GIWA Health Center Ground Breaking

What a beautiful Day it was!
On 9th August,2011 was a big day for GIWA Community and Visitors who had come all the way from North America and Canada. The visitors stayed with the GIWA Farm community for four days and we had so much funs than we expected. The community took good care of us and we were all happy to make one team with one focus of changing the lives of those in need. On 9th August,2011 was the day of big celebration with our visitors for GIWA Health Center ground breaking ceremony and celebrating our visitors for the beautiful work they have done of funding Shalom Primary school which now accommodate almost 500 children who did not have access to primary school education. It is such a noble cause and sometimes i wonder whether they have any idea of the beauty of the work they have done for the GIWA Community as this project will serve hundreds of thousand of children to be born. For a poor child to have education in Kenya,it is an opportunity which comes once in a lifetime. The celebration was beautiful as you can tell from the photos. Am sure no one expected the event to turn the way it did. We had Both Minister for Special Programs and Assistant Minister for Special Programs, and other senior and junior government officials who participated in this event. A lot of much appreciations also go to them since they left all other official duties of the country to come to celebrate with us. It was such a great honor to have them in our celebration. We also had 12 soccer teams who had tournament on this particular day and they received uniforms and soccer balls from our donors. It was a new day for these soccer teams since they did not have any uniforms and the soccer balls they were using were worn out.
Thank you to all our donors for changing the lives of many and giving them hope. 'Where there is no Hope, there is Desperation and we all know the results of desperation'. Do you have passion for community work? Do you want to have a real experience of the Kenya(Africa) and community you are supporting? Join us for our trip to construct the just launched GIWA Health center construction!. Join us for our Volunteer Mission trip to support construction of GIWA Health Center vicdakenya.com/news/voluntourism/

Bright faces of children at Shalom Primary School

We can all see the joy of these children singing on their first day in their new constructed school. Their joy was once stolen and they had no any idea and it is now back. This is the best we can offer them(Education). Special Thanks goes to WTA,Canada for funding full construction and GVNFoundation,New zealand for buying uniforms for 95 children.

New Constructed Shalom primary School

The children at GIWA Farm resettlement Farm have benefited with a new primary school constructed by VICDA which has been fully funded by WTA, Canada. After the post election violence in the year 2008, a number of families were left homeless and they were forced out of their homes. This affected a number of children who dropped out of school and they have no access to education. The children were left out with their families with no alternative but to wait for a miracle to happen. When the Kenya Government started the IDPs resettlement program, GIWA Farm families were among the first beneficiaries to be resettled in their new land which is now their permanent home. After resettlement, VICDA came in to access the project needs. The farm have no any social amenities at all and VICDA/WTA came to an agreement to construct a primary school to attend the needs of the children first as they have been out of school for more than 3 years.
The construction started in April, 2010 and completion of all classes from grade 1-8 was completed by end of March, 2011. The school was officially launched by Office of the President, Minister for State, Ministry of Special program Hon. Esther Murugi mathenge and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education Pro. Ole Kiayapi on 25th march, 2011. The event was beautiful and full of joy from parents and most importantly the children. The construction costed us US$81,250.00.
The school is having 500 children from different IDPs camps in the area since they are still more families who are still living in tents hoping to be resettled one day.
VICDA is now fundraising to connect water at a different IDPs camps called San Marco Resettlement Land where the families have no access to any water. The project is costing us US$10,000.00. All what these families are need of are basic needs. In the same San Marco Resettlement Land VICDA is also looking for a donor who can fund construction of a nursery school as the children have to walk 4 kilometers to the nearest school and alot of them are unable to attend the school since they are very tiny to walk such a long distance. This project is having a budget of US$9,000 fully furnished nursery school. VICDA is working on permanent solutions to the families in need since these projects will serve hundreds of thousands of people as the year goes.
Anyone interested to join this noble cause please contact us.

Aussie Buddies,Adelaide,South Australia

Much love and thanks to a dear friend,Annie from far away from Adelaide, South Australia who has just spent another 5 weeks with me. Annie and I first met in 2006 when she first came to Kenya to Volunteer with AMKA HIV/AIDS Project through Global Volunteer Network,Newzealand. She loved Kenya and the field work so much,she returned within 3 months that same year and has been coming ever since. She has formed her own foundation with the help of friends back home, called Caring for the Children of Africa and comes to work alongside me every year. This past 5 weeks we have been extremely busy and have had lots of fun spending the fundraising money from Adelaide. We have built 14 huts in Pipeline Camps, started another big chicken project,also there,buit an outdoor kitchen for the porridge program at Kikkopey Camp,finished building a classroom at Jikaze, as well as buying food supplies including maize and beans seedlings, and fertilizers for more crops at Jikaze. We are also yet to purchase some goats for Kikkopey. We thank Annie and other donors so much who continue to spend a lot of their time with fund-raising back in their home towns. It means a lot to us!!! God Bless!!!

We Are Getting There!

Hi guys, i am updating you on school construction progress at GIWA Farm, Nakuru. It was a funny day with the kids trying to 'manage my mind by telling me lies'.Gosh! how they looked innocent as they continued 'drawing' when i asked them why they did not go to school on that particular day. They were 5 of them and they came and sat next to me and we started chatting. I asked each one of them why they never attended school and they all gave me 'very good reasonable answers' but i knew they were managing my mind. Another one came running from nowhere and i asked him the reason why he did not also attend the school and the answer was'i am sick'. Anyway i just laughed as this was the only thing remaining at the time. Just looking at the innocence on their faces when they kept 'drawing and drawing' but it was fun for me. They reminded me on how i used to 'manage my mum's mind' as she was easier to 'manage' than my dad( we know alot of us have been there). They made my day. These kids walk more than 1 and half hours to their nearest school including the nursery children. Can you imagine your child walking such a long distance every morning and evening and some of them don't even have meals waiting for them when they get back homes? This is why they have to learn how to 'survive' including of not even going to school. Ok, lets get back to work,we are now on the 5th and 6th classes and they are almost done. We will only be remaining 2 more classes,administration block and toilet blocks for both boys and girls and we will be done. By the end of this year we hope to have a complete primary school done and kids ready to occupy it by early january,2011. I think i will be more happier than the children as i know what it is to walk for a long distance to go to school while you are child and go without a meal for the day. Thank you to the World teacher Aid. You have no idea what you have done to these children and they will have the education like any other child. They have already gone through so much looking back from where they come from since 2008 while the violence turned their lives upside down. When you have a meal,water to drink,a cloth to wear,a shelter to lay your head on,your children have access to education, never forget to thank you ,your creator as anything may happen anytime,anywhere and anyhow. And when we have a chance to help those who are in need,lets do it as the chance may fly out of our hands unexpectedly.

No one can Hold the Joy of These Maasai Women in Amboseli

The maasai women decided to spend their day at the borehole site to watch it getting tested and for them to carry some back home. You can see the joy on their faces and this is a big breakthrough for them in the area they live. One day when i went to visit the water driling site, a group of maasai women were passing by where we were and i decided to walk with them as they were going to fetch the water and i wanted to see the distance they walk from home to water station. After walking a few kilometers with them, i felt i didn't have any more energy to walk in the sun for more kilometers and i decided to go back to the site. These women walk with their babies infront and water at the back. They have been leaving home at 9am in the morning to walk to the water station and get home at 2pm. Each one of us can imagine the joy they have after having this borehole drilled next to their homes. The water has been approved clean and hygienic for consumption. We are getting there and everything has been going very well so far.

Maasai women and their families Have the Joy of their Life!

The day started like any other day for the maasai community in Oloolorai Village in Namanga Division on the border of Kenya-Tanzania. We started water drilling on the proposed borehole and within 3 days we had plenty of water coming out more than expected. The joy which struck each one of us is to see the water coming out in plenty and from there each one of us knew the life for this community has completely changed. I opted to spend a night in the bush with the maasai men and boys and don't forget this area is next to Amboseli National Park and the wildlife animals are in the area. I definitely didn't mind at all spending the night on an open fire with maasai men and checking around whether there were elephants around us. Nowadays i fear monkeys than elephants after three female monkeys chased me as they wanted to beat me and one of them scratched my leg but the guard saved me as he came running with a big stick and this was the second time it happened to me. I felt very safe and my only interest was to make sure everything was done in the right way. More than feeling cold and scared of wild animals, we had so much fun the whole night in the bush. When we completed water drilling at around 5am in the morning,the driller started casing the borehole but i was longing to go home as i was very tired and sleepy and i knew i had a long drive awaiting ahead of me from Amboseli to Namanaga to Nairobi. The drive took me 4 hours as i was driving myself passing through the bushes and i felt very safe although the maasai guys who i was with at the water drilling site were so worried about me but i think i am just used to do things by myself focusing on the positive sides without thinking about anything negative. At this time i just wanted things done although i was very tired and since it was a weekend i didn't want to bother anyone at all or anyone to inconveniece me with my plans. I knew i was going to spend the night in the bush and so i had to keep my mouth chat.
The casing ended at 6pm and the guys had to leave the site and after 2 days they went back with another truck to do the water pump testing which went very well and everything was positive. We have now been working for the pump house,generator,water pump and plumbing. I wish each one of us was there to see the joy this maasai community have. I cannot explain it. Thank you to the Australian Embassy in Kenya for funding this GREAT project as you have no any idea what you have done to the community within Oloolorai. Will keep you updated with the events which will follow as the Australian Embassy in kenya launch this project.

Women Beads project

Thanks to GVN Foundation,Newzealand for funding beads project for women at pipeline IDPs camp in Nakuru. The women are very hardworking and the project have been very successful as some of them have been able to provide basic needs to their families and educating their kids in primary and high school through the support of this project. The project has gained a wide market in USA and we do appreciate everyone who has participated through marketing and distributing the bead products. It is a new dawn for these women as they don't have to keep on relaying on hand-outs. We will get there as more and more hands are joining together to give out required support.

Discussion+about+entry:+Improving+maternal+care

Discussion+about+entry:+Improving+maternal+care

Underway Primary School Construction

Approximately 2,700 former internally displaced persons were ressettled by the government on September last year on 1,187 acres of land and each family benefited with two and half acres. The families were supplied with building materials by the Kenya government and they have started putting up their houses although some are still incomplete due to lack of some of the construction materials. The area they have settled in have no any social amenities within and VICDA found that the social amenties are needed to meet the necessary needs of the Giwa Farm community. VICDA has started constructing a primary school from Nursery school to grade 8 with the help of one of our donors(World Teacher Aid) who is funding for the whole school construction.
A number of children have not been attending school due to lack of uniforms,stationries and money for the tuition and other actitivies in the school. The children have been also been avoiding school due to challenges with hunger as these families are starting to rebuild their lives to have a way of income and building capacity to feed their families in future. The education in school will start in the month of january 2011 with the help of the kenya government where they are going to provide teachers,chalks,and text books. The number of children to attend this school is approximately 600 children and they will be enjoying their education like any other child in the Kenyan society. Many thanks to the World Teachers Aid for all their effort towards this school.

Updates for 2010

Hi everyone, it has been long since i updated you with the prograss of what is going on, on the ground. Alot has been happening within our community and we have made much progress to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families in our Kenyan community. Despite having a few challenges which will always be there, we accommplished a number of projects with a big positive impacts. VICDA in Kenya and GVN Foundation,Newzealand have been able to construct a number of houses for the people who were dispalced by violence and we are still going on with the construction and anyone interested to join us, you can contact us.
Here is a smaple of some of the houses we have constructed for the families in nakuru District in Rift Valley province.

Dusty Babies Can Now laugh again.

Thank you to all the GVN volunteers,International and local sponsors who participated in putting up the class for the dust babies at Baruku IDPs camp. The class has been completed and the furnitures are in place as you can see from the picture. The kids will be starting their education January next year as the schools are now breaking for December holidays until January,2010. Next week we are prepared to start a porridge progam for them as there has been a drought for the past 2 years in Kenya and the food in the shamaba is not yet ready. Baruku IDPs camp are also beneficiary of tomato project we are setting in 3 different IDPs camps, Jikaze,Pipeline and Baruku IDPs camps which are all located along Nairobi - Nakuru Highway.

Anyone interested in joining hands to change the lives of IDPs, you are always welcome.

"The time is always right to do what is right"

Progress Updates

It has been a while since you received my updates. I have been having very long days of work and we can only say we are pround for what we have achieved so far.
35 families at Jikaze IPDs camp are now enjoying the fruits of their hard work from the tomato project we sponsored them. Thank you for everyone who participated in this project and we have put another tomato project for them.

It is through your efforts this dream has come true to a group of IDPs family at Jiakze IDPs camp,Mai mahiu.

"The time is Always right to do what is right"

Mbaruku IDPs camp with Dusty Babies

We have been visitIng different IDPs camps but there is always one camp which has become everyone favourite. This camp has very dusty babies whom you may think they live underground and come out when they see visitors. I wonder whether they are miracle babies coz whether you like it or not you just love them. They have nothing and they are always happy and very dusty and they never notice how dusty they are but remember they are alway the most LOVABLE ones.

Two weeks ago we went for a visit with some local kenyans and two american guys Greg and Jmmie to take food donation since the last time i had visited this camp some of the families had gone for 2 days without food. When i went back to Nairobi, I started collecting donations in form of food and cash and everyone was very supportive to donate whatever they had. After asking people for donations, within 2 days i was able to load 2 trucks of food and took it to this IDPs camp. I asked a few of my collegues to accompany me which they did. It was their first time to visit this IDPs camp and the living situation for the families who live here is in a bad situation. After a few minutes my friends, Ruth,Josephine and Serah whom i have always known to be very strong women started getting sick one by one and they started asking me for pain killers since all of them were shocked of what they saw. After we went back to Nairobi one of them never ate for 3 days and the other one got sick for 2 days but as for now they are on transition and hope they will come in terms with the reality.

Community Projects updates

VICDA has been able to launch a Green House Tomato Project at Jikaze IDPs camp a month ago. The project was just a trial since the area is a semi arid and most of the time it is dry throughout the year. We are proud the Green House Tomato project has been very successful and the tomato harvest will be due in the next 2 weeks.

Our firts tomato project trial has motivated alot of us and we got another sponsor who sponsored for the 2nd tomato project. The garden for the next tomato project has already been prepared and we have sponsored for the matrials needed to set it. The minister for Special programs in kenya also promised to sponsor more tomato projects after her visit to this IDPs camp last week.

One of the attached photos has the beneficiaries of the sponsored tomato project. Our target is to put up 10 Green Houses tomato projects in this area to give hope to this group which was affected by violence and lost everything they had owned.

Thank you to our sponsors for your kind donations.

What a change!!

Hey everyone,
I am sure i have kept everyone behind the schedule. Things have been moving in a postive way.
As i usually update my blog at night after long day for the last few weeks i didnt manage as my computer in the house was somehow messed up by someone but it is ok coz it happened.

Lillian, thanks for your message this morning and i will keep you updated with everything down here but please remember it may not be always as there have been alot of power rationing due to the drought.......the next thing we may miss drinking water.

From where i left last time.....we made it to the IDPs camps with the Doctors and they did some training on how to deal with trauma. It was a short training but a good one since we had to go back to nairobi the same day.

They were oerwhelmed by everything at the camps since it was their first time at the IDPs camps. We then passed by Baruku camps which is just along Nairobi Nakuru highway and we did spend sometimes there before it got dark.

The kids there make everyone laugh....they come from nowhere and they are always dusty. Unless you see them you cannot understand why they make everyone laugh.


We went back to Baruku camp for a food drop off. We left Nairobi early in the morning and hoping we might be back to Nairobi early.

This never happen and i don't think it will never happen. When you have a program in any of the IDPs camp in a particular day, you end up leaving the camp when it start getting dark and the day look so short.

The doctors are also organising a group of doctors who will be coming on month of Janury next year to give medical support to the IDPs at different camps.

Micro finance for Internally Displaced Persons

Thank you to GVFoundation,Newzealand. The internally Displaced Persons in kenya who are still living in tents have something to smile about. They have come up in small groups where GVNFoundation,Newzealand has sent funds to VICDA for the IDPs to start small businesses to enable them to restart their lives again. Before these lovely people were displaced during the violence they used to be independent and some of them used to be farmers and business people.
The photo you see is for Irene handing over the funds from GVNFoundation to the 1st group of IDPs to enable them to start their own business.
GVNFoundation has already raised funds for 4 groups and one of the group have received the funds and the other 3 will be receiving the funds tomorrow.
You can join us to rebuild the lives of the IDPs and for more information please visit http://www.gvnfoundation.org.
The GVNFoundation also support other programs in kenya through Eat So They Can Funds such as child education sponsorship,feeding programs,furnishing schools and orphanages etc.
You can join the rest of the world through changing the lives of the needy by hosting a dinner in your house
For more details please visit the following link:
http://www.eatsotheycan.org/getinvolved/signup.php

Host a Dinner and change the world

Hey guys,

Our partner, GVN Foundation, is running their big annual fundraiser Eat So They Can this October and we’d love for you to be involved. Eat So They Can is a global dinner party where hosts around the world share a meal to raise money for projects in Africa. This year a portion of all funds raised from Eat So They Can will go to VICDA to help us with the different projects we support. Please consider hosting an event!

All you have to do is:

1. Contact Eliza from Eat So They Can if you have any questions: info@eatsotheycan.org

2. Sign up as a host by following this link: http://www.eatsotheycan.org/getinvolved/signup.php

3. Organise a meal

4. Invite your friends

5. Collect donations from your friends and submit these to GVN Foundation

Trip to the Internally Displaced Person's Camps

Thanks to everyone who participated in this food project. On behalf of the 2IDPs camps we do appreciate your kind donations and the hope you have given to our Kenyan people who are suffering.

Our journey started early in the morning on thursday heading to Jikaze and Pipeline IDPs camps to buy and distribute foods to the IDPs. Thursday was a very tiring day since we had two and half hours drive to the camps. It was also such a very emotional day for me since some of the kids asked me very sensitive questions and thank God i was able to answer them and give help where i could. I have never heard the kids sharing with me what they shared that day and they called me as i was walking out of their class. I asked myself a few questions and i lost it when i just walked away from them. When we visited the second camps(pipepline IDPs camp,it was another mind hit when some of the management members broke down due to the difficulties they have been going through recently. Since we started working with them i have never seen them crying and this also hit me hard but i tried to control myself until i got my space. We managed to buy food for IDPs at Jikaze camps and distrubuted it and then from there we headed to nakuru to order the food for Pipeline IDPs camp so that we could correct it the following day in the afternoon since it was getting late on our 1st day. After ordering the food we then went to the pipeline IDPs camp and had a meeting with the people there. Alot of families had gone for 2 or 3 days without food. Thanks so much to GVNFoundation.org,Newzealand for the porridge program for little babies.
We later headed to our accommodation and we were so tired and happy since we had made achievements for that day. On Firday we woke up early in the morning and we first visited the District Commissioner's office and later we headed to Baruku IDPs camps. This camp is in a very horrible state and i don't think there is any comparison with the other IDPs camps we are working with. We spent sometimes with the kids there and we later visited Division Officer office to give us the go ahead with the Baruku IDPs camps. After we left her office we headed to Nakuru town to collect the food for the pipeline camp and loaded it on the truck and we headed to the camp and distributed the food. My friend thought it was going to take us probably 2 hours being around there but it took us more than 5 hours. I have learnt one thing in these camps,never give your self time coz you are not going to make it. You remember you have another trip waiting for you when it start getting dark. After the food distribution i later gave out some funds which have been raised by GVNFoundation.org,Newzealand to help the IDPs to start small businesses so that they can be self-reliance.

Jikaze and Pipeline IDPs camp

I am catching up with everything here in nairobi since i have a very long week to go. Not yet....Am heading to Internally Displaced persons Camps on Thursday morning and i will be back on Friday. The two days are going to be so long since we have to buy food for 2 different IDPs camps. Food has been a main issue here in Kenya due to prolonged drought which is taking its course for the second year.

I will keep everyone updated with our mission and thank you to our Australian sponsors who sponsored for this food. VICDA do appreciate your kind donation and all your sacrifices.

9 persons have so far lost their lives at the internally Displaced Persons Camps.

For the last one year hunger has reamined as a natrual disaster in kenya where most of the kenyans are suffering. A number of kids have dropped out of school due to lack of food and water in different parts of Kenya. 9 Persons have lost their lives at the Internally Displaced Camps due to hunger which has hit the country.

We visited these camps on Thursday this week and the situation is bad. No food,medical conditions is bad,people still living in the tents which are worn out.
The emergency help needed at The moment is food. The hunger has stricken the whole of kenya but the IDPs have suffered a double tragedy. For more information you can email us on info@vicda.org or visit our website on http://www.vicda.org.

Save one life by skipping a meal a day.

Orphanage Construction Now Ready

The mama tunza orphanage construction is now ready for kids to move in.
From kibera slums to such a beautiful structure in a clean and fresh environment. No more open sewerage,flying toilets, gabbage smell for these kids.

It is a dream for them come true. Alot of thanks to paddy and his team.
Attached is orphanage construction,irene and paddy's photos.

Thank you to all the irish group for your wonderful work for kenya kids.

Thank you Tom for offering me lunch for 20 shillings......i will just passby butcher man and ask him to give me a cup of goat soup coz this is what available at the moment.

Mama Tunza orphanage construction for the first one week

The structure is now on the first week since the group from Ireland started working on it. The guys are really working very hard. Some of them are buildres,electrician,plumbers etc. The work is excellent. What a big sacrifice for these guys.

Construction of orphanage going on in Kenya

The group from ireland finally arrived and they went direct to start construction of mama tunza orphanage. Mama tunza orphanage is located in a slum area,Nairobi,Kenya which is the biggest slum in Africa. The sanitation,hygine,poverty had been a big challenge in this slum and it affects the orphans and vulnerable kids who are located inside this area. 3 years back we bought a piece of land in Ngong area for mama tunza children orphanage and late last year we got a donor from Irelenad who fully donated to this orphanage construction. The construction is now compelete and the kids will be moving to this new orphanage and good/clean environment any time from now. The orphanage has been put up in Ngong which is 25minutes drive from their former orphanage in the slum area. It is a very beautiful structure and located in a clean and fresh environment. Thank you for all the sponsors and donors who participated to change the lives of orphans and vulnerable children in Kenya. Visit our website on "http://www.vicda.org"

Kids Playing outside in one of Community School in kibera Slum

Above are kids from one of the project we support in Kibera through feeding program where we provide them with a meal a day to keep them in school. A lot of these kids cannot afford a meal a day. Since their families are unable to provide and when they are left out there, they go to the street to look for something to eat and this lead them to street life. We provide meals to children in slum areas as a way of protecting their lives and keeping them in school.
http//:www.vicda.org

Internally Displaced persons(kenyan refugees)

It has been a long way since Volunteer International Community Development Africa(vicda) joined hand in hand with other charity organisations in Kenya to attend to the emergency needs of the families who were displaced due to post election violence which occurred December,2007. 350,000 Kenyans were left homeless and thousands of them are still homeless until to-date living in the tents.

They have been hardly hit with alot of challenges such as lack of shelter,food,bad hygiene,medical problems,kids dropping out of school due to lack of school fees,uniforms,stationeries. The tents they have been living in are worn out.

. Please visit our website on http://www.vicda.org