Krismasi Njema

The children and staff of Twiga Children's Home would like to wish all our friends, followers and supporters a

Very Merry Christmas.

Baba Mzungu is Coming

This is probably not as exciting as Santa Claus to the children, but I fear that Father Christmas will not be coming this year, not because the children have been naughty, but because food is too expensive and we cannot afford anything else.

And I know that when David arrives, we will all be very busy starting up the farm, designing water treatment systems and starting an education programme to reduce malaria in our area, and maybe planning the building of our new orphanage.

But I am sure that he will take time off on a Saturday or Sunday and give all the children at Twiga one BIG party!

Now that's something to look forward to, isn't it?

Christmas is Coming

Oh dear. The kids are beginning to ask if they are going to get presents this year.

Last year, because of the elections and the subsequent violence, causing food price rises, they didn't get any - not until the people of Woolton Hill and Highclere villages in southern England held an appeal. The kids, all the kids, got a new pair of school shoes. The also had two parties in March, with food and games.

This year, the global economic crisis has forced the cost of food up again. The price of maize flour, the staple food in Kenya has risen 300%, so it looks as if, once again, there will be no presents under the tree this year.

Luckily, the children understand this. They know that we are struggling just to make sure they have at least one good meal a day, shoes on their feet, a school uniform so they can get an education.

They also know that they are luckier than some. At least they are fed, they have shelter, they have clothes, they have schooling, they have medicine if they are ill. Not all Kenyan children are so lucky.

But it doesn't stop them from asking if they are going to get a present this year. They are, after all, children.

... and a Friendly Name

Since the amalgamation of Mercy Gate CCH and KCIS, I have been worrying that KCIS Child Support Centre is a bit "cold" as a name for a children's home. It is a joyless name, and the kids there are full of joy.
So, I was talking to Vincent yesterday and mentioned my concerns. I put forward the idea that we could have an animal in the name and eventually settled on a giraffe.
So, the "friendly" name for the KCIS Child Support Centre will be Twiga Children's Centre.
[For those who do not speak Swahili, Twiga is a giraffe.]

... and a new Logo

OK, we have merged, changed the name and now we have a logo!

This will slowly be appearing the Child Centre website as well as the KCIS website

But bear with us - this is a lot of work

Our New Name

Having merged with KCIS, and Mercy Gate now being an integral part of the organisation, we have changed the name.

We have decided that we want to offer more than just a home for the homeless. There are children who are abused, used as child labour, children who have still not found their families after the post-election violence, and we want to include them under our umbrella.

So, the new name for the children's home is KCIS Child Support Centre. It may not be the mos imaginative, but we hope it tells any child who needs help that we are there for them.

Merger

Read into this what you will, but David, from ACIS, who supported our children's home has decided to form a new non-profit organisation, Kenyan Community Initiative Support, with Vincent, the director of the home. This new organisation will be based in Kisii.

We have decided to merge Mercy Gate Champion Children's Home with KCIS and the home will be given a new name. The kids are the same, the people who run it are the same, but we will have a far stronger affiliation with KCIS, which will give far more official support to the home.

ACIS and Mercy Gate as organisations did very little for the home. Only David from ACIS really took any interest, so when he decided to form KCIS with us, it seemed like a better idea.

The directors of KCIS are also the owners of a small but growing business in Kisii, Kenanda-Steggall Exports, which will put money into KCIS and we hope that this will make KCIS less dependent on donations, which are becoming few and far between, which is not surprising, given the financial difficulties in the developed world.