Introducing TEACH, our new charity (pending), which serves poorer communities humanitarian needs.
It is being set up by Robin and Margaret Corner of New Zealand. They became aware of the huge need in developing countries through church planting in Kenya.
Targeted – much work goes into targeting aid so your gift achieves the maximum benefit.
Education – is the best method to lift people out of poverty in the medium to long term. We have provided an innovative English programme and sponsored a teacher (photo below).
Assistance – is needed in the short term. Security, food and sanitation are all needed NOW due to a range of different circumstances. Donors like you have provided funds for food (beans – shown drying below), beds and mosquito nets (preventing snake bites and malaria), a perimeter fence much needed for security and a well, vital for sanitation.
Community Health – the community working together is so much more powerful than just trying to help individuals.
For the last few months we have stepped up our assistance to Treasure Academy and Rescue Centre, a Christian school in Kenya. Treasure accommodates 80 needy children in Turbo, Western Kenya. A further 40 children attend the school during the day. Its founder, Gloria Adagi, started it because she noticed the plight of the poor children in the area, and wanted to do something about it. 50 of the children are full orphans (lost both parents) and 30 are partial orphans ( lost one parent). Most of the other children are needy for some other reason. Living in a country where 60% of the population live on less than $2 per day, many of their parents are too poor to care for them properly. No government assistance is available to look after this kind of need so we are seeking a core group of supporters who will be committed to give regularly so that the facility can be upgraded, and the children can be sure of food and security week by week. One-off donations also welcome. Let’s start by meeting some of the children:
1. Juliet, with her baby. Juliet (14 years old) is from Uganda. When she was 13 she had a grueling experience. Because having a child at such a young age carries great stigma (even though it wasn’t her fault), she was expelled from her home. Gloria met her in the street, and brought her home to Treasure where she has become part of the Treasure family. A Kapiti house church sponsors Juliet’s English programme.
2. Flora is an orphan, who was living in the care of her grandmother at a place called Butere when Gloria met her. One time her grandmother couldn’t get her to eat, and so she held her nose and spooned porridge into her mouth to force her to get some food. Unfortunately this led to serious choking. As a result, she is slightly brain-damaged. Looking after her became just too much for her grandmother. Now she lives at Treasure. Gloria took her back to visit her village recently, and the villagers were amazed at how well she is learning at school, and her general progress. A Kapiti house church sponsors Flora’s English programme.This is Flora. Flora is an orphan, who was living in the care of her grandmother at a place called Butere when Gloria met her. One time her grandmother couldn’t get her to eat, and so she held her nose and spooned porridge into her mouth to force her to get some food. Unfortunately this led to serious choking. As a result, she is slightly brain-damaged. Looking after her became just too much for her grandmother. Now she lives at Treasure. Gloria took her back to visit her village recently, and the villagers were amazed at how well she is learning at school, and her general progress. A Kapiti house church sponsors Flora’s English programme.This is Flora. Flora is an orphan, who was living in the care of her grandmother at a place called Butere when Gloria met her. One time her grandmother couldn’t get her to eat, and so she held her nose and spooned porridge into her mouth to force her to get some food. Unfortunately this led to serious choking. As a result, she is slightly brain-damaged. Looking after her became just too much for her grandmother. Now she lives at Treasure. Gloria took her back to visit her village recently, and the villagers were amazed at how well she is learning at school, and her general progress. A Kapiti house church sponsors Flora’s English programme.
Gloria’s daughter, Abbie. Abbie was hit by a speeding motorbike in April and had to spend several days in hospital. She was in a coma for some hours after the accident and it wasn’t clear whether she would live. However, she recovered, and doctors said “it was a miracle” she wasn’t worse hurt. Remarkably, she was found to have no brain damage and no broken bones. When we sent the word out, an international prayer team included her in their prayers along with many others locally and internationally. We are all so grateful that God answered these prayers.
In Kenya, the problem with this kind of incident is the medical bills. There is no government assistance and it is not uncommon for a family to be crippled by medical bills. The hospital refused to take her into theatre before 20,000 Kenya shillings (KSh) had been paid, and Gloria just didn’t have the money. Happily we were able to make a donation which covered this and some of the subsequent bills. Doctors say she is young enough for the scar to heal reasonably well.