Newsletter March 2022
News from Kisumu
– Therapy Project: ACTION NHIF
– Care Project : Reintegration
– Project: Sport Urusi
Activities
– Web shop
Agenda
– “Orange Wall” Heerbeeck college Best
– Trap-In
– Evening 3-day walk
– Book fair
News from the board
Therapy Project: NHIF Health insurance.
From 1-1-2019, Amara Foundation pays a so-called NHIF card for all therapy children and their families: health insurance for the whole family. For € 5.00 per month / € 60.00 on an annual basis, a whole family is insured. For parents, brothers and sisters, for example, hospitalization is paid for, research into malaria and malaria medication is free, for operations NHIF reimburses 50% of the costs, medication that is present in the local hospital is reimbursed, etc. On March 4, since the outbreak of COVID 19, a long holiday of almost two months began in Kenya for the first time. In 2021, instead of three trimesters, four trimesters were taught to make up for the absenteeism of 2020. For 9 children from the Therapy Project, who attend a school boarding school, it means that they can go home for a longer period of time. It’s always wonderful to see how enthusiastically mothers and children greet each other again even though it is a difficult task for the family to take care of the children, to go to therapy with them, to have to fill a mouth more, etc. When the children are at school, they receive therapy there. During the holidays, parents go to the hospital with their child to continue the therapy. With the NHIF card, these therapy costs are reimbursed in the Kisumu JOOTRH Hospital in Kisumu. These cards are therefore ideal for the families of our therapy children, because in this way not only the handicapped children are helped but also the rest of the family.
Would you like to help us by paying a (part of a) NHIF card for one of “our” fifteen families, so that the whole family can receive free medical care for another year: Click here and donate the amount of your choice directly.
Care Project: Reintegration
In recent weeks we have had regular contact with Sister Lucy about the Care Reintegration project. The holidays have started and the new school year starts on 25 April. This is exceptional in Kenya, normally a new school year starts in January. In 2021, the children and teachers hardly had any holidays in order to make up for all the “lost” time of the first corona year. The period January to March was officially also part of the 2021 school year. Last year Amara Foundation paid school fees for 21 children who have moved back in with family instead of living at St. Clare’s. Family can be: a single-parent family, grandfather / grandmother, uncle or aunt. To support these families, we pay, among other things, the school fees for the children. The children are educated at a boarding school and live with the family again during the holidays. From “home” to ” at home”.
We have informed Sister Lucy that we will be able to pay the costs for a 22nd child from the start of the new school year. This is because a new sponsor has come forward. Great! We, but of course Sister Lucy and the family of the child in question, are very happy with this opportunity. A boarding school is expensive, but the quality of education is much, much better than education at most day schools. In addition, there is more attention for learning skills and personal development. Of the 21 children we already paid school fees for, 6 children will finish primary education. After the results of the national exams, which are still in progress, it will be known at which schools they can follow further education. An exciting time for the children concerned.
When children go to a new school there are extra costs: a mattress, a sheet, a blanket, a uniform (dress or shirt and pants, sweater, jacket, socks, school shoes, boots, tracksuit), personal clothing such as underwear, pyjamas, outerwear. In addition, of course, a cabin suitcase that serves as a closet. Every trimester a package of care products from toilet paper to toothpaste, soap, vaseline etc. In addition, detergent (children wash their own clothes at school) and shoe shine. And then, last but not least, of course, the necessary books, pens, notebooks, backpack. Many of these items are also regularly needed in daily life and in these cases are used at school. We were shocked by the huge price increase this year. We hope that we can give all children a good start in the new school year!
We wish all children a good start in the new school year!
Sports: Football club URUSI
Football club Urusi was allowed to play a tournament during the Christmas holidays north of Kisumu at Eregi Teachers College in Kakamega. The kids really enjoyed this outing. Our contact person gave us several pictures and he wrote: “On tournament they were so happy.” Life in the Manyatta district is not easy and covid 19 has certainly not made life any easier. The solidarity within Urusi is therefore of great importance for the children. The board of Urusi has included five games per team in the 2022 budget. It is therefore expected that matches will be played again. In addition to these matches, there are also the necessary materials such as balls. Balls wear on the Kisumu pitches much faster than on our beautiful lawns. Urusi also hopes to get clothes and shoes donated from us again. We sincerely hope so as well, because that would mean that we can actually go to Kisumu again, to donate materials.
In addition to this Christmas tournament, Urusi also organized a nice New Year’s meeting on January 1 in the video hall, where all children received drinks and some goodies.
Therapy
Monthly there is contact with our therapist Samoo about the ups and downs of the children. This month the children all come to him for therapy. Slowly updates trickle in, ranging from new splints, extra medication to unfortunately less beautiful pictures of inflamed or further deformed limbs. For example, we got pictures of Steve, who has had an operation on clubfeet, which unfortunately led to inflammation and fluid accumulations. The NHIF is used where possible or we decide to contribute to the costs, in consultation.
Web shop
Last week we received another package with handmade products from Kenya. It contains new card designs, again beautiful soapstone dishes in beautiful colours and soapstone animals. Nice as a gift for a birthday, just to hearten someone or especially on Mother’s or Father’s Day. Take a look at our web shop!
AGENDA
“Orange Wall” Heerbeeck College Best March – present
From mid-March Amara Foundation has the “Orange Wall” in the staff room of the Heerbeeck college available. A nice initiative to bring creative works to the attention. The paintings that Amara has by some Kenyan painters can be admired and bought there.
Trap-In Uden on Whit Monday
Again this year we received a nice donation! Take part in this bike tour, enjoy and directly support several beautiful charities including Amara Foundation!
Evening walk 3-day Langenboom June
Finally this activity can take place again. From 2022, Amara Foundation will be the charity for which we run! We are proud and happy to report this.
Book fair Den Bosch Pentecost weekend
Two years ago we were the main goal of this great action: we received € 10,000. We hope that it will be a great success again this year and that other foundations can be made happy. Amara will certainly offer a helping hand to be able to sell a lot of books again!
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
We have not been to Kisumu for more than two years now. It is therefore starting to itch with the board members and ticket prices are regularly viewed. However, there are no concrete travel plans yet.
At the end of 2021, due to the many missing events that year, it looked like we had to eat into our capital. However, we have still received several nice donations. Without depriving anyone, we would like to thank Prowise and World shop Nistelrode in particular. World shop Nistelrode unfortunately had to close its doors.
THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SUPPORT AND GENUINE INTEREST.
ASANTE SANA! ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD AND ALL THE PEOPLE FROM KISUMU!
Evelien Hommes-Romonesco – Carmen van Bergen – Lisanne Henuy-Rooijakkers- Maria Vermeer – Martine Plantinga
