Provide School Shoes to Kenyan Orphans

Many of you have asked how the orphanage is coping after the January 1 fire.  Life is difficult there, but all of the children are in school and healthy.  To give you a personal idea, I am presenting these reports by Kris Wehta.  Your donations have been very helpful, and allowed the chids to stay in school.  Without sturdy school shoes and athletic shoes the high schools do not let children study.  It was touch and go for some time. 

Luckily Laura's 80th birthday provided an opportunity for her friends and relatives to honor her with donations to Fabulous African Fabrics.  $1200 was raised.  During this year FAF has donated $4600 to the children.

Here is Kirs' description of conditions.

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ASSESSMENT OF FIRE DAMAGE BY KRIS WEHTA, MARCH 29, 2015:

(Italics are quotes from Kris. The rest is summary by Salazar)

ROOMS:  The girls are housed in two makeshift rooms. It’s worth noting that these rooms had been serving this noble purpose of sheltering our children since the 2001. The labor to fix the damage is a total of $1,260 U.S. At the time of writing, nothing has been done in an attempt to re-construct the two rooms. The affected children are sleeping on the floor in the yet to be completed permanent building.

BEDDING: Fourteen double decker beds are needed. None have been replaced to this effect as per now, and the entire group of girls is sleeping on the floors. (Replacement value $1,806.) Twenty eight mattresses were replaced by the Chandaria Foundation, a Kenyan NGO, along with flour, cooking oil, rice, sugar and toilet paper.

SCHOOL ITEMS REPLACED: One Hundred fourteen pairs of uniforms for fifty seven girls in two secondary schools catered (paid) by FAF. Fifty pairs uniforms for the first group of 25 girls, who had been kept out of school without them. Transport for the girls to school. Sixty pairs of uniforms for the second group of girls. Fifty seven pairs of sweaters. Transport to schools paid by FAF. Shoes, socks and school bags have not been replaced.

SCHOOL CENSUS: Presently there are 65 students in Rubate High School in Chuka, Meru, Kenya and 60 students at St Mary’s high school in Langata, Nairobi.

Message sent Sunday, April 18

SHOES:  We are still scratching our head over the shoe matter. We sent $900 to cater for the whole group of 57[girls]. The schools wrote to us insisting that they must report them to the authorities and possibly dismiss them from school, and then they need around $5000 for the next term’s fees. This will take some straightening out, a common problem in Kenya.

37 girls living at the Good Samaritan Children Home (GSCH) are in and out of school because they lack school shoes.
The girls’ school shoes were among the items lost in a recent fire (January 3rd, 2015) that gutted the dormitory at the GSCH. The dorm was used by the older girls living at the Home. During this tragedy, effects including beds, beddings, school uniforms, shoes, books and certificates were destroyed. Luckily, no injuries occurred. The girls have since been relocated to a two storey semi-finished rooms that form part of the new complex the GSCH is constructing.

In this semi-finished complex, the girls spread their newly donated mattresses on the floor because there are no beds. Others are forced to sleep on the corridors because the space is quite limited. Currently, the GSCH managers are working on finding beds that would accommodate all the 37 girls. Upon completion, the new structure is hoped to provide enough space for the students’ items and homework. More so, the new complex will offer better security for the girls and ensure that future incidences such as fire are kept at bay.

Fabulous African Fabrics (FAF) Organization wishes to thank all our donors for the support they have provided the GSCH children, thus far. Also, we appeal to our existing partners, friends and all  who feel moved by this this tragedy to dig a little deeper, into their pockets, so we can get enough funds to replace the girls’ shoes. Without proper school, the girls’ education will continue being disrupted. We have included pictures that show the damage caused by the fire. Thank you for helping!