No so long ago the Director of Children's Services Minister - Esther Murugi was quoted as saying - 'The Government is supporting over 2.5 million orphans, and its limited resources are overwhelmed!' She then appealed for assistance from religious and charitable organisations.
BUT TODAY it seems that this scenario has changed - or if not changed then is seriously misrepresented and seemingly unreliable.
This week Testimony was approached by a local Church pastor well known to us. A family attending his church had suddenly been thrust into poverty and loss. Never rich, neither husband or wife having more than casual employment to provide for themselves and their five children, income has now ceased altogether. The husband died of AIDS in 2006 and his wife passed away with AIDS just two weeks ago. The home was grabbed by another poor relative as soon as this woman passed away, and although the boys in the family (17 and 20) were offered shelter by the mother's uncle, no one came forward to help the three girls.
16, 13, and 8, the youngest also with HIV. The pastor asked for our help. However we are not allowed by law to Admit children into the Homes without the consent and knowledge of the Children's Department - so I sent him off to the appropriate office saying we had vacancies and could take the children provided the Department agreed.
THEY told the pastor that they no longer favoured or sought for children to be placed long term in the Children's Homes, They current policy was to have such children fostered - this could take some time - and in the meantime they could not help. AMAZING!! I have written back to the Children's Officer for the area and informed her that we shall ADMIT the three girls next Wednesday and expect her department to provide the necessary Court Orders - failing which I will attend Court myself on their behalf.
For some years now the Government has been intimating that it would have no need of Children's Homes by the year 2020, declaring that by that time ALL children currently homeless would have been FOSTERED.
The United States and the United Kingdom have both followed this kind of policy from time to time, and both have encountered problems relating basically to lock of personnel to monitor and secure children fostered or finance handed out as part of the bargain.
TODAY Kenya has upwards of four hundred thousand families who have - with financial inducement - taken a child into their care. Within a short period after placement approximately 30% of these children have run away to the street again! The government IS aware of this but continues to pursue this policy (which though good in part, is difficult to implement.).
THIS determination to flog what looks already like a partly dead horse, has meant that officially they have had to discourage children being committed to Children's Homes. With a rising figure of more than 2.5 million children nationwide un-sheltered or cared for, it seems quite amazing.
THE RED CROSS has just recently opened a new 5 star Hotel in Eldoret just a short walk away from us. Daryl and I went to view it yesterday. It is well appointed but expensive. A plate of food costs up to Ksh, 1500/- more than a weeks housekeeping for a normal labouring family! The actual difference in price for a plate of similar food is about 1000 Kenya shillings. It seems again quite incongruous and without reason for a CHARITY (as I understood the Red Cross to be) to plant such a high class establishment in the midst of poverty and beyond the reach of the average Kenyan. I found the same problem in India where the multi-floor modern malls and apartments are lapped to the doors by the very grime of poverty and even filth. Just to walk through this hotel, so foreign to our surroundings, made us both feel out of place and uncomfortable - no doubt fortunate their prices are SO inflated that we can never be tempted to visit then socially. Who will it profit I wonder? Not the Kenyan - perhaps the tourist, though few come this way.........
WITH the sudden increase in VAT on basic foodstuffs AND an 11/- increase per litre on petrol, the cost of living has shot up and will continue to do so. The school has not increased Fees for those attending from outside of the Homes for three years, but this year they have notice an increasing termly deficit. They have therefore publicly proclaimed a rise in Basic Tuition Fees from Nursery to Secondary - generally a hike of between 6.5 and 13.5 pounds at the current rate of exchange. This not likely to be popular but if we can get it the School may have to close soon. We would ask you to pray about this. The hike though heavy enough is in every way fair, and will not gender more than enough to service basic cost of running. Our Board of Management agreed the matter last night, and today they parents are being told.
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THIS WEEK, we sent representative junior swimming team to Nairobi with our Instructress & Coach. A Team of SIX including two from our School, who will compete in a national competition. Quite exciting, and a very quick commencement in participation in such events. If they do well they may proceed on later in October to the next level of Competition to be held in Mombasa.
We are celebrating Daryl's 41st Birthday this even, and we shall be together for a Birthday Cake!! We expect him to arrive with Carol and Jesse and Becky by 7.15 or so with his brother Edward too. But Jeremy and Manu are both away so they will have to miss the cake this time.
BEAUTIFUL weather today. The first real WARMTH for many months! Perhaps OUR summer is dawning - or perhaps the weather is as MIXED and unstable as everything else in Kenya just now.
Love you all, and our prayers always going up to heaven for you.
Lovingly
John and Esther
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