Newsletter No. 2 - Autumn 2007

Bread of Life Kenya (BoLK) has now been established for 8 months!! We are working alongside our partners in Kenya at Saints Christian Children's Home (SCCH): Lorine, Rose, Erick, Willis and Martin

We want to say a huge thank you firstly to the Lord, who is always with us, and also to those who have supported this project both in prayer and financially; we are extremely thankful for the amazing progress that we have seen over the last few months.

In the summer newsletter we listed some items for which funds had been provided, we are now happy to report that:

• SCCH buildings have now been plastered and should last up to 25 years.
• The home has running water fully installed and will soon be connected to the electric supply
• All of the beds needed have been purchased along with mattresses and mosquito nets
• The plot of land next door has now been paid for, and the staff at SCCH are in possession of the title deed for the land! The next step for the land is to get it ready for use.

We are also able to continue to provide assistance for food and school fees for the children through sponsorship and generous donations. However, this is an ongoing need and although we currently have sponsors for some of the children, we hope to gain enough sponsors to cover the daily needs of all of the children. However small the amount, it is this regular giving which enables SCCH to cover the day to day costs of food, clothing, school fees and medication.

We recently received an update from Erick. The home has recently been visited by Officers from the Children's Department, who carried out a health and safety check of the site to make sure that it reached the standards required for registration to be granted. This was the second of a series of visits. Erick said:

"...the team of children officers who visited the home talked about the following issues, first they were extremely happy about the beds, mattresses, mosquito nets and water etc. They also were delighted about the space of land. They interviewed kids and also played a bit with them. They said toilets are satisfactory though they hinted that we need to improve it if possible. They applauded the efforts to get electricity to the site and they were happy with the wiring that had been done."

We have also been working towards gaining registration with the Charity Commission; so far this process has been delayed until we were able to reach a minimum annual income of £5,000; incredibly we have now reached that target!! We have therefore now started the process to apply for charitable status. This is a huge answer to prayer, and once again we would like to thank everyone who has helped to make this possible.

SCCH now has a bank account in Kenya and the transfer of funds for the home is becoming much easier. Once we have gained registration as a charity, we will be able to operate tax-free and transfer money free of charge to Kenya . It is our continued practice that every penny donated for the children goes directly to them, while the trustees cover the administration costs of BoLK.

It is God’s guidance and provision which has enabled Bread of Life Kenya to develop so quickly and we want to give all the glory to Him. Your continued prayers are so important to the success of this exciting vision which we are so humbled to be a part of. To help you in your prayers, here are some items to remember:

• Thank God for the amazing progress of events in Kenya .
• Pray that the process of gaining full registration of the home will be smooth, and that BoLK will be able to gain charitable status soon
• Give thanks to God for the children at SCCH.
• Those children who had malaria have now recovered and are healthy; please pray for their ongoing health.
• Continue to pray for the children’s schooling - that they will be able to access this fully and that any barriers they may experience will be taken away.
• Pray for the family, as they continue their work at SCCH; that they will have strength and courage as they work for the Lord in this venture.
• Pray for God’s continued provision as we aim to raise more funds to go towards security for the home and improved sanitary and cooking facilities.

Fundraising:

Through various fundraising events this quarter along with donations and sponsorship a total of £2,200 has been raised. Thank you to all those involved in the recent curry evening at St Thomas Church, to the ladies of Women Aglow Kendal for making us so welcome and to the church family at Underbarrow for your support and encouragement.

The Kendal Guides are kindly donating the proceeds of their Christmas Panto to BoLK, this will be held on Monday 26 th November at 7pm at St Thomas Church , Kendal, please come along if you can! Our next fundraising event will be the Christmas Fair at St Thomas ' Church on Saturday 8th December where we will be having a cake stall.

News:

Our new website will be going live in the next few weeks, check it out at www.breadoflifekenya.org

The next visit to Kenya will be in March 2008, and we are happy to have Julie and Joe joining us for this exciting trip. There will be more information about this in the winter newsletter!

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Thanks for your support and watch this space for the next update!!