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June 2011  

In This Issue
Getting There
University Student Update
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Greetings! 


topA project visit to Kendu Bay last August deeply moved sponsor, Holly Miller.  Joining two KSHP directors for a 3-day project visit, Holly experienced first hand the challenges posed by just "getting there."   

 

During her Kendu Bay stay, Holly saw the project's impact and envisioned its possibilities.  She also saw an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to that future by giving the project mobility

 

Holly and her husband, Robert E. Miller of Burlington, VT, laid a cornerstone for program sustainability through their generous donation of a 4x4 Land Cruiser vehicle. 

 

Their gift of ready and reliable transportation has enhanced every aspect of project outreach and has connected us, as never before, to the community we serve.   

 

The pictorial essay below relays how Getting There has boosted program services to the next level.   

 

Our deepest thanks to Holly and Bob Miller for helping the project to motivate and empower others.   

  

miller     

 

We are honored by the Millers' confidence in Kenya Self-Help Project and its directors.   

 

Sincerely,
Kathleen Dodge, Executive Director

gettingtherehop

Getting There:  

 

Donor-given Vehicle Puts KSHP/Nyashep

'On the Road'

 

One year ago, we could not have imagined how four reliable wheels and a transmission geared to rural Kenya roads would transform project services.  From home visits to school visits, transporting supplies to local schools, participating in regional education conferences, and the occasional emergency lift to a clinic, our project vehicle improves daily delivery of program services.  

 

onf road

 

SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

 

 

Home visits.  

 

"The family lives some 90km from Kendu Bay project office.  The house itself is 25km from the main highway, deep into the interior through sugar plantations on very rough dirt roads."   

[from Isaac Namayi's Home Visit report. May 2011]

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

mama yighal

 

Impromptu lift to the clinic.

   

"The jovial and welcoming grandmother, Roselyn Akumu, suffers poor eyesight, back and general bone pains. She can hardly walk without the aid of walking stick. She was sick at the time of our visit and so we took her to a nearby clinic some five kilometers away, as she was unable to walk there on her own."

[from Yighal Okoth's Home Visit report.  May 2011]

 

 

 

 

 

guna 

 

 

School visits.  

   

"The school is approximately 80km from the Kendu Bay office.  The first 35km of the road leading to the school is dirt and takes over 2 hours to maneuver."   

[from Rapogi School Visit report.  May 2011]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

rapogi boys

 

 

Parents and guardians join in. 

 

KSHP team meets with sponsored students at Rapogi Boys High.  Family members are invited when possible, as few can afford the bus fare.  Kevin's father, right, enjoys his first visit with his son at school.  Kevin is in his second year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

office prep kits

 

 

 

GIRLS EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM

 

 

Morning preparation.  

 

Graduated student workers organize Dignity Kit supplies with education officer, Kenneth Owili.  Kits contain underwear and reusable and disposable sanitary pads to help adolescent girls stay in school during their monthly cycle.   

 

 

 

 

   

packingup

 

 

 

A road trip to a partner primary school.    

 

Loaded with supplies, the team heads out to a Dignity Kit distribution event at Migingo Primary. As peer mentors, graduated students play key roles at these events. 

 

NYASHEP Education Trust is KSHP's partner project in Kendu Bay. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

agwanda

PRIMARY SCHOOL OUTREACH  

 

 

Motivating boys.

 

David tells young students, "If I can make it, so can you!"   

 

Orphaned when young, David was sponsored through high school.  He hopes to begin university in September on a government scholarship, studying textile design and merchandising.  

 

He jokingly tells the boys, "I am the one who will be designing President Obama's suits." 

 

 

sabato migingo 

  

Encouraging girls. 

 

Lady Sabato tells girls, "I came from a background just like yours and look at me today.  In September I begin university. The way is open for you too."   

 

Sponsored through high school, Sabato also qualified for government scholarship and will take up hotel and hospitality management studies.

 

 

 

 

 migingo girls

 

 

 

A good day for Migingo Primary girls. 

    

Millicent joins a 'thumbs up' with Migingo Primary girls, clutching their new Dignity Kits.  Girls prize their "empowerment kits" that help them  manage their adolescent needs.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

books

 

 

 

A REGIONAL MODEL 

   

  

Educational leadership. 

 

Boxes of textbooks for sponsored students give proud evidence of our project's commitment to education during Nyakongo zone Education Day.    

 

                 

 

 

 

 

 

books day

 

 

 

 

 

Planting seeds for the future.

 

Student representatives from the zone's 23 primary schools gather under and in the trees to share in the day's events.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ibm books

 

 

The 'future' is here. 

 

KSHP sponsored students join Honored Guests, Peter Liech, left center and Microsoft Regional Manager for East & Central Africa, center.  Four of the five students pictured will be in university this year, thanks to sponsorship support  throughout high school. They are the torchbearers for every young student in Kendu Bay; the proof that hard work opens doors to a better future.   




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University Student Update  

     

 

Our story of Isaac Opar's journey into Nairobi Law School rallied phenomenal donor support.  Together, the "Friends of Isaac" have secured Year Two of his law studies. Thank you!  Isaac just completed first year exams and will work for the project in Kendu Bay until October, when the new school year begins.  

 

alliance 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isaac joined the KSHP team for a school visit at Alliance Boys, where three sponsored students study. The first-year students look up to Isaac and take to heart his words of encouragement.

      

 

david 

David Agwanda, poised to enter university, listens intently to an elder educator's advice.  

 

The question looms, "How?"   

 

David was among our top scholars last year and has waited 18 months to qualify for government scholarship support.  He received placement for degree studies at Maseno University in Textile Design & Fashion Merchandising.   

 

Academic scholarships cover about three-quarters of a year's cost.  David, an orphan, must pay the remaining $1,300 out of pocket.  

 

The project team lost track of David for several months this year.  He had gone to Nairobi to find a job.  We learned he was working in a small shop, lacquering furniture and earning $2/day, from which he ate and slept . . . and saved.  

 

Back in Kendu Bay, we engaged David in project work, school visits and peer mentoring.  David is still uncertain he will be able to accept the invitation to study at Maseno University.  If you would like to help, contributions of any amount are welcomed.  We invite you to click here.  

 

 

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