News Update July 2011 - Bread of Life Kenya

News Update - July 2011

The drought in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan has filled the news recently and it is heart-breaking to see pictures on our TV screens of those who have been affected. Thousands of refugees are fleeing to camps which have been set up in northern Kenya to try to help but they are desperately overcrowded.

As always the drought has had an effect on every corner of Kenya; when the rains fail, crops also fail, animals die and food must be imported, as a result the price of staple foods is soaring. Although food is still available in Kisumu, the cost is steadily increasing. Last year a water tank and guttering was installed at Saints Christian Children’s Home to collect rain water; however in the recent weeks with no rain it has been necessary to purchase water from local sellers. The support that we are able to give is ever more vital at this desperate time.

We are delighted that all except one of the children at Saints Christian Children’s Home are now being partially sponsored by supporters in the UK. We are looking towards having sufficient sponsors to cover the full cost for each child’s upkeep to enable us to release funds for further improvements to the site and to support the work of other projects and organisations in Kenya.

We were delighted to be approached by World in Need (WIN) recently with regard to a grant request for the building of a library and school research centre in Soy near Eldoret in Western Kenya. World in Need is a Christian charity working in over 20 countries to empower local people to fulfil the 2015 Millennium Development Goals identified by the United Nations. One of these goals, in common with our aims, is to achieve universal primary education. It is an honour to be able to share in this exciting project by contributing to the cost of the library and resource centre, albeit in a small way. We look forward to being able to support more projects like this in the future!

The Ceilidh evening in June was a huge success, with fantastic live music from Ceilidh band ‘No Mean Feet’ and folks of all ages joined in the fun and dancing! Thanks to those who put so much work into organising this event and to all those who contributed to the delicious spread of savoury and sweet dishes which kept us going through the evening!

Esther, one of the girls at Saints Christian Children’s Home, was recently admitted to hospital with an infection, but after a week’s stay was discharged and is back at school and well on the way to recovery. The other children at the home are all doing well.

We are looking forward to another visit to Kenya in September when we will catch up with SCCH as well as visit other projects and forge new friendships.

Please pray for:

• Pray for all those affected by the drought and food shortages in Kenya and other African countries
• Pray that the rain will come soon
• Praise God for Rose’s continued improvement
• Thanks for God’s healing of Esther
• Pray for more sponsors for the children at SCCH
• Pray for the work of WIN in Kenya
• Praise God for the funds raised already for the new building project and that work can commence soon

Fundraising:

So far £2900 has been raised for the SCCH Building Project – over half way to our target of £5000!

The Ceilidh in June raised over £1400 and we are looking forward to another Capernwray car wash in the autumn – more details to follow.

The Christmas cards were a huge success and we will be selling these again for 2011. If you want to make an early start on your Christmas correspondence they are available now and we will be re-launching these in September!