloway

Please follow this link:
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/446490/-/tj2y16/-/index.html