Kenyan Drought Eroding Educational Gains

According to the United Nations, the Horn of Africa is facing the worst drought in over 60 years and there is no likelihood of improvement until 2012.  Food prices have risen substantially in the region, pushing already poor households over the edge.  High food prices not only leave children with empty bellies, but also cause a dramatic decrease in school attendance, especially for girls.  Most parents are unwilling or unable to pay school fees, for many have lost their livestock and childhood education is not deemed a high priority.  As a result, many young girls are being forced into early marriage to ease the burden on their families.

Due to your continued support, OFDC is able to prevent young girls from entering into early marriage by providing them school sponsorship.  As you can see from the picture below, the girls living in this Safe House (a place where girls can go to escape child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM)) are so happy to be here and be sponsored in school with your donation ~ Asante Sana (Thank You)!

In Kenya the new school year starts in January, please consider giving the gift of education by sponsoring a child in school.

5000+ malaria nets donated and counting

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), malaria kills a child somewhere in the world every 30 seconds.  Ninety percent of malaria deaths occur in Africa, where malaria accounts for about one in five of all childhood deaths.  Sleeping under insecticide treated nets can reduce overall child mortality by 20 percent.  Due to the generous support of our donors, OFDC has provided over 5,000 treated nets (2-3 children sleep under one net) so that children can sleep protected from malaria carrying mosquitoes.  Below are recent photos from OFDC’s net distribution in both Narumoro and Olkirorit.

For more information about the cause, impact, treatment, and prevention of malaria please go to:

http://www.unicef.org/health/index_malaria.html

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/index.html

http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/malaria_worldwide/impact.html

The Perfect Graduation Gift

Having a hard time deciding what to buy that special graduate? OFDC has the perfect gift. Not only will these one of a kind pieces brighten up any room, but with each purchase you will touch the lives of women and children living in rural Kenya. These original, banana skin and paper art collages depict traditional life of the Maasai tribe. Your donation in honor of the graduate will go towards mosquito nets, education, clean water & sanitation for children, and microcredit & training for women.

4″ x 16″ – 1 for a $50 donation, 2 for a $90 donation

For More Info: Please call Giles at (801) 596-0326 or send him an email at saninji@yahoo.com

Asante sana (thank you),

All of us at OFDC

Kenya 2010

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OFDC’s Sustainable School Lunch Gardens

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kenyans spend over 45% of their income on food, whereas the average American only spends 7%. While this is a sobering statistic, OFDC is doing its best to provide one clean and healthy meal a day to rural, impoverished children through school lunch garden programs. Due to the continued support of our donors, especially the Laura Jane Musser Foundation, OFDC recently assisted six rural schools in developing sustainable school lunch gardens.

Rural schools are the last to receive outside aid. Families in rural areas struggle on their small shambas (farms) to grow enough food to feed their families. Most parents contract out for less than $1 a day to work on larger farms. Truly the poorest of the poor, the children in these areas often go to school with empty stomachs. Furthermore, many rural schools have no latrines for sanitation or access to clean water.

At these six rural schools, OFDC latrines now ensure human feces do not contaminate the school lunch gardens, and OFDC wells provide irrigation for the gardens, as well as clean water for the children. While OFDC provides 80% of the costs, villagers provide 20% of the costs and the unskilled labor. The Kenyan government provides the potato, cabbage, and corn seed. These truly are village collaborative sustainable gardens, which will continue to be harvested long after OFDC is gone. Thanks to your donations, over 2,300 rural school children not only have food in their stomachs, but they have also become environmental stewards of their school gardens.

Your continued support of OFDC will enable us to fill even more tummies and to raise awareness about more children in need. Asante sana (thank you)!

Ololoboti Primary students and parents express their happiness at having clean water.

This sustainable garden at Ololoboti Primary stands ready to be planted.

Mary, Limanet Primary cook, beads as she waits for the maize to cook to feed the children.

Limanet Primary also grows squash in their sustainable garden.

The sustainable garden at Ole Sharo Primary yielded 50 bags of maize, which the children enjoy as their lunch.

To Fight Poverty, Invest in Girls — Something OFDC has done for over 12 years!

This fantastic article by Nancy Gibbs of Time Magazine is a must read.  Gibbs emphasizes how and why investing in girls, especially in their education, is the key to fighting poverty in the developing world.

“There are countless reasons rescuing girls is the right thing to do. It’s also the smart thing to do. Consider the virtuous circle: An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 10% to 20%. An extra year of secondary school adds 15% to 25%. Girls who stay in school for seven or more years typically marry four years later and have two fewer children than girls who drop out. Fewer dependents per worker allows for greater economic growth. And the World Food Programme has found that when girls and women earn income, they reinvest 90% of it in their families. They buy books, medicine, bed nets. For men, that figure is more like 30% to 40%.”

Read More: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2046045,00.html

Giving Naomi a Reason to Live

Due to your continued support, OFDC is able to sponsor Naomi (age 15) in secondary school.  Naomi, who contracted HIV at the age of ten while caring for her dying mother, is determined to get an education against all odds.  She will be attending Mugumo High School. OFDC specifically chose this boarding school for Naomi because it is located near a hospital.  Not only will Naomi be getting the education she so desperately desires, but she will also have better access to medical care.  Naomi has very little family support, and sadly, the family she does have refuse to assist with her education stating they believe it would be a waste of resources.  OFDC clearly believes otherwise, and we know you do too.  Patrick, our Kenyan Administrator, who has been working tirelessly to help Naomi says, “Thanks a million times for giving her a reason to live.  She will be so happy when I give her the news!”