This week we had our first stab at the beach, visited a great tennis academy, averaged 4 hours of tennis every day in hot South Florida, counted amazing cars and colours, had dinner donated by a Erin and her family, and discussed college education, swam at the hotel pool for as long as we wanted, did some shopping.....and its not over yet!

Location: Delray Beach

Links:

• http://www.facebook.com/sadili_oval

Pictures:

• IMG_6070.JPG (JPG)
• IMG_6049.JPG (JPG)
• IMG_6088.JPG (JPG)

In the Patch Reef Back to School Jr. Championships:
Sakina Nshimirimana proved that she is ready to take on the best when she lifted the Girls 18s trophy after she defeated first seed Hsin-Ping Cheng7-6(6); 6-3, setting up a match against Huai-Hsuan Huang 4-4Ret (inj)
Jamin Esikumo d. Luis Velasco6-1; 6-1,before losing narrowly to Kevin Patterson 6-7(0); 6-2; 10-2 in the quarterfinals of the boys 16s, while Dwele Abok lost to Amanda Germain 2-6; 3-6 in the Girls 16s quarters.
Location: Patch Reef Back to School Jr. Championships
In the IBIS Rookie Compressed Tournament:
Shabani Kabura defeated Christian Tabernilla 8-0 in the Boys 12 in what was his signature result for the day, having mauled over Gianno Petruziello 8-0.
The girls 12 was a Sadili affair, with Aaliyah Bashir making a surprise defeat over Cynthia Kirui 8-6 in a closely contested match.10 year old Vivienne Kinyanjui made the semi-finals before losing narrowly to Cynthia, showing that she is ready to compete at this age group. In the other semifinal, Aaliyah Bashir defeated Claire Jacobs 8-5. Lynda Tugee reached the finals of the girls 12 consolation, after defeating teammate Julie Omollo 8-2, then lost to Claire Jacobs 8-3 in a high-paced consolation final.
Euan Nesbitt reached the boys semi-finals in the main draw of the boys 14s before losing to Ryan Clemons 5-8, while Francis Kinyanjui lost to Meric Odabas-Yigit 2-8 in the quarterfinals of the main draw. In the boys 14 Consolation semifinals, Francis Kinyanjui defeated. Tres Pimentel 8-2, while Euan Nesbitt defeated Giopet Garnada 8-2 in the boys to set up another Sadili finals, in which a couple of unforced errors costed Kinyanjui 7-9 to runner-up position.
In the Girls 12, 8-year old Naeemah Bashir defeated Sione' Jones 6-1; 7-5 to lift the winner’s trophy.
Location: In the IBIS Rookie Compressed Tournament

Links:

• http://www.facebook.com/sadili_oval

Pictures:

• Frank K in action (JPG)
• A tired but happy team at the Ibis with Chuck Gill & Bill Murray (JPG)
• The full team in regalia! (JPG)

My name is Sakina, I am 17 years old and I dream and live tennis. Playing tennis in America has always been one of my greatest ambitions. Many wonderful things have happened to me: Serena Williams came and visited Sadili last year and I have been selected to join Sadili’s team of 14 kids on a special tennis trip to Florida to train with top coaches this summer. The only problem is that we need to raise the return airtickets for the team, which will cost US$2040. I’m appealing to friends out there to help make our dream come true, any amount will be welcome

Links:

• Read More About The Players
• Follow the epic journey
• Watch the Sadili stories on youtube

Pictures:

• This is me playing tennis (JPG)

The Langata Youth Soccer League recorded massive player attendance and endless support from Safaricom and Total Kenya on Saturday 20th June 2009. The league which is run by Sadili Oval's Sports For Life Programme was in its quarter final stages and this meant real competition amongst teams. The quarter final stages were a huge success as players fought for league supremacy and team coaches caught in a heated war of words with their players. However there was a number of upsets and spills. Favorites Spurgeons Academy were shown the door as early as the group stages. First timers Sports For Life under 16 succumbed to a 2-1 loss against tough headed St. Christines Primary School- perhaps a sign that there are no more small teams. Makina Youth under 12 and Sports For Life under 12 are now the most consistent teams as they have shown massive improvement ever since the tournament started- they have always stood up to be counted winning all their matches in this category. Makina Self Help girls under 14 have also made positive results to every litmus test and are eying the coveted league glory. We wish all the teams a good training week and we hope that when we meet again on the 11th of July for the semi finals we will witness real football on display and lots of battle for the Royal Crown- THE 5TH ANNUAL LANGATA YOUTH SOCCER LEAGUE TROPHY.

LEAGUE RESULTS ON 20TH JUNE 2009
UNDER 10 BOYS QUARTER FINALS
FUTURE V/S SHOFCO JUNIORS 3-2
SPORTS FOR LIFE V/S 11 STARS 2-0
MAKINA YOUTH V/S F.C BARCA 1-0
MAKINA SELF HELP V/S SPURGEONS 2-1

UNDER 12 BOYS RESULTS
SPORTS FOR LIFE V/S CALVARY 3-2
MAKINA YOUTH V/S FUTURE 1-0
HOLY UNITY V/S ST. CHRISTINES 1-2
F.C BARCA V/S SHOFCO JUNIORS 2-3

UNDER 14 BOYS RESULTS
CALVARY V/S SPURGEONS 0-1
SHOFCO JUNIORS V/S MAKINA SELF HELP 2-1
SPORTS FOR LIFE V/S 11 STARS 0-1
FUTURE V/S BARCA 0-2

UNDER 16 BOYS RESULTS
SPORTS FOR LIFE V/S ST. CHRISTINES 1-2
NEW ADVENTURE V/S SHOFCO JUNIORS 3-4
CALVARY V/S F.C BARCA 4-5
NATURE AND SPORTS V/S CHAMRECC 2-0

GIRLS UNDER 10 LEAGUE RESULTS
SPURGEONS V/S NEW ADVENTURE 0-1
SPURGEONS V/S HOLY UNITY 1-2
MAKINA SELF HELP V/S CHAMRECC 7-6

UNDER 12 GIRLS RESULTS
HOLY UNITY V/S ST. CHRISTINES 2-3

UNDER 14 GIRLS RESULTS
SPORTS FOR LIFE V/S HOLY UNITY 1-2
SPURGEONS V/S MAKINA SELF HELP 0-1
CHAMRECC V/S ST. CHRISTINES 1-0
NEW ADVENTURE V/S CALVARY 2-1

UNDER 16 GIRLS RESULTS
SPORTS FOR LIFE V/S SPURGEONS 1-0
NEW ADVENTURE V/S CHAMRECC 0-1
HOLY UNITY V/S ST. CHRISTINES 0-1
MAKINA SELF HELP V/S SHOFCO JUNIORS 3-1

We wish to congratulate all the semifinalists for their splendid performance at the quarters.
We thank Sadili Oval, Total Kenya and Safaricom for coming in to sponsor the event,we are still appealing to other sponsors and well wishers to come on board the league- this shall help us change the lives of the slum children who are playing in this league.
See you on 11th July 2009!

SPORTS FOR LIFE PROGRAMME 2009
5TH ANNUAL LANGATA YOUTH SOCCER LEAGUE.

Pictures:

• IMG_5081.jpg (JPG)
• IMG_5090.jpg (JPG)

Once again the Total, Safaricom, GlobalGiving -sponsored Trees for Peace Campaign takes centre stage this rainy season, with Langata Constituency and the Kibera slums being the main areas in which the tree planting exercise are being executed. The tree planting exercise which runs alongside The Annual Langata Youth Soccer League is an idea of Sadili Oval's Sports for Life Programme which aims at improving not only sports but also life skills and personal behaviour among children from Kibera. Already more than 8000 trees were planted last year and we have set a target of 9000 trees this year. 2764 children from member Schools of the Sports for Life Programme are participating this event and we expect the whole exercise to be very successful come December 2009 .
The event kicks off at 8.30am every Saturday at Sadili Oval, thereafter we walk to the tree planting venue within kibera and along the Southern Bypass Road, and we expect to complete our work by 11.00 am. Schools are then allocated trees to care for by watering and weeding. We appeal to all corporates, well wishers, parents, members of the press, potential sponsors and the general public to come plant trees and help in conserving the environment.

Pictures:

• IMG_5115.jpg (JPG)

The Sadili sponsored Girl Power Netball Tournament recorded the best of player turnouts and spirit filled style of play. The tournament which aims at instilling various life skills and sportsmanly conduct within girls aged between 10 and 18 years old is part of Sadili Oval's activities which are aimed at improving sports, education and responsible behaviour in the communities which live in the kibera slums and its environs. This year more than 24 teams confirmed participation to play in the open all-girl netball tournament which has only two categories; under 12 and under 16. Today Rehema Akinyi took some time to educate the girls on proper health which includes proper diet and personal hygiene. She also taught them on the importance of environmental conservation and the need to maintain the rich diversity of flora and fauna. Teachers from Ayany primary school, Mashimoni primary school and Makina self help school were very happy with the lessons taught as they meant a lot to the girls present at the venue.

Kara Wevers and Gerald Cook visited a GlobalGiving organization on March 18th, 2009. They wrote:

Today Kara and I visited Nairobi’s Kibera slums. Francis was my tour guide. He is a 19year old boy who seems intelligent beyond his years. He was representing Sadili Oval, an organization that works with sports and youth. But they do far more than that. They have planted trees, built toilets, re-worked a sewage field into a state-of-the-art athletic facility in Kibera, fed people, started a college, work with many area schools, built a community children’s library, and assist both elite young athletes and normal kids. The brains behind the organization is Dr. Elizabeth Odera, an amazingly energetic and intelligent woman. She interrupted a tennis lesion she was coaching to meet and speak with us. The level of professionalism of this organization cannot be overstated, many DC based NGOs could learn a lot from how Dr. Odera runs her organization.

The level of sophistication and breadth of her organization’s relations with the community were simply awe inspiring…as was meeting and speaking with Francis, himself a beneficiary of the program. He is a rugby player who hopes to go to university in South Africa to study biochemistry as a pre-med. Immediately upon meeting him, one could see he had been given a world-class education in addition to his athletic capacities. He easily slipped from teaching us some of his Swahili to discussions of history and development. It was apparent Sadili Oval had provided him with a lot; and by his enthusiasm towards the program, I could see just how grateful he was.

Sadili Oval’s relationship with the community may best be stated by a story Dr. Odera told us. Apparently during the post-election violence of 2008, the areas all around Sadili Oval were damaged and burned. Yet no one came onto her complex. Apparently people from the community itself literally protected the grounds.

Francis gave us an excellent tour of Kibera. Vincent, another coach at Sadlili Oval joined us for the tour. We walked through the midst of thousands of people, closely packed together in “shacks” built with corrugated iron. There were small paths and roads crisscrossed between these shacks. The larger roads often had ditches on both sides of them where open sewage flowed downhill. As we walked through the area, hundreds of children shouted “HI, HOW ARE YOU?!?” while running up to us to touch Kara and my arms. Vincent seemed to have friends everywhere and we often stopped to allow him to greet his friends. Both Vincent and Francis lived in the community. We visited schools that worked with Sadili Oval as well as toilets that they had built. We passed many, many trees that they had planted.

Francis then led us to Carolina for Kibera, an NGO that used to use Global Giving much more than it does now. They were located right in Kibera. We met Salim Mohamed, the executive director. He was kind enough to show us some of his facilities. Carolina for Kibera had counseling centers, sports programs, and worked a lot with girls. Salim seemed extremely intelligent and offered ideas of how Global Giving might be a platform for greater networking and sharing of skills along with money donations.

World number two female player Serena Williams made a successful three-day tour of Kenya and virtually brought life to a standstill wherever she went. The tennis icon arrived in country on November 13, 2008 and had her first official engagement in the dusty Eastern province district of Makueni, where she opened a school named after her; The Serena Williams Secondary at Matooni.

Serena, who is ranked second behind Serbian Jelena Jankovic, described the occasion as her moment of joy to help the deprived of society. The school was constructed through the funds provided by Serena, together with Hewlett Packard (a computer accessories company) and The Build African Schools Organization, which funds and supports construction of schools in marginalised areas.

The newly opened school boasts of a modern state-of-the-art computer laboratory that runs on solar power supplied by Hewlett Packard. Williams later paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The climax of her tour was a visit to Sadili Oval Complex in Langata, on the outskirts of Nairobi, where she conducted a tennis clinic and gave motivational talk to upcoming tennis players.

Estate comes under siege as Serena visits Sadili Oval

Residents of Civil Servants Quarters which neighbours Sadili Oval literally found themselves under siege when Serena Williams visited the locale. Diplomatic Police Unit and plain clothes policemen threw a cordon around the estate to protect the tennis icon and deter any eventuality of transgression. So tight was security that the place was only accessible via a special pass. One man was heard to jokingly comment; “Not even a rat can gain entry here.”

At exactly 10:30am, a convoy of three SUV’s rolled into the compound as cameras started clicking. The VIP rode in the same car as her mother, Oracene Williams and elder sister Isha Price. Dressed in a sky blue Nike T-shirt and black bikers, the icon was received by her host and director of the centre, Dr Liz Odera, who took immediate charge of her itinerary after signing the visitors’ book.

The multitude of photographers clicking away to capture her every moment at the tennis-playing complex and the myriad of eyes trained on Serena caused her uneasiness initially, but she overcame it with time. After a brief chat with the Minister for Sports Prof. Hellen Sambili, Serena ventured where she best feels at home – the tennis court. She toured five courts where players were assembled according to their age-groups. She played a demonstration double and the serves from her well-chiselled and powerful physique was testimony why she is the best.

For the youngsters, it was an occasion that will forever remain etched in their minds. Rubbing shoulders with the celebrity was a dream come true to the young people and the reality will no doubt take tennis in the country a notch higher. It also dawned on them that a famous person does not have a private life. “If this is what it means to be a superstar, I am beginning to have second thoughts,” remarked 16-year old Terry Odera, who found the limelight too intimidating.

Religion forbade Serena Williams from voting

Tennis star Serena Williams rooted for Barack Obama to become America's next president, even though her religion forbade her from voting. Williams and her sister Venus are among several million Jehovah's Witnesses in the U.S. who were forced to remain politically neutral and restricted from taking part in elections.

"I don't really get involved in political affairs because of the way I was brought up as a Jehovah's Witness, but it's exciting to see someone like Barack Obama have a chance to lead one of the world's biggest nations.
It's good. It makes my heart smile."

She has a total Grand Slam singles titles of nine. In addition, she teamed up with big sister Venus to capture a second Wimbledon doubles crown and an Olympic gold medal. She tops the 2008 money list by nearly a million dollars, reclaimed the world No 1 ranking (albeit briefly) that she held five years previously and suffered fewer defeats than any leading player, male or female.

Curiously, she maintains that the Olympic gold medal for the doubles in Beijing prompted more delight than the US Open success. “The Olympics were the best thing that happened to me this year,” she said. “I’m the kind of person who believes I will win US Open titles and, growing up, I always aspired to win Grand Slam titles but it was never my goal to win a gold medal.

Serena Williams is forever switching between the demands of top-flight tennis, fashion design, acting, philanthropic deeds and now writing an inspirational memoir that will double as her life history. No less an observer than former tennis great Billie Jean King remains insistent that Serena could definitely have become the greatest woman to have played tennis if she had been totally focused on the task in hand.

Her upbringing decreed that there would always be other aims and interests in the Williams sisters’ lives. For Serena the most discernible is a desire to make a meaningful contribution to her roots, flying first to South Africa and then Kenya where she made gifts of numerous computers to underprivileged schools.

She then flew to Senegal to survey land where she intends to build a school of her own. “For years I wanted to do a charity and something I knew would be beneficial for others,” she said. “I kept asking, ‘Should I do something for Africa or should it be for women?’ In 2006 I went to Africa and saw things over there that just weren’t fair. Kids couldn’t afford to go to school because their parents couldn’t afford to pay the equivalent of a dollar a week and that left me mortified. I kept thinking where I would have been without my own education. “I realised I had finally found my calling and my love because Africa is my roots, it’s where I come from. So I’ve formed a foundation that will build that school in Senegal to allow those kids to be educated for free. What is most important to me is that they will have a chance to be the best they can be and more.”

KLTA officials missing in action

World number two female tennis player was in town, yet local officials of the game were conspicuous by their absence, having decided to skip all her functions. Reason? “We were not invited,” says Njeri Onyango, Vice-Chairman of the Kenya Lawn Tennis Association.

“We were open and a number of kids who applied personally got passes. Only those who asked too late missed a chance to participate and could only watch. At the end of the day, it’s all about kids, and the clinic was completely free of charge, so that poor kids (mostly from our Kibera programme) got preferential chance to come,” counters Odera.
“I also know that Rawal and Mutuku requested the organisers of the trip for an appointment for their national team, and were asked to send me 5-6 names, but there were no officials to get passes. No names were sent so we had to give out the places to other worthy children from Kisumu and Mombasa.”

KLTA is the body mandated to run the game in the country. It operates under an archaic constitution that was crafted during the colonial times and which limited the sport to select few. The game was restricted to private members club where the tennis courts are still found to date. The beneficiaries deliberately curtailed the spread of the game across the board for selfish reasons. The subsequent office-bearers maintained the status quo for strange reasons known only to them. Forty-five years after independence, the modus operandi still prevails. There is no let-off for those wishing to play the game and who are not registered at the few private clubs that are sprinkled around the country. Enter Dr. Elizabeth Odera. She has created an opportunity at Sadili Oval for more than 1300 children between four and 21 years and to who access to these facilities would still remain a pipe dream, to develop their skills.

Sadili is home to 470 juniors who play tennis every week out of which a sizeable number come from the neighbouring slums of Kibera. Instead of seeing Sadili as a partner that complements the efforts of the association, KLTA has been seeing a rival. The tennis body has often claimed that Sadili was behaving like a rival body, claims that Dr. Odera vehemently denies. “KLTA should thank me because I have kept aloft the game of tennis in the country and given it the visibility it lacks. For a body that does not hold its own tournaments, it is ludicrous to hear such outrageous remarks. I am a partner who complements their efforts.”

A tennis enthusiast, Mbugua Ndiki, believes that nothing good can emanate from KLTA. “The association is the only one in the country where parents of children representing the country on national duty are made to buy uniform and meet expenses for the team, whether locally or internationally.” Ndiki is father to two tennis-playing siblings, Rahab and Esther Mbugua, who are on a tennis scholarship in the US.

Serena’s host – Dr Liz Odera

Dr. Elizabeth Odera studied at the Kenya Medical Research Institute
(KEMRI) where she obtained a Master of Science. She did her PhD thesis on leishmaniasis which she defended at both Kenyatta University and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. She then taught at Kenyatta University from 1996 in the Zoology Department. She was captain of Kenyatta University tennis team from 1983 to 1986 and is one of the best tennis players Kenya has ever produced. She is also an international tennis professional.

Dr. Odera has demystified the game of tennis and opened opportunities to about 3000 children from poor and rich communities alike, making Sadili the melting point for tennis in the region. She has been involved in the education and training of more than 11,000 youth in various sports, including basketball, tennis, soccer, rugby, athletics and swimming. Dr. Odera

Pictures:

• Serena watching young girl play (JPG)

For three months from May to July 2008, all roads led to Sadili Oval and the Nairobi West Prison Grounds on Saturdays, for the Raila and Friends-sponsored 4th Annual Lang’ata Youth Soccer League. The event, which ran under the theme "Goals for Life" saw a record 108 teams of boys and girls aged between 8 and 14 years from Lang’ata Constituency compete under the theme “Goals for Peace”. A large majority of the children were from Kibera, where soccer remains the primary sport. This event, which was the junior soccer as well as peace-building event in the year also included the planting of trees by students in Lang’ata and Karen schools, as well as in the Southern Bypass in the Trees for Peace Campaign. The Campaign was so successful, that 7415 trees have been planted so far, which has far exceeded the initial target of 4,000 trees. The Finals and Award Ceremony was attended by senior government and the Diplomatic Corps, including the Prof. Sambili, Kenya’s Minister for Youth and Sports, Ambassador for China, His.Excellency Zhao Ming, the Ambassador of France Her Excellency Elisabeth Barbier, the DCM American Embassy, Hon. Pamela Slutz, and Mr. Rakesh Rao, CEO Crown-Berger.
Trees for Peace Sponsors: Ministry for Youth and Sport, Embassy of China, Embassy of France, US Embassy, NEMA, UNEP Office for Africa, Nairobi City Council, Safaricom, Barclays Bank, Total Kenya, Tamarind Group, Crown Berger (K) Ltd.
Goals for Peace Sponsors:
American Embassy, National Olympic Committee, AMREF, Mabati Rolling Mills, General Motors, NEMA, GlobalGiving
Organisers: Sadili Oval’s Sports for Life Programme.
Patron of Annual Lang’ata Youth Soccer League: Rt. Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, Member of Parliament for Lang’ata Constituency and Kenya’s Prime Minister.

Pictures:

• IMG_1105.JPG (JPG)
• IMG_0867.JPG (JPG)

Introduction
Sadili Oval was given the mandate by the Embassy of France in mid-January 2008, to disburse and follow-up on funding from the the Government of France towards the emergency efforts following the post-election violence in Kenya. In this effort, Sadili has partnered with the following organisations. In addition, Sadili Oval received, through GlobalGiving, some limited funds towards the emergency effort. These funds served to assist in critical areas of the programme.
   
In Kibera:
Centres for Relief food and non-food items (blankets, etc): Mashimoni Squatters (600 children), Bemaca (78 families), Kibera Girls Soccer (41 children), St. Christine, Chamrek Children Centre (130 children), Tunza Children’s Home (93 children), New Adventure Primary (88 families), Makina Self Help (230 families), Sadili Oval (1623 families), Kenya Disabled Associations Network (KEDAN) (68 families), Nairobi Family Support Services (148 families). The numbers are not stable and grow soon after every violent activity between the police and protesting youth. More families are continuing to fall far below the poverty line, and come to seek help, as insecurity persists.
Medical Assistance:
Kenya Muslim Doctors Association
Kenya Breast Cancer
Assured Insurance
Ministry of Health Emergency support
Select Students, nurses, pharmacists and doctors of Kenyatta Hospital, Aga Khan and Mater Hospitals
Doctors in Private Practice
International Olympic Committee
Publicity:
Virgin Atlantic and Kenya Rugby Team
Capital FM Foundation
GlobalGiving
Friends of Sadili
In Mathare
Reality Tested Youth Program (1540 families in the Chief’s Camp, Soul Winning church and police station)
Dmolly Centre in Mathare 2 (86 children)
Myoto Junior Academy in Mathare 4A (170 children)
Dandora Deaf Self Help Group (68 families)
Mathare 4A Youth for Raila Organisation 160 families)
Numbers in Mathare have reduced
In Kisumu
WOFAK
In Kitale
Handicap International

Activities:
Huruma and Mathare
Huruma and Mathare areas were adversely affected, with more than 500 families in one particular village having all their property and homes razed to the ground. Families found refuge in camps, mainly the local police station and the chief, camp. The situation has since 10th February, has changed somewhat, with the IDPs getting evicted from the police station for security reasons. At Soul Winning Church, the number of families living in tents had reduced considerably, as they were receiving support to get housing and rent. However, they continue to arrive during the day to get fed and receive some non-food items such as blankets. At Dmolly centre and Myoto Junior Academy (schools), many of the displaced children are received, taught and cared for. We have distributed food (sugar, unimix, maize flour) and blankets to these areas. A number of NGOs and international organisations are now actively involved in Mathare, and this has assisted those within the Chief’s camp. From reports that we receive from Dandora Deaf, there are IDPs who are staying with friends, or hiding amongst neighbours, straining the already poor resources. We are continuing to seek them through various groups and provide basic support, as the numbers in the caps reduce. In addition, we have assisted Reality Tested in setting up a feeding centre at their office in Huruma, which will take care of displaced children in the community. We hope to maintain this centre for another two months or until the situation on the ground stabilises.
Kibera
Kibera was the worst hit area in Nairobi, with a large majority of business premises, homes in Olympic and Laini Saba, a petrol station, and the Toi Market razed to the ground. Many people, largely Kikuyu, Kibera continues to be the centre of turmoil in the city, and sporadic battles are fought between the police and protesting youth, and between gangs. Night-time (8 pm and 4am) in Kibera is fraught with security problems, with women and children raped and people in homes robbed of their property becoming a constant story. A number of IDPs are now returning back slowly to Kibera, but are faced with the challenge of shelter, food, water and how to get their lives back to normalcy. There has been a lot of pressure on the available meagre resources in the villages that remained intact, as many homes now provide shelter for those who were affected. This means that food, medicines, sanitation and water are a major requirement. Schools have also opened and remain the only safe and secure place for many children. As a result of the problems, many families lack the funds to take their children to school, and in the case of those who are in sponsored schools, the children lack the stationary that they need to begin school. This has meant that many schools have not been able to function well. Through this partnership, we have been able to provide some food to some of the functioning schools in our network to ensure that those children who go there will be able to get a good nutrition, at least until the WFP feeding program kicks in again later this year.

The disabled remains the part of the community that has largely been ignored until this program began. Through partnership KEDAN, many families are now receiving much wanted food and blankets and are able to receive constant updating sms messages on what may affect them. Through this communication system, we have also been able to provide medical support to the disabled and keep in touch with the deaf members.

Since the first week of January 2008, Sadili set up a medical camp in a fire-gutted (former) bar in Kibera, opposite the Sarangombe Police Station and welcomed any medical staff and public spirited citizen to offer volunteer services to the sick and injured. This unique camp continues to run every Sunday from 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. and sees between 400 and 700 people (depending on the skirmishes). The type of illnesses seen have changed from mainly injury-related cases to those linked to over-crowding and poor sanitation.


Challenges

Mathare
1. There is need to map out how many of the vulnerable are not in the camps, but are hiding out amongst neighbours and within the churches and provide more assistance to them, especially with non-food items.
2. A feeding centre needs to be sustained for one month to stabilise the health and nutrition vulnerable children
3. Closer contact and monitoring needs to be made regularly by the field staff on the disabled groups, to ensure that they are well catered for

Kibera
1. A lot of pressure for space, food and shelter in the safer parts of Kibera, has caused the emergence of malnutrition, poor habitation, opportunistic infections and diseases related to overcrowding.
2. Gangs are in control, and are involved in rape and robberies of the inhabitants themselves, especially from 8pm and 4am.
3. Tensions continue to be high, and the constant presence of the paramilitary police has meant that people are not able to get on with their lives. The few access point into and out of Kibera are manned by the paramilitary, who control the movement and instil fear, so that many feel that cannot go back to their businesses with whatever resources they have left
4. There are very limited shops that are poorly stocked, no market and no funds for the population to get back on their feet and work again.
5. The WFP-supported schools feeding programme has not resumed in the schools, and there is limited funding from the current budget to cater for this.
6. IDPs who were kicked out of Laini Saba and Soweto are returning back, but do not have the funds to rebuild their lives again.
7. Many cases have presented themselves to our clinic that psychological and stress related. These areas need to be addresses

Upcoming activities
1. A feeding programme for the school children is paramount. Schools will continue to receive unimix and any other products that are available.
2. Vulnerable populations (disabled, sick, women and children in worst affected villages) will continue to receive food
3. Investigations will continue to be made to find out how many are still n need of assistance and how many IDPs are hiding out amongst relatives and friends, especially in Mathare, where there is relative calm. In addition efforts will continue to be made to combine our work with the efforts of the other NGOs and International donors who are already doing a lot in Mathare to support the few camps remaining.
4. Water and sanitation continues to be a challenge, and we shall continue to seek support to establish more toilets and access to clean water in Kibera
5. We shall establish more closely the needs of the disabled and seek to provide them. This includes seeking support or provision of wheelchairs and crutches that were burnt or broken during the skirmishes
6. The weekly medical camp shall continue to serve the Kibera community for another month. There will be need to re-look at the needs of the needs of the people thereafter, and assess if it may continue, at least in some way. It will be important to work with other NGOs in the area, especially MSF.
7. Efforts will continue to be made to find missing children and also missng parents and assist with re-uniting them
8. We shall continue to work with the local administration and the youth leaders to establish some safety measures so that people can begin to go back to work and to school.
9. Sadili Oval and Malezi Foundation have a strong network in Kisumu, and wish to assist in the rehabilitation process through our offices there. It is obvious that a lot more needs to be done quickly.

Pictures:

• Children receiving food donations (JPG)
• A medical camp in Sarangombe Village, Kibera (JPG)
• Catering For The Disabled (JPG)

Sadili Oval is very happy to be, once again, a winner of the Chege Challenge Award.

To commemorate the life work of Geoffrey Chege, CARE USA in collaboration with Nike and Global Giving, teamed up to offer the Chege Challenge for Sports for Social Change Initiative partners in East Africa in 2007. The Chege Challenge offers matching grants of $1000 for successful online fundraising.

Geoffrey Chege, a 25 year veteran of CARE, was killed in Nairobi in early 2007. Chege directed CARE USA’s programs in East and Central Africa and was committed to serving Africa’s poor and vulnerable. Chege was a strong advocate of gender equity and equality and believed that the SSCI was an innovative approach to reach youth. As we struggle to bring dignity and hope to the world’s downtrodden, Chege’s life and sacrifices continue to shape and inspire the people who knew him.

Sadili Oval’s Global Giving reference #1853: African Child Sport and Education Fund will receive US$ 1000 (one thousand). An additional grant will be awarded to Sadili Oval for having the highest percentage of unique donors.

Thank you all supporters, and thank you NIKE, CARE and GlobalGiving: this means that we can put one more talented child to special school!

Great news: The French Embassy has donated enough money to keep many affected children eating for the next couple of months - hopefully, it will help stabilize them while all the chaos is going on.

In addition, they have requested that we assist with providing support to other groups in Kibera, Kisumu, Mathare, Kitale and Nakuru. Funds will be used to provide emergency feeding, build toilets, provide medicine for the sick and those with special medical illnesses, provide temporary shelter (now that the rains have begun), connect water supply, and chemicals to a district hospital mortuary. To do this, we will be working with organisations that include, Action Against Hunger, WOFAK (Women Fighting Against AIDS in Kenya), and Handicapped International. We are confident that this emergency programme from the Government of France will make a real difference at a time that many Kenyans are suffering and need a helping hand.

We are, after this stage going to need to do the following:

1. Look at ways in which we may build a soup few kitchens that will provide regular feeding for children only, to ensure that they can keep healthy. Establishing a soup kitchen will cost Kshs. 690,000 or US$ 9324 or Euros 7040.

2. Begin a healing series of counseling workshops, as many children have been traumatised by what they have seen and experienced, especially the girls. This can be done through sports and social workshops. This will require expertise, and would work best with qualified volunteers.

3. Donate towards schooling and books, to ensure that kids can continue to learn, inspite of everything. Schools have opened, but many lack the important learning materials. It will cost Euros 113 or US$ 150 per school to get shared chalk, exercise books and pens. We have isolated 34 schools within the worst hit in Kibera that are still active, at least in some reasonable way and judge that they will serve as the safest place for the children to be during the day (safety in numbers and better adult supervision).

4. Provide solar lighting to provide added security in an area that lacks electricity, which will have the added value of ensuring that children in the family can get to study. This part of an ongoing, but struggling project, in which we are hoping to provide a solar lamp each to 1500 families and after-school learning groups in Kibera, confident that it will serve to improve the learning environment and success of those families. (See Project on Solar Lamps on GlobalGiving—link is given below)

5. Seek clothing, toys and shoes that will assist children get through the Nairobi cold that has begun with the typical cold breeze. This has already started amongst Sadili's friends within Nairobi, and has made a reasonable impact, but much more needs to be done locally.

We are opening a well-manned coordinating office from Monday 21st January 2007 to ensure that all donations are well documented and a report is published to ensure proper accountability. We hope to run this office to the end of March 2007, when we hope that everything will have stabilised and most support services can wind down. We will, however, continue with the usual projects such as this one and the African Child Sport and Education fund (links given below).

Also do view our video at the link given below made by the children.

Sincerely,

Liz Odera

Links:

• Provide Kibera Slum Children with 1500 Solar Lamps
• African Child Sport and Education Fund
• Children's Video of our project, Kibera at War

Geoff Bower of Ontario Canada, a PTR Professional visited Sadili Oval in Kenya in December 2006. It was a wonderful experience for the children, especially those from Kibera, who talk about it often and are convinced that Geoff will come again someday soon. Read all about Geoff's inspiring account of his experience on this recent article in the Ontario tennis magazine.

Attachments:

• ota_servinginafrica.pdf (PDF)
  

This is exciting!
CARE International, through its partner, NIKE, were offering US$ 1000 to a select number of East African not-for-profit organizations if we can get 25 unique donors who contribute a minimum of US$10 towards our programme, which is listed on GlobalGiving. AND SADILI WAS FIRST! AND NOW IT HAS BEEN IMPROVED ON: we can win this award two more times, for every new unique 25 donors. What a great way to get more support!
When we attended the first day at the SSCN Workshop in February this year, we felt at sea, and I was convinced that we were in the wrong meeting: I went ahead and told Faye Yoshihara (one of the organisers of the workshop) exactly that. I remember her look of surprise. She advised me to try and sit through that first day and the next, there would be a lot in store. I must confess that I was very wrong....
What really started the problem for us was really a comedy of errors. I had an early coaching session at 6am that first morning, and delayed by colleage, we rushed out into an abnormally slow traffic on Langata road at 7.15 a.m., and gratefully met a quiet road to Thika (traffic was, thankfully, heaving towards town). Then we lost our way: we could not find the turn-off into the hotel where the workshop was to be held. In the end, we were late by more than an hour, and even missed the first tea break (I remember just managing to grab a quick cup of cold coffee before rushing to the basement where the meeting would be held.
Now, let me just paint a picture here for you. Rushing was not the word for me then: I was just recovering from a tournament in which we had played two days before, where all my old aches and pains were re-awakened by trying to stave off a quick exit from a couple of my juniors (you build them to be warriors, what do you expect?). I felt like an old dinosaur, toothless, slow and cankerous. But I had really looked forward to the SSCN workshop, and nothing was going to get in my way. It sounded interesting, and, for the first time, here was a new way of looking at sports that was very similar to our own, and I have a lot of respect for CARE and the work that the organisation does in Africa.

But then the event was in a basement with no natural light, for a creature of the great outdoors like me, it immediately felt like doom. Half the time, I would rush out into the fresh air and enjoy what little sunshine there was. On top of that, having missed the beginning and even some of the registration materials (honestly, I had to be the one to miss a NIKE notebook), it took even longer to settle down. Did I say that my name was spelt wrong? The first name tag I actually got meant something rude in one of our African languages (you will need to donate to globalgiving to get the word!). All this ensured that I was totally lost, so its no wonder that by lunch time, I did not seem to catch the connection between what was going on and how Sadili would come in.

But then, I met the wonderful staff from CARE, each and every one of you and different, yet very committed to CARE's mission, and always willing to share ideas. I found Wayne quiet, but brilliant, leading from the back (a true leader), and Millicent, inspiring everyone to work harder and together, and my first love, Auma, who says it like it is. Heidi and Mandy of NIKE "manhandled" me into the Globalgiving meeting (for which I shall be eternally grateful), where I met Saima, and finally felt truly at home. The time from then on, went really fast, I got to listen and learn from everyone, got to appreciate what every project needed to go through to succeed, and learned that our website could be improved on. For us also, learning from Loic Comolli, who has since taken us through the wringer with his many forms, and ePhilanthropy, and very new and exciting way to work the web for me (still struggling with redesigning out website since). I must admit that I deliberately entered late for the country meeting the next day to avoid an elective post!
Its been a great journey so far, and it can only get better! Thank you to CARE, NIKE and all SSCN partners, by doing this, you have made the lives of many children and youth better. We went in with shattered dreams, and you have given us all hope. And that is the true spirit of the Chege Challenge Grant - I am sure that he is pleased.
God Bless You All!

We have some exciting activities and progress to report this month!

For example:

* We planted 4000 trees!
* We ran 4 environment and health workshops during basketball and soccer training sessions for children
* 700 children played in the Soccer League games!

Read more about our achievements and check out the photos in our attached update.

Thank you for your support!

Attachments:

• Kiberareport.pdf (PDF)