Our first news from Kenya

We arrived safely in Nairobi on Saturday evening after a long, and tiring journey. No bags lost, no flight delays and two comfortable hotels thanks to our accumulated points. Paying for two extra bags on the Nairobi-Kisumu flight was a hassle as we expected. I had tried to prepay but the site would not accept the process and a query to Kenya Airways went unanswered for three weeks!. We had enough cash on hand to cover the cost (visa payment was apparently a problem) and athough the 'system' was down for a while, we had allowed lots of time and all was successfully completed. Those of you who know how things work will understand.

Our next problem was setting up internet. We left a router here which had worked well until we left in March, but everything had been 'improved' during our absence. We were with Orange (part of Vodaphone) and they sold us a new modem to use in the old router. No luck. So we bought a new router which worked fine in the office but was useless in the house. Eventually after Rod's third (or fourth?) trip into town with the equipment & his laptop, the techie guy came to the house. Only to see that the signal where we are is far too weak. We are about a hundred meters from a microwave tower (Safaricom) and about a kilometer from the centre of town. Go figure! So we have returned the equipment, requesting a refund, and Rod spent another afternoon with Safaricom setting up with their system. Which works fine, but cost twice as much as Orange.

Thanks to everyone for their good wishes as we left. We have arrived in the midst of a bitter teacher strike, which could seriously affect our plans.

Cutting ribbons for Read for the Top

With so many students  scheduled to participate in Read for the Top, we have been preparing team ribbons with help from Rotarians, members of Christ Church Cathedral Victoria and the The Wellesly retirement residence. Thanks to all who have taken a load of work off our hands.

Month of June

We are delighted to welcome Richard and Bibiana Andabwa to Canada for the month of June. They are helping us spread the word of the effects of Tembo in Kenya. We spoke at a local middle school and last Saturday we spoke about the sanitation projects at the Rotary District Conference. Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria is highlighting our work during this month.

Shinyikha well

Here is the handover of the completed well. Happy to see Nixon (contractor) Julius the jeweler and Richard Andabwa (chair of our advisory committee) in attendance.

Well under construction

We left funding for this well rehabilitation at a primary school. Funding came from private donors and Renaissance Ministries. The boys are very interested in watching the progress.

Water for a community

This is the present water source for the community of Bukhaya. Friends donated their family Christmas gift money to Tembo to install a well. Work will start later this year, after the rains.

Sanitation

Our last sanitation project in Kenya was a block of toilets for girls sponsored by a private donor. I have put up a short 5 min video of the handover with ‘performances’ by the children. This might be of interest to anyone thinking of making a donation. Please pass on the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7d_s8lcbqE