Projects and people ...

We visited some projects that are run to help people who are very poor, mainly those looking after children whose parents have died or abandoned them - many (most) grandmothers - one lady was 70 and had to take a 2 hour old baby - she actually was able to lactate and breast feed the baby - amazing what they can do when there is nothing else to feed the child. These people are very poor and the program are training them how to garden more effectively and give them help in paying school fees and buying uniforms for children for school as well as maybe starting a little business like selling veges or what they can produce. A couple of these also deal with educating the girls against female circumcision which although is illegal, is still practiced in many areas. Got a great T-shirt from one group - Girls - education not circumcision - written on the back! Great projects and wonderful people running them. I will let you know soon what can be done to help where Joy and I see the most need - there is so many needs and we will sit down and discuss where we feel the best help can be given.

Oh yeah I got to go to an orphanage for the night - I am friends with the lady who runs it.Have included some general photos of people and my travels too ...



Isn't she gorgeous - a little orphan now lovingly looked after - she saw me and just came up with her arms up for a hug. Am looking forward to going to the 2 orphanages after my "safari" next week - but one has about 29 disabled children and 140 children altogether, so will be a challenge.

This is Moses - only a month old - abandoned at the hospital. Maybe I will make a great grandmother one day!

And I got to feed him - didn't take him long to gulp down the whole bottle.

This is Peter - he was about 3 months old - just gorgeous - was left on the street with a bag of clothes beside him.



The sad side of the orphanage - this little girls has shingles - have never seen them so bad on anyone. She is HIV positive so is very vulnerable to this sort of thing when she is "down".

YARD project where they help people who are looking after children - school fees, etc and also how to garden more effectively. They also had a great library as well.

Learning beadwork on table mats. They have programs to help the youth sew so they can have opportunity to work.



80 year old lady having to look after grandchildren

The houses are made of mud and sticks with dirt floors and very little "comforts"

The garden they are proud of - but there is very little water so it is hard work to get anything to grow

Their toilet - glad didn't have to use this one!

This lady has 7 children to look after - from her sons - one son and his wife died, the other son and his wife just decided to go to Nairobi and leave the children for her to take care of with no money and very little opportunity for growing food

We got stuck - I pushed this out - Joy took a photo but don't have it yet!

Singing for us to say farewell

 

At G-BIACK had to plant a mango tree - scooped the dirt and mud up with my hands and all. A tradition for all visitors to the program site.

Gardens where they train the people in how to grow better gardens and more sustainable ones

They teach the youth how to sew - this young man is using a tredle machine

The ladies are also taught basic hairdressing as all the ladies here wear wigs or have their hair braided and hair pieces braided in. Will I get some done before I come home  mmmm - will think on that one



Girls and women have to carry heavy loads, this is a container of water - very heavy - you see many carrying HUGE bundles of sticks on their backs as well



Boy having to carry baby brother while he collected sticks

Another photo opportunity - flamingo lakes - it is great they take the school children to these parks

Some school children at the lake where the flamingos were

Donkeys and carts are EVERYWHERE all over the road, and donkeys then let wander in the streets.