SUVIA CHILDREN'S HOME
KALI MARKET, KENYA
FEBRUARY 2010 UPDATE
Green, green, everywhere you look! What a stark difference from what Kali Market looked like in August; just a mere five months ago. God has blessed Kali residents with cherished rain that has brought about a bumper crop of maize. Looking around and seeing the fields filled with rows of corn and other vegetables, you can see how hard the community has worked to have a good harvest. You can also see their joy in the smiles and waves you receive as you pass them in the fields. Praise the Lord! What a difference water makes in the lives of the people.
During the visit, we were invited to meet with the village at the church where maize was distributed over the last year. It was such a joy to experience the outpouring of appreciation and love that came from all of the men and women present. There were at least 400 people there extending their heartfelt thanks for helping them through the difficult time of the drought and resulting famine, as well as supporting them through prayer.
The girls are such a delight! They are no longer “shy and retiring”, but are filled with joy and excitement and lots of energy. Their English has improved remarkably and many of the girls are able to carry on a conversation and answer questions, as well as ask them. These are some very smart young ladies; I might even say “brilliant”.
School continues to be an area of success for all of the Suvia girls. 
They work hard and have the assistance of a retired teacher who comes to tutor them, as well as teach them songs and dance. They have blossomed and have a self-confidence that comes shining through. There is a new matron, Josephine, who started at the end of 2009 and she fits in very well with the girls. Jacinda, the other house mother, is getting married in March, but we hope she will continue to work at Suvia because the girls love her so much.
Mama Rhoda has planted several gardens around the compound that are literally bearing the fruits of her labor – from tomatoes to watermelon to squash and beans. The girls are eating very well. Speaking of eating, there are 104 chickens in the chicken house. About half of them are roosters, which will be sold and mature hens will be purchased with those funds. They were bought as chicks and have had to mature before they began laying productively, but they have started to produce eggs. . We look forward to seeing what the ROI will be on this project.
UPCOMING PROJECTS
There will be two construction projects this summer for the mission teams coming in June and July to work on. One is the construction of a sickbay and administration office, which will be built adjoining the dining hall. The other project will be the erection of a security fence around the compound, thanks in great part to Journey of Faith Church in California. Through a grant, both the dining hall and dormitory are becoming “electrified” through the use of solar lighting. These new lights will make it much easier for the girls to eat, study and play in the evening. While we were visiting, we had the chance to enjoy the enhanced lighting, it does make a huge difference.
World Servants is working with a generous donor to bring clean water to the community of Kali Marketing. The drilling of a borehole and placement of a well will be an immense blessing to the entire community. The well will be drilled close to Kali Market’s town center. The community has developed a Water Committee to lead the effort and be responsible for running and maintaining this water project. There will be kiosks strategically located throughout Kali Market to sell the water so everyone can have access to clean, safe water. Women will not have to walk several kilometers to a spring in the mountains or the dam on the other side of town. Girls will be able to go to school instead of hauling water and the children will be much healthier as water-borne diseases will be reduced by eighty to ninety percent!
Once upon a time, the Kali schools offered lunch to the students. This program ensured that students received at least one meal a day. It also provided a reason for parents to send their children to school and not keep them home to do chores. But it has been two or three years since they offered this feeding program due to lack of government funding.
World Servants is working with an organization that supplies nutritious pre-packed meals of rice and vitamins. We are hoping and praying to send a 40-foot container of food to Kali Market; enough for almost a year’s worth of school lunches to be served at a dozen primary schools. We’d like to encourage our partner churches, which have been to Kenya, to support this project by raising money to be used to pay the shipping fees of approximately $12,000.
TOOLS FOR KENYA COLLECTION PROGRAM
Another outreach program, Tools for Kenya, has just kicked into gear and will be of great benefit to students at several poly-technic school in the areas around Kali Market. While in Kenya, quite a few of you have visited Tulimani Poly-technic, one of World Servant’s past projects, which will be one of the beneficiaries of this too collection program. Tulimani offers training programs to teens and young adults in the areas of carpentry, masonry, tailoring, computers and metal work. The training they receive gives them the skills to begin careers in their home villages. The only things they lack though are, literally, the tools of their trade.
A patron of Tulimani has begun a tool collection program. He is asking people to dig deep into their garages, rummage through old toolboxes and to look and see if grandpa’s old tools are boxed up in the attic. All of these tools can be given new life in new hands. Old tools are gladly accepted. We just ask tools are useable, in good condition and non-electric (there is little to no access to electricity or a generator).
Donations of $10 would also be appreciated to defray the cost of shipping the tools to Kenya are also be accepted, so don’t feel left out if you don’t have any tools to contribute.
World Servants loves to receive feedback about our different programs. Please feel free to send us your thoughts via email. Or for more information, please contact Diane Solmonson at 800-881-2170.
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