Thank you for your support, and update!

We have been making excellent progress over the last two months - Many thanks for all your support!

Our main achievements so far have been:

- The children started school (Kibaoni Primary School) on 3rd September! Esther and Joseph (who also helps take care of the children) managed to get them all sorted in time: white socks, black shoes, skirts/shorts and shirt, school bags, exercise books, and most importantly - payment of school fees - Esther proudly handed over the cheque for 37,000 ksh to the headmaster on their first day of school - it was a big day for each of the children. We now have to make sure we can cover the tuition/exams costs each term (about 11,000 ksh in total, about 450 ksh per child).

- They now have beds, mattresses and sheets to sleep on. There was only space to fit 8 bunked beds in the dormitory, so the children are still sharing beds for now. However, as soon as funding permits, we hope to build another structure (and acquire the neighbouring plot) to build another dormitory, for the boys. Once we have the space, we could then organise for each child to have their own bed; this is also a requirement for the centre to become properly registered with the social services.

- All the children have received deworming medication (60 ksh per dose, 30 doses, for children and staff) - the children took the medicine two weeks before starting school - one of them even wanted more because she liked the sweet taste! It is recommended to de-worm every 3 months.

- They have built a temporary structure which is serving as a study area and dining hall. It is a simple structure - made out of wooden poles and a makuti roof, but it does the job. We are now hoping to get furniture (table and chairs) to finalise it; hopefully this will be replaced by a permanent structure once funds allow.

- The orphanage is getting electricity installed in each of the structures this week (dormitory, dining hall, and Esther's mudhouse) - this will help them tremendously - both in terms of safety (the kerosene lamps can be a hazard with small children around) as well as security. They had an incident last week-end (three robbers tried to enter the premises and threatened them) - a safety light at night can act as a strong deterrent. We hope to get a permanent night-watchman (4,000 per month) once funds allow.

- In addition to the clothes friends have donated, we have collected clothes through donations of colleagues at my workplace - we will be sorting through them next week-end and donating them to Esther right afterwards. The collection was very successful - thank you to all those who contributed!

- Esther is now working on getting the orphanage properly registered with the social services. This involves a health check-up and certificate of good conduct for staff, public health report, area advisory report, and more. She is working hard on the various requirements, and as soon as we bring the place up to standard, we hope to obtain the registration. Hopefully by December...

- Finally, we have been able to allocate 5,000 ksh per week for the feeding program. Until now, Esther has been relying on sporadic donations of staple foods (mainly maize) - the aim is to keep using these staples, but to supplement them with some fruits/vegetables, eggs, milk, meat.

- There is still much to be done, but thanks to the generosity of all those who have contributed, we have been able to make great improvements. Our next hope is to buy the plot of land next door (95,000 ksh) - the space can be used for playing, the boys' dormitory, and possibly for grazing - if we are able to get a cow! about 45,000 ksh... this will generate milk for the children and some income since the extra milk can be sold.

On behalf of Esther and the orphans - Thank you! I will keep you updated as we continue to make progress over the next few months. If you wish to make a donation - the orphanage now has a group account at Barclays Bank, Kilifi. Feel free to email me if you would like further information.

Note: I have documented the progress with pictures, but have been having difficulty posting them due to slow internet connectivity... I hope to do this in Jan/Feb once I have a fast connection.

In the meantime - words will have to do!
THANK YOU!