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Ongoing Projects

 

Monthly Rural Food Drop

 

Why?

  • Many families in rural Kenya have been hard hit by Covid19 and have been confined to their homes

  • Families are unable to go to markets to sell their produce, which is for many of them is their only source of income

  • To reduce the risk of Covid19 transmissions by providing them with the nutritious food they need to survive, without leaving their home

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How?​​

  • Providing funds to Fatuma in rural Kenya, to purchase essential household items and face masks for 5 families and herself 

  • Fatuma to drop off food to each family monthly during the pandemic

  • Swahili posters educating families on fire safety, hand hygiene and Covid19 transmission

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Repa, a single mother with 5 children. Small business owner, now sick.

Loyce, single mother lives with her granddaughter and disabled son. Sells tomatoes and sukumawiki in the evening.

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Scolastica Okwara, widow with 8 children. Husband, a farmer passed recently.

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Joan and Evans with 6 children. Cleans clothes for people, her husband is a caretaker.

Fatuma, school principal Jesfa Joy. School closed due to covid. No tutoring allowed. Food drop boss!

Margret, widow with one child. Cooks and sells food to people, less customers because of Covid.

Burns Prevention Project

 

Why?

  • Mortality and morbidity from paediatric burns are common and preventable

  • Rural Kenyan homes increase risk, due to cooking at ground level and use of paraffin lanterns as a cheap source of light 

  • Lack of education regarding the importance of prevention and medical attention result in infection, debilitating burn contractures and death 

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How?​​

  • Epidemiological research Kenya of causes 

  • Host interactive community burn prevention workshops

  • "Word of mouth" is an effective way to spread a message in Kenya

  • Swahili posters advocating for burns prevention and basic first aid for burns 

  • Provide safe alternate solar lamps

  • Future solar Luci lanterns from MPOWERD can purchased for $15 each

School Fee Sponsorship

Why?

  • Parents of children with disabilities are faced with great challenges 

  • The care of these children is often left to a single parent or alternate family member like the grandmother of Cynthia

  • Carers struggle to work to provide for these children and their siblings 

  • School fees compared with food are a low priority so many disabled children never get the opportunity to have an education

 

How?

  • Mama Cynthia contribute 80% of a child's annual school fees starting with Cynthia in 2015

  • We encourage the caregiver to contribute 20% 

  • Since 2017 we support Vivian's school fees for Rise & Shine, she is one of six children 

Support 'Jesfa Joy Academy' 

Why?​

  • The public primary schools in Kenya are overcrowded, so there is a need private schools

  • Fatuma started a small private school as she has a passion for providing quality education

  • Fatuma independently pays for classroom rental and her staff from school fees

 

How?​

  • Build and source local furniture so children have a safe environment to learn

  • Contribute funds to annual textbooks which are compulsory in Kenya

  • Long term we aim to support the growth of this school and infrastructure

Workshop support at the EARC & Nyabondo Centre for the Disabled

 

Why?​

  • The Mumias EARC and Nyabondo Centre for the Disabled service a huge number of children with disabilities each year

  • Common conditions treated include cerebral palsy, club foot, knock knees, burns 

  • The Orthotists and Allied health workers are extremely talented, however they lack materials to make splints and equipment  

 

How?​

  • In 2015 with the help of the Australian Hand Therapy Association we donated equipment including plaster saws

  • Each trip we take over medical supplies e.g. thermoplastic, POP, used prosthetics

  • Host local educational workshops on basic splinting techniques and peer discussion on disability management  

Amida's Knitted Jumpers 

 

Why?

  • Amida is a paraplegic and single mother of Fadilah

  • Amida is able buy wool and knit jumpers in the safety of her own home, her daughter Fadilah now finishing high school hopes to be a doctor  

 

How?

  • Rich from the UK gave Amida a knitting machine to help her to generate an income  

  • In 2010 we bought 8 jumpers for the children at Nyabondo Centre for Disabled as many of their jumpers were ripped and tattered from crawling on the floor

  • In 2015 Mama Cynthia purchased 30 jumpers to provide children in need 

  • Unfortunately the machine needs fixing, so this project is on hold 

  • If you know of any options to replace the machine, please get in touch

  • Thank you Amida for your hard work 

Cerebral Palsy Splints

 

Why?

  • There are numerous children with Cerebral Palsy in Kenya. Many of these children have contractures which limit the function of their hands and feet.

 

How?

  • We use thermoplastic to mould night extension splints, to prevent further contracture and deformity. They need to be remoulded or replaced every 1-2 years as a child grows

  • We provide Nyabondo Rehabilitation Centre with materials and work with the Orthotic team to update all splints and fabricate new ones as required. 

Corrective Surgery Sponsorship

Why?

  • Many children in Kenya are born with congenital deformities or aquire disabilities through burns, as a consequence their families are challenged and the child is faced with a difficulty accessing adequate support to persue an education.

 

How?

  • Provision of funding for corrective surgery can be life changing for a child, it helps with function, acceptance and confidence to help them to access school

Improving Surgical Management

Why? 

  • Lack of education about what is involved

  • Lack of funding and resources

  • Optimise the outcomes of surgery

 

How?

  • Pre-operative selection process 

  • Visual story book preparing the child for surgery

  • Providing a knitted teddy for the child to bandage and play with

  • Supporting and closely liaising with the local health professionals to assist with improving perioperative surgical management

  • Data collection with Amref Health to improve documentation and outcomes

Mothers' Union Teddies  

 

Why?

  • For those who have had surgery they know it can be a somewhat scary experience 

  • The teddies help to provide a child with comfort, as well as give children insight into the leg or arm that will be operated on

 

How?

  • Our grandmother Dot, her friends at the Darebin Mothers' Union started knitting for our 2015 trip so that we could give each child a teddy to hug

  • Thank you to our growing group of Mother's Union knitting friends: Glen Waverley, Boronia, Moorabbin and Camberwell

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