Educate and Feed 85 At-Risk Kids in Kibera, Kenya

What are you doing this Valentine's Day?

Take a minute to vote for St. Vincent's Nursery School & Rescue Center's work to promote LOVE for vulnerable children and families in Kibera, Kenya

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St. Vincent's mission is to build a society where all children receive the necessary LOVE and care essential to survive and thrive. We promote love by treating both children and parents with the love and respect needed to flourish. 

We are thrilled that this work has been recognized by The Fetzer Institute. St. Vincent's has been selected to participate in the What In The World Are You Doing? contest for its work to promote love and forgiveness. 

With YOUR vote, we have the chance to win $5,000.

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Vote NOW until February 28th. It's easy and free! 

• Go to St. Vincent's entry page (see link below) 
• Vote by clicking LOVE IT! 

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The NGO or nonprofit organization that gets the most votes by midnight EST February 28, 2013 will be awarded $5,000 for being the MOST LOVED!

And as always, thank you for your support!

Links:

• What In The World? Contest Entry Page

December 1st is World AIDS Day.....

So we thought we would take this opportunity to share with you how St. Vincent's is making an impact on the fight against HIV and AIDS in Kibera, where the HIV prevalence is estimated at 15 percent, more than double the national prevalence of 6.3 percent.

Because children living with HIV need proper health care, medication and nutrition, each year St. Vincent's supports HIV testing of children newly admitted into our Nursery School Baby Class (approximately 30 children annually), following parent/guardian consent. Testing is conducted each Winter by qualified providers at a partner institution, called Lea Toto. For those children that are HIV-positive, an appropriate food and medicine regime is determined and agreed upon with parents and guardians to ensure adherence.

This all may sound simple -- but in reality -- it's actually quite complex. Because of the stigma and discrimination that is still associated with HIV and AIDS, many parents are resistant to having their children tested - as their child's status will be a reflection of their own status, which they may not know or be scared to disclose. To overcome this reluctance, St. Vincent's initiates discussions with parents starting at the beginning of the school year, to encourage them to allow their child to be tested so that the child can receive the appropriate care and support. This requires patience and persistence, as discussions take place gradually over a period of time so that parents can come to understand the importance of testing not only for their children, but for themselves too, in a way that is comfortable for them.

Almost always, St. Vincent's is successful in demonstrating to parents -- men and women both -- the importance of knowing their status. As a result, nearly all Baby Class children participate in the testing campaign each year, with those found to be positive receiving the attention they need to stay healthy. St. Vincent's effectiveness is attributed to the organization's role as a trusted resource in the community that is committed to promoting the wellbeing of vulnerable children as its first priority.

We are excited to announce that our Director, Ms. Lucy Kayiwa, or 'Mama Lucy' as they call her in Kibera, has been selected as the keynote speaker at an upcoming event in San Francisco, California hosted by One World Children's Fund.

On November 16th, Lucy will share her experience to the estimated 400 guests in establishing and running St. Vincent's Nursery School and Rescue Center in Kibera, the population that St. Vincent's serves and the challenges that the organization and the families face in ensuring orphans and other vulnerable children in Kibera have the resources to survive and thrive.

This event will provide great exposure for St. Vincent's at a time when the organization is working hard to attract institutional support from foundations and companies in both Kenya and abroad to help keep operations running.

For more information on the event, please click here. 

And thank you for your continued support!

Links:

• St. Vincent's Website

We just timed it.....and in about 30 seconds, you can help St. Vincent's win $1,000. All it takes is a few clicks of your mouse and it won't cost you a dime!

For the second year in a row, St. Vincent's has been selected as a finalist in the Global Giving Photo Contest. The Global Giving project whose photo receives the most votes will be awarded $1,000.

With this amount, St. Vincent's can cover the school fees of 35 children to attend our Nursery School for an ENTIRE YEAR!

At the time of writing this report, our photo is in 6th place --- we have until August 15th to collect votes. So, please take a few seconds out of your day to help us out. 

Click on the following link to cast your vote.

http://www.globalgiving.org/poll/vote/?pollOptionId=22

And don't forget to ask your friends and family to help out too!

Many thanks for your continued support,

Lucy Kayiwa, Director

www.kiberachildren.org

St. Vincent's Helps Vulnerable Children Access Critical Care: Lilian's Story 

During a recent St. Vincent's board meeting in April, a young girl came to St. Vincent’s with sadness on her face. Although the girl refused to speak, St. Vincent’s learned through her cousin, Peterson, who accompanied her, that the girl’s name was Lilian and she was a double orphan, having lost both of her parents.

Peterson explained to St. Vincent’s that they came to seek financial assistance to help Lilian undergo a needed operation to remove a tumor that had been detected during recent medical tests. Lilian’s family tried to seek support from friends and relatives in the Kibera community to cover the Ksh 100,000 (approximately $1,200 USD) procedure, but had failed to collect even a quarter of the needed amount.  In the meantime, Lilian dropped out of school due to her condition.

The family then learned about St. Vincent’s through another local school, Shine Academy. St. Vincent’s has become known in the community as a trusted, reliable resource to which people can go when they are in urgent need of support. Weekly meetings open to the community, such as the one Lilian and her cousin attended, help identify those families in greatest need and St. Vincent’s works with families to identify solutions and harnesses its networks to ensure families are connected to additional services when needed. Through this approach, St. Vincent's program creates a safety net for families in the community so that they are able to continue caring for the children. 

On their first visit, St. Vincent’s encouraged Lilian and Peterson to try to raise the additional amount needed by holding a fundraiser in one of the local public spaces easily accessible to friends and relatives.  The pair returned weeks later, reporting that despite their efforts, they were still unable to secure the necessary amount. And now, the cost of surgery had been increased due to its urgency. With no other viable options available and the need for the surgery immediate, the board members promptly decided that St. Vincent's would contribute the balance so that Lilian could proceed with having the surgery without further delay.

Two weeks later, Lilian and Peterson once again came to the board meeting, this time around with good news. The operation had been successful and Lilian now had hopes to return to school. Lillian shared with the board her future ambitions to become a doctor so that she could save lives for the less fortunate in the community. Lilian has since been enrolled in St. Catherine Nangina Girls boarding primary school in Western Province, Kenya where she is in Class 6.

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Healing the Sick: St. Vincent's Collaborates with Family Hope Charity & Chamberlain College to Host Free Medical Clinic

In early May, St. Vincent’s collaborated with Family Hope Charity (Chicago, IL) and Chamberlain College of Nursing to host a free, two-day medical camp for the Kibera community at St. Vincent’s Nursery School in Olympic Estate, Kibera. The medical team comprised 23 medical experts from the United States, four local doctors and five clinical nurses. A team of 18 local volunteers supported the team with translation.

Mildred Wesonga, a local high school student who attended the medical camp commented: “Here, the personnel were very friendly to me and for the first time, I find this very relaxing. As from experience, most of the doctors I have visited were not friendly to me in the local clinics in Kibera. My prayer is that we should have more of these camps annually to help us community members.”  Mildred attended the camp because of ongoing chest pains she had been experiencing.

An interview with one of the nursing students working at the camp, Carolyn Lay, says of the event, “It was really good to give a listening ear to people as they tell you what ails them and by the end of the day, the trust they all have in you…. But for me, the most inspiring thing was to give education to the sick people who showed up.”

A total of 576 children and families received medical and dental care and treatment at the event.