Latest News
March 2010
Fundraising event for Grandsons will give away a Qatar Airline flight to any of Qatars 80 destinations
Four volunteers are going across to Kenya to work with the orphaned and disadvantaged street children between 7th and 25th April 2010. They will be helping and assisting teachers, teaching the classes theirselves as well as getting involved with other activities.
They decided before they go there to organise a fundraising event in Liverpool street, London at the restaurant Lahori Masala. For those who will attend there will be a list of prizes such as a Hi-Fi stereo sound system, two nights in a city hotel, dinner in a turkish restaurant and many more, which will be giving away in a raffle draw and also a list of things that will be auctioned on the night such as a boxed Blackberry and a Qatar Airline flight to any of Qatars 80 destinations.
All money that will be raised will go towards buying things for the children and help complete the construction for a kitchen/dining room in Kikambala. The event will take place Tuesday 16th of March 2010 in Liverpool street, London.
To book your ticket visit: www.mombasaorphans.com
Stella Bili
February 2010
New feeding programme for the children
Due to the financial difficulties, the GOA rescue centre is not able to pay for nutritious food for the children in Mikindani. These children come from the street, many of them are on glue and some are HIV positive. It is important to get the right nutrition so their mind and body develop and rehabilitate quicker.
Until recently the kids were eating basic food at the centre such as maize and some time beans during the week. Africa Watoto (AW) with the kind help of Msizi Africa -a UK charity organisation that helps feed african children- started the implementation of a feeding programme for a year. The menu includes nutritious food (vegetables, milk, eggs and beans). AW’s goal is to continue buying nutritious food for the children every year. Kind donations that have been given through the website will be used to buy nutritious food for the children.
AW also has contributed to the feeding programme in Kikambala by adding milk to their menu once a week. The children were really happy to have milk. The programme started at the end of January 2010 and it is AW's aim to continue fundraising to cover the feeding needs of these children. If you are interested in contributing to the feeding programme you can donate by setting up a direct debit or by cheque to Africa Watoto’s account. All kind of donations are welcome and we assure you that the donations go to the project.
“It costs £5 to feed one of these children for a month” Msizi Africa
Click here to download the 'Feeding programme' for Kikambala and Mikindani rescue centre in Mombasa
To donate money for this project visit our donation page
Stella Bili
The rescue centre in Mikindani is now a better place
The rehabilitation centre in Mikindani currently cares for 7 children. The number is changing every day as some children run back to the street and others coming from the street to rehabilitate, find food and somewhere to sleep. The number of the children can go up to 15.
At Mikindani the House father ,Foster, cares for the children’s food, upkeep, security and well being. There is also a teacher, Simon , who comes a couple of days per week to teach them. Unfortunately the centre lacks of volunteers. The organisation i-to-i used to send volunteers but for an unknown reason they don’t send anymore.
The volunteers work is to keep them occupied, teach them and do various activities to develop their personal skills while they rehabilitate. When there are no volunteers the children don’t do anything all day, they are getting bored and it is one of the reasons to run back to the streets. The Sisters from the centre are aware of the situation and they want to start sending volunteers from Kikambala.
The centre for the last 8 months did not have water because the pipe and the meter were broken, but the main reason was that there were no money allocated to fix it. Through your donations Africa Watoto paid the bill, fixed the pipe, got a new meter and the centre now has water again.
Another problem was that the building is very old, and dirty, which is unpleasant and unhealthy for the children who live there. With the help of couple of volunteers (pictured) from Kikambala and a local painter the rescue centre has been repainted, cleaned and the kids are happy to play around in a nice and clean environment.
Mikindani before and after was paint
Stella Bili
Four new classrooms for the children
The construction of the 4 classrooms has been started at the Grandsons rescue centre in Kikambala. It has been funded from a family in Germany known as Christel and Albert. It is the same family that helped build the dormitory and the current classrooms for the children. The construction will be completed by April this year.
Sr Blandina
A Christmas day the children will never forget
Many of you have contributed to buy Christmas presents for the children at Grandsons but not only we got them presents you also helped us organise a special day for them. We raised up to £400 and we bought them Christmas presents and organise a Christmas lunch which gave them a big smile on their face.
The Christmas day started at the Kikambala centre after the boys had been to church. They all gathered into one of the classrooms to receive their gifts. The smaller boy Rama didn’t really know what to do with his gift so the volunteers helped him unwrap the present after he just stood and stared at it for a while. The boys received T-shirts, DVDs CDs and the younger ones also got toy cars and mini Frisbees and the good old fashioned yoyo which many of them loved playing with. After they played and admired each others gifts they stored them away and got ready to go to the swimming pool.
The Matatus (buses) arrived and the volunteers bundled them on board for the journey to Prestige. The boys were in their element jumping into the pool and climbing all over the volunteers. The younger ones who couldn’t quite swim yet clung to us jumping from one of us to the next to keep them afloat. Some of the younger ones got brave and jumped in the deep end...holding tightly to one of the more crazy volunteers who then nearly drowned getting them to the side again. But they loved being able to jump in. One of the boys Juma did not tire of doing forward rolls in the water and of course making sure anyone he could get to was watching. The older ones were showing off their skills and doing somersaults and dives into the water. After a while in the water the children and the volunteers had lunch: Chicken and chips.
After lunch there was more swimming and some of the older boys took advantage of watching some music channels on the T.V. By the end of it most of the boys actually looked worn out, but of course some of them were still full of energy and cheekiness. Dossi one of the boys was walking past the table where the volunteers were sitting with a massive smile on his face as he beamed 'THANKYOU'. It was such a treat for them and that is thanks to the donations of people like you who made it possible.
The boys had a fun time and won’t forget it and all the volunteers had a Christmas very different from all the others they have had. It was a very special day nonetheless, and that was thanks to the boys and the volunteers.
Erin Parker and Stella Bili
December 2009
Preparing for Christmas
Two volunteers have kindly donated new goal posts with nets for the football field and Mr Mwaniki has taken on the role of football coach so the Grandsons team is now training in earnest and hoping to play a friendly match against a team from a local school very soon. Another volunteer has donated a swing set which the younger boys love.
We have started a choir and are attempting to teach in four part harmony which is pretty tricky without a piano! The choir is made up of about 30 boys of all ages and they already have a couple of christmas engagements so we're rehearsing christmas carols which is quite odd in 30 degree heat.
Pleas for christmas are shaping up, there are plans for a christmas show, giant advent calanders, sports days and much more. All the money from the Christmas Appeal will really help make it an extra special christmas so please donate.
The dining room fund has now tipped the half way mark so we're hoping to start some more work on the external structure very soon.
Fiona Coady
September 2009
£340 raised at the charitable Halloween party in London
Halloween is over but those who dressed up for Africa Watoto Friends of Grandsons’s charitable Halloween party on the 30th of October will remember what a great cause they were supporting and how much fun they had.
Many people showed up that night, friends, people that have heard about street children and ex volunteers that have been at Grandsons of Abraham rescue centre in Kenya. All these people gathered for the same cause, to help raise awareness and funds for street children in Africa. Africa Watoto raised £340 through kind donations.
DJs and friends donated their time to help raise awareness and money much-needed for the street children in Mombasa.
Stella Bili
October 2009
Fundraising efforts in Kenya
Letter from Sister Blandina
Untill today we have raised over Kshs.900,000, we hope to continue raising more. Some companies have started supporting us with material goods. This week on Friday we shall have Faulu Kenya a Microfinance organisation joining at the centre. Faulu Kenya brought building stones yeasterday (hard core), for beginning foundation of the 4classroms we are planning to start constructing.
Mombasa Maize millers have promised and so far delivered twice 8 bundles of maize flour, our stepal food. Diamond trust has delivered 1 packet of bar soaps and both of them promise to continue doing it every month. The Goan community in Mombasa has delivered about 20bads for both maize, rice, beans and maize flour.
We are still approaching more companies to come and help Grandsons.
September 2009
New refurbished bathroom for the chilrdren's home
Thanks to the hard work of too many volunteers to name Grandsons have now completed the refurbishment of the bathroom's and are very close to completing the dormitories - more pictures to follow. The boys love the new colours in their home.
Many changes in only a few weeks
The centre has seen many changes in the last few weeks. The focus of the volunteer work has extended from merely teaching to the full time care of the boys. Volunteers now work on a shift system and we provide 24 hour care. Our role has extended to include bathing and putting to bed the smaller boys, cleaning, washing bedding and clothes, caring for the boys in the night when they are sick or have nightmares as well as continuing to play with and teach the boys.
The boys and the premises are now much cleaner than before, plus we’ve sewn up and re-treated all mosquito nets and are in the process of re-covering the windows on the dormitories. As a consequence the boys are already substantially healthier than they were only a few weeks ago. We’ve had only one case of malaria this month and have almost entirely eradicated the ringworm and other hygiene related illnesses that were rife just a few weeks ago.
We’ve worked with the Kenyan staff for some consistency in managing the behaviour of the boys and are seeing a drop in the fighting and stealing which used to be so commonplace.
We’re also working on improving the infrastructure at the centre. Thanks to the fundraising efforts and generosity of volunteers, the dormitories are being redecorated inside and out and the bathroom refurbished. We are also in the process of creating a book and toy library which we hope to open in the next couple of weeks.
Behind the scenes we’ve been working on improving the financial aspects of the centre and have instituted a new, more transparent accounting system which should enable the centre to access funds which were previously unavailable. We’re also working to register with the Kenyan and UK governments as a charity and investigating other sources of funding.
At the centre itself we’re currently enjoying the calm of the school holidays as over half of the boys have returned to extended family members for a couple of weeks. The atmosphere at the centre is very relaxed and we’re all enjoying the peace. We took the boys on a trip to Haller Park and the beach recently which was a huge success. We’re hoping to organise another before term begins again.
We marked the end of term with a talent show which was an impressive affair. We were treated to poetry readings by some of the standard 8 boys. Some extraordinary acrobatics and a hilarious drama in which Freddie’s turn as a radio and Dossi’s as Jet Li stole the show.
Every day at the moment brings new ideas for change and new offers of help and support. If you would like to continue your support of the centre why not consider further fundraising, or indeed a return trip to Grandsons.
Grandsons continues to be extremely grateful to it’s volunteers and the children continue to talk about many of you long after you’ve gone home. Everyone here wishes you well with what you’ve now moved onto and hopes you will stay in touch.
Fiona Coady
Volunteer Co-ordinator at Grandsons
July 2009
Projects taking place now in the center
Initially Grandsons of Abraham (GOA) used to rescue, rehabilitate and reunite the children back with their parents or guardians. This has continued for many years, but it has come to realise that it needed to do more, that is provide the children with education because some will have to stay in the center for more than one year.
This year in January GOA started formal education in the center. At the moment there is a Nursery, 1-8 the primary level of education in Kenya and it has only four classrooms and two offices.
GOA is planning to:
- Have four more classrooms
-
Finish up a dinning and a kitchen that was started and never finished
-
Have dometory for girls
-
Have a staff house at the center
-
Become a vocational school.
At the moment there are no constructions going on except formal teaching and the informal rehabilitation activities.
Find out more details about the projects taking place now
May 2008
Kikambala Site Devloment
As you can see, the Kikambala site is developing well. The foundations for the Kitchen and Dining Hall are in place, and other buildings are now in use.
Sister Jane Frances Malika sends the following message from Grandsons
Hallo, how have you been for many days. How are the girls doing and what about the friends of Grandsons. Well let me hope that all is well and the good Lord has been guiding you.
May i first by thanking you for nice website for the friends of Grandson, i sincerely thank you and those who made it possible. This webside makes Grandsons known by so many people and i thank you for that. Here we are fine and it is raining, we have been busy planting and wedding at Kikambala to see if we can get some harvest. The children are fine despite malaria and there. During raing season mosquitoes are many and that why we get malaria but we use mosquito nets.
At last the Rotary Club of Mombasa bought food for the centre for two months and they promised to do that for about three months depending on their money from Canada Club. I thank God for this help and i only wish it continues. The constraction for the kitchen and dinning hall has already started and we have already finished the slap as we had agreed with Ann. The person they are working together will be coming this week then we discuss the next stage. We have also started the constraction for the four classroom for reabilitation as it appears in the big plan. For sure we have all the reason to thank God. My big challenge as i continue with the constraction is where to get money for daily running. As you know there so many thing to do, like bills, medication for the children, salaries, insurances etc. So iam still looking for donars for this area. I look forward for the day we will build the primary school which will be like Income.
The launch (05/05/08)
Launch of the ‘Another brick in the wall’ Campaign, 2008 you may already be aware from the ‘Gifts for Grandsons’ scheme and our first Newsletter that we are currently raising money towards the ACE Collaboration kitchen and dining hall building project at Kikambala (see on the website under ‘The Future of Kikambala’ for further information). ACE is currently growing in scope and longevity (for further information about the larger ACE project visit their smart
shiny new website at www.acecollaboration.org)
Sisters email; (05/05/08)
Here is the latest news I have received from Sister Jane Frances:
“Hallo Margaret and how are you. We are fine and working hard for thechildren. How are the friends of GOA.
My dear it is now a while since we communicated but as you know there is so much do be done and time goes
very first. The Rotary club came to visit and they asked me to give them the list of food we go through per month of which I did but they have not communicated back yet, all the same the money is with the club in Mombasa. We hope they will response positively.
Margaret this may sound good to you, Ann has transferred 5,000 Pounds last week and we are starting construction any time from next week hoping that the rains will not come. You can imagine how happy I am. She says we do the foundation and the slap first then she will come at the end of May 2008. I am really looking forward to the day I see the kitchen and hall finished and I pray that the fundraising goes on well.
My dear I am away for one month holiday. I was so tired that I needed it. Now I will be able to write to you quite often that I am away from my place of work. We have managed to have put up a temporary dining hall for the kids, it better than before. Also the Septic tank and soakpit are all ready and in use and I told you before there is water running now and we all very happy. It almost rain reason now and we are preparing to plant corns and vegetables. The rains are not very promising though. I thank God for what we have been able to do; to me it is a great achievement.
The children are at home for their holidays and there is a lot of noise. Although the work is hard but I see God's hand in it. When are you coming to visit again? I want to wish you all the best
Yours sincerely,
Jane Frances K Malika”
March 2008
News Update (7/03/08)
The News from Kenya is much more positive now, with a Government power-sharing agreement underway. Let’s hope things keep improving. I recently received the following from Sister Jane Frances Malika;
Here I thank God that things are calm a bit. Yes it is true that boys are in Kikambala and are very happy there.
Mikindani is a drop- in centre and I am looking for money to renovate it so that we can make it a hostel to bring income for the project. My dear I need income generating projects to help us otherwise it will mean to send the children out. As I write to you now things are not easy, for daily running of the activities, salaries etc. I need income generating projects.
Yes Ann wrote and she is coming at the end of May to see if they can start the foundation, I am really looking forward for this, it my pray that it continues for the better of the children. I also pray that one day we get a school where by the children will be able to go.
My dear God is good, although the year 2008 did not start well for us Kenyans. I thank God for we had a gift of water at Kikambala from the borehole and we have finished contracting the Septic tank and Soak pit. To me these are big projects as you now water is very important and Septic tank. All this is through friends like you. The only biggest gift I can give you is my prayers to you all.
My dear Margaret thank you so much for what you are doing for Grandsons. Also I want to thank the friends of Grandsons for their help to the children. Now my dear is it possible for the friends group to fundraise towards the daily running activities at the centre. I need help my dear.
I will send you the photos for Kikambala to see what we have done so fare. All the children send there greetings to you. When are you coming to visit please.
I think today this is along letter. I will keep on updating you soon. My love to all. Hope to hear from from you soon.
February 2008
News from Mombasa (15/02/08)
I have had a couple of texts recently from sister, but not spoken to her directly. I understand that things have calmed down somewhat now. All the boys have been moved to Kikambala where it is much safer. Food is still expensive and difficult to come by, and in recent weeks we have been concentrating on sending cash sums to help out with this. As an emergency measure, I have sent £450 from the Grandsons account and from Rebecca Payne, which had not been earmarked for the ACE Collaboration kitchen and dining hall project. I know that other friends have also been active in this, and a Rotary Club from Canada who are developing an interest in supporting Grandsons long term were able to send $1500 (Canadian). The News sounds more promising…lets just hope that Kofi Anan can knock those heads together so that Kenyans can start to rebuild their shattered society.
Looking to a Brighter Future (15/02/08)
It is still full steam ahead for the Ace Collaboration project. Ann Ruscillo tells me that the fundraising is going well with lots of events still planned (more on that to follow), and they are determined that the political situation will not stop them from going ahead. We received some 40-50 purchases in the Gifts for Grandsons scheme, from £2 upwards, plus we have had further general donations to the scheme, and fundraising efforts. All this means that we currently have over £900 in the Friends account, of which £226 is for specified items (nails, cement etc). We hope to grow the balance and launch a new target of an item(s) for the project which the Friends can commit to funding (more of this to follow).
£260 Raised for Grandsons (15/02/08)
A belated thank you… (hopefully things will return to business as usual soon!)… to Sam Coope (ex-volunteer) who raised an impressive £260 before Christmas for the Ace Collaboration project by hosting a quiz night. Just shows what you can do when you put your mind to it! Well done Sam, and thanks to all who took part.
January 2008
Stop Press: Unrest in Kenya (05/01/08)
I spoke to Sister Jane Frances on the phone today and was reassured that the staff and boys are all ok. Luckily around 50 boys are staying at Kikambala where to date there has been less trouble. However around 15 boys and staff remain at Mikindani where there has been a lot of fighting and many buildings have been burnt down. The boys at both sites have been staying indoors since the troubles began, as it’s so dangerous to go out, although Sister feels that things are beginning to calm down now. The main problem now is the lack of food to buy, and the expense of buying it when it can be found. Sister and Emmanuel were forced to drive from Mikindani to Kikambala to take some food to the boys there, but she says they took their life in their hands doing so. I could tell that Sister remains extremely worried about the situation. Obviously we all hope that the situation will be resolved as soon as possible, though realise that psychologically, culturally and financially, things will take a lot longer to get over. If you are able to provide a donation to help with additional costs, it would be especially welcome at this difficult time. Also I have been sent details about an online petition calling for an urgent resolution to the Kenyan electoral crisis, which you may wish to sign click here
October 2007
Golf club fundraiser (October 2007)
Luanne Mason writes:
“I volunteered at Grandsons of Abraham Kikambala site in July 2007. I was very much affected by the risilience,character and hope of the street children and the committed work being carried out to improve their quality of life. In September 2007, Whitefields Golf Club (nr. Rugby, UK) agreed to hold a charity golf event to raise funds for the Grandsons of Abraham. The event was supported by 20 teams and raised a total of £1000. In addition, a charity auction and individual donations brought the grand total to £1500. Special thanks to Pete Keyes who organised the event, Brian Coleman the Club Secretary for hosting the event and John Mason, the Chairman, for contributing the facilities for the day and committing to this charity. Another charity golf event is being planned for this year (September 2008) to again raise further funds for Grandsons of Abraham, in order to contribute to making a difference to street kids lives in Kenya.
Luanne Mason
Reading, UK.”
Harvest Festival Fantastic Fundraiser (October 2007)
Thanks to ex volunteer Tom Butterworth, his dad the Reverend John Butterworth, Mr Jean-Victor Kabanda (from Rwanda), Mr Rupert Pattisson, the Wives Group and the congregation of the Outwood Parochial Church Council, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, over £485 was raised for Grandsons. Well Done to all involved!
Kikambala Plans (28/10/07)
Click here to view an image of the development plan of the Kikambala site, together with a breakdown of the costings . (There is also a word document of the costings which is a bit more legible) This is an amazingly ambitious long term plan which is already underway. You can read about the rationale of the development elsewhere on this site (see ‘Future Developments’ under the ‘What is it?’ page). It is not a pie in the sky; as you may know the bore hole and one of the boys dormitories are already completed, with a scheme underway for the completion of the dining hall and kitchen next year. (More to follow soon). However we really need your support to help with this project. Whatever ways you can think of to raise money would be so appreciated by the boys (as long as it’s legal!).
September 2007
Bravery at Bristol Half Marathon (21/09/07)
James Hole displayed a period of madness by deciding to run in a half marathon. After some ‘gentle’ persuasion from work colleagues in Gloucester, he agreed to do so in aid of Grandsons. As a result of this, and James mighty efforts, a fantastic £100 was raised.
July 2007
Publicity Material (25/07/07)
If you would like to organise an event of your own, or are preparing for a talk etc, we have some publicity material you can access. Obviously you can take a lot of information directly from the website. But we also have a short power point presentation that you can leave running in the background, and also a brochure supplied by the rescue centre which you can download. If you're interested, please email mombasa2006@tiscali.co.uk Thanks and Good Luck!
Fundraiser for Grandsons (21/07/07)
Grateful thanks must go to Cheryl and John from Staffordshire who combined a 'big number' birthday celebration with a fundraiser for Grandsons. 'Apefest' involved several live bands, much (sober?) jollity and a real effort from all family and friends. We were due to join them to publicise Grandsons but were marooned on the 'isle of Gloucestershire'. However our efforts were not needed as a fabulous £250 was raised despite the attrocious weather. During the evening 7 dozen hot dogs and 60 portions of chilli were sold...so perhaps it's a good job it wasn't held in sanitation-less Gloucestershire! Just shows that all you need to do is to enjoy yourself, whilst telling a few people about Grandsons at the same time.
June 2007
Tsavo power company funded almost kshs 1,900,000 (01/06/07)
The Tsavo Power Company (the biggest independent power company in Kenya) have been supporting Grandsons for the last four years. From initially supplying a cow for fresh milk, they moved onto supplying
other much needed items such as a fridge freezer, TV, video recorder, cooker, copying machine and table tennis table. They have also contributed towards general running costs, and vitally with the purchase of the land at Kikambala. Recently they provided the balance of funds needed to allow the bore hole to be completed. To date the Tsavo power company and associated friends in the UK have funded almost kshs 1,900,000
April 2007
Large team to provide sports and music activities (01/04/07)
This is really exciting......we have a contact who is hoping to take a large team of people to Grandsons for a few weeks in 2008 to provide sports and music activities, and carry out a specific building project - more info to follow
March 2007
Grand opening day (07/03/07)
Today was the grand opening of the new boys dormitory at Kikambala
March 2007
Grandsons is fundraising charity of the year (01/03/07)
Tom Butterworth spoke to a group of people at his church. It must have been a great speech as the church has agreed to take on Grandsons as their fundraising charity for the year!'
September 2007
Sponsorship Needed (17/01/07)
Boys who cannot be reunited with their families face an unpromising future. Grandsons seeks to give as many boys as possible a real chance in life by sending them to board at secondary school and gain some qualifications.
Toti Rapheal Mohamed is 16 years and in form 2 of Tala Secondary School. He was facing great difficulties as he had been forced to leave school - (he was 'chased away') as there wasn't enough money for his school fees, and Grandsons had no money to pay them.
Toti’s school report shows him to be very capable, and it would have been a waste of a life if he wasn't able to fulfill his promise. The costs of a boys annual boarding fees are generally between £300 and £500.
Thanks to Friends of Grandsons Toti’s fees are now being paid, with plans to support two others.
However There are up to 50 boys that Grandsons would like to fund through Secondary school. Could you help anothor Toti?
August 2006
Grant towards borehole accepted (17/08/06)
Great news!...Ex volunteers have learnt that their application for a grant from the i-to-i foundation towards a borehole at Kikambala has been successful. This money, together with some £800 raised by the volunteers will help ensure a water supply at the site, and so facilitate further developments
Africa Watoto enews - Archive
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