Newsletter December 2021

News from Kisumu 

-Retrospective 2021

-Projects: 

Sport Urusi

Care St. Clare

 Therapy

Help to individuals

 Activities

 – Send Christmas card 

Agenda

 – Maaslandcollege Oss 

– ’t Stekske Langenboom 

News from the board

 – Retrospective 2021

Retrospective 2021

The Netherlands is still under the spell of Covid 19 and that is unfortunately no different for Kenya.  The year 2020 was the year of an almost complete lockdown in Kenya. The biggest impact for our projects was that all childcare, all schools, and all small businesses were at a standstill. Fortunately, this has not been the case since January 2021. St. Clare shelter and all other forms of 24- hour care, the boarding schools and day schools are open again. The management of St. Clare but also all schools were very happy to be able to take care of the children again. Sister Lucy, St. Clare’s supervisor, reports that many children, despite the help of food parcels for various families, have not had enough healthy food. Samoo, the occupational therapist in the hospital, tells us shocking stories about the physical relapse of almost all 14 children. Almost a year without therapy means that deformities have increased, fitness has decreased. The team of therapists has worked hard this year, yet the damage has not yet been repaired. Small trade is again being allowed sparsely. However, what has absolutely not yet recovered is the economy. There is more poverty than before. Small trade, also of the people who have a microcredit through us, is not going well.

 Unfortunately, we as a board cannot visit the projects yet. We miss the more intensive contact of course. Really asking questions, figuring out a problem together is more difficult via e-mail or other digital contacts. It also affects the contact with our supporters, with you. There is nothing better than to be enthusiastic about the contacts, the support we give after you have experienced life in Kisumu with heart and soul again. We don’t have those stories now…..unfortunately.

On the other hand, however,  we still have intensive contact with the supervisors of the projects in many other ways. The e-mails, text messages, WhatsApp fly back and forth. The mutual involvement is certainly palpable.  We receive many messages in which mothers, supervisors but also children express their gratitude for the support they receive from Amara Foundation, so from you. In addition, we consult a lot with people about the concerns they encounter and how we can support them.

We have been able to provide additional support in various areas, which was even more needed now, in this crisis. The action we held for extra school materials for the children of the reintegration project, the 100% funding for the diapers of the multiple disabled children, extra resources for a restart of some microcredits are some examples of this. The children enthusiastically started school last January. Instead of 9 months (3 trimesters) of school and 4 months of holiday, Kenya has 11 months of school (4 trimesters) and only a few weeks of holiday this year to make up for the missed school weeks of 2020. We hope they will finish this year successfully. What we find very unfortunate as a board is that the activities we undertake ourselves to generate money have been kept to a minimum over the past two years. We are a bit concerned with regard to revenues. We look forward to better times!

Of course, we want to continue to pull out all the stops in the coming years and continue to support the four projects, as we have been able to do with your help in recent years.

Help to individuals: Microcredits 

This year it was almost impossible to generate income. Repayment of the loan is therefore also delayed. Hopefully this situation will recover next year. We have informed the people with a microcredit that “repayment of the debt” is not a priority now. When the income is needed to maintain the trade and to support the family to some extent this takes precedence now.

Sports: Football club URUSI

 Football club Urusi has continued the training of the children as much as possible. The enthusiasm of the children, trainers and board is heartwarming.  Unfortunately, there have only been very few matches.

Therapy

 We support the families of 14 multiple disabled children with regard to  therapy, education, aids, where necessary transport to school and therapy and where necessary diapers. We support  St. Anthony home, where seven children from this project live and follow education by payment of a pedagogical assistant and a physiotherapist so that the children get as much care as possible. 

For the 14 children and their families we pay the annual health insurance (NHIF), an amount of € 60 per family for the whole year.  In the JOOTHR hospital, where the children from the Project get  therapy and where the coordination takes place, we pay a graduated occupational therapist a fee. This is to offer the therapy department “extra hands” and in addition, the therapist in question has the opportunity to gain work experience. This increases his/her chances of a “real job”. This year we were able to welcome a new employee.

Care: St. Clare Children’s Home 

St. Clare Children’s Home receives a fixed monthly amount for food for the approximately 30 children who live there, contribution to personal expenses, energy costs. For 21 children placed with family we pay school fees. In addition, if necessary, other additional costs to improve the living conditions of the family.

Annual financial report 

If you are interested in the amounts linked to the activities above see the annual financial report on our site. Every year we publish extensively all expenses with regard to the various items.

Send a Christmas card

Do you also send a personal Christmas message by post on a card this year? With the beautiful handmade Christmas cards from Amara you send a double message. The recipient will be happy with it, but certainly also the maker from Kisumu! With your purchase you support our projects and we can place a new order with the maker of the card which, in turn generates work and income in Kisumu. Take a look at our web shop. Or go to World Shop Vught, Berlicum or St. Michielsgestel which sell our cards.

Agenda 

Maaslandcollege Oss: 3 projects have been chosen as a Christmas charity by the Maaslandcollege, including our reintegration project. It will be a sober Christmas action due to the corona rules.

’t Stekske: In Langenboom we are the Christmas charity at the primary school. We are going for beautiful actions devised by the children! 

THANK YOU

 As the board of Amara Foundation, we hope to have given you an overview of the ups and downs of our family in Kenya and the ups and downs of our organization. We cannot repeat it enough: thanks to all of you we exist, thanks to all of you we can provide support and assistance to the above projects!  Thank you, on behalf of our family in Kenya and the entire board of Amara Foundation.

Finally, we would like to commemorate donor Jet Molenaar, donor and friend of Amara Piet van der Bruggen and local friend in Kisumu Austin Onyango. All died last year.  

WE WISH YOU A HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A HEALTHY 2022!   

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD AND ALL THE PEOPLE FROM KISUMU! 

Evelien Hommes-Romonesco – Carmen van Bergen – Lisanne Henuy-Rooijakkers –  Maria Vermeer – Martine Plantinga