Organizational Announcement and the Tenderfeet Foundation

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Tenderfeet has enjoyed a great relationship with Lahash International which started in 2005. Through the advocacy and hard work of Lahash, Tenderfeet has gone from being on the brink of closing, to enjoying a wonderful facility to serve the children of the slums.

It's been a challenging journey, but God has been faithful and shown His wisdom throughout. All the while, the Lahash leadership and finance team has shown the love of God through their efforts and steadfastness.

Since 2006, most of the coordination and fundraising has taken place from Houston, Texas while the financial database and wire transfers have been handled from Portland, Oregon.

Starting in October 2009, discussions began on spinning off the Tenderfeet portion of Lahash as a separate organization to be headquartered in Houston. In other words, all activities related to Tenderfeet would take place exclusively in Houston and handled by the new organization, rather than being spread out over two cities through Lahash.

The goal is to increase the organizational efficiency so that both donors and the Tenderfeet project itself can be served in the best way possible.

This organizational change is mutually agreed upon and there are nothing but positive feelings shared by all. Mama Margaret fully supports this change.

Spinning off the new organization has been a time-consuming process, because it includes applying for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, setting up online donation, as well as coordinating the many steps of a transition plan. Now that process is complete.

This new organization is called the "Tenderfeet Foundation" and has achieved 501(c)(3) status.

The Tenderfeet Foundation will be responsible for the fundraising and partnership with Tenderfeet. It provides a mechanism through which donors can be enabled to assist in Tenderfeet's mission to serve the needy in the slums of Kenya. In terms of the sponsorship programs, the children being assisted, and the operations of the school -- nothing is changing whatsoever.

For any current Lahash donor that wants to continue helping the school, contributions can be made through the Tenderfeet Foundation at this link: Tenderfeet donation. The Tenderfeet Foundation will be using the same online system (Groundspring/Network for Good) that has been used by Lahash.

To cancel your Tenderfeet sponsorship through Lahash, please log into the account page and cancel your recurring Lahash donations. Of course, if you are sponsoring Tenderfeet as well as other Lahash projects, please only cancel those contributions going to Tenderfeet. Starting in September, any donations made through Lahash will be assumed to be for Lahash programs only and will not be forwarded to Tenderfeet.

If you would like to discuss these changes on the phone, please call me at the number 713-584-3975, or you can email me at dmitchell@lahash.net. My new email address is dax@tenderfeetkids.org and you can reach me that way as well.

I'm glad to answer any questions or discuss any concerns.
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Linet's Funeral

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Linet Atieno, the mother of Tenderfeet students Shally and Emmaculate, was laid to rest after her tragic death.

Below are two photos of Linet's casket outside of her small one-room residence in the Kibera slums. According to Luo custom, the body was made available for viewing for neighbors and loved ones, who could come by and pay respects to the deceased and survivors. Linet's body was covered by a veil. Well-wishers could contribute to the funeral costs.

A significant portion of the burial expenses were paid for by Tenderfeet donors, which provides a huge relief to the family. It allows Linet's children to be spared unnecessary hardship, and we are deeply grateful to those who contributed.

The body was transported to the Nyanza Province near Lake Victoria that night. Once all the family had arrived the next day, the funeral and burial ceremonies took place in Linet's tribal homeland.

Below is the Aunt of Linet who will become the guardian of the two girls. She is also the guardian of Tenderfeet graduate Wickliff Wesonga. Emmaculate is on the left and Shally is on the right.


Here is a photo of Mama Margaret and Teacher Karen with the two girls. Teacher Elizabeth (not shown) traveled with the family to the Nyanza Province for the funeral. She had to convince the girls' relatives that the girls should return to Nairobi. Some of their father's family wanted to relocate the girls to live in the countryside where the poverty level was very high and opportunity for education was not present. Fortunately, Elizabeth was able to reason with the family in order to find the situation best for the girls.

AIDS Tragedy Comes to Tenderfeet Again

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The photo to the right shows Linet Atieno, a 24 year old widow and mother of two young girls. She is sitting next to Mama Margaret in her small one-room house in the Kibera slum.

The two girls, Shally (4) and Emmaculate (6), attend Tenderfeet. The picture of Linet was taken recently by our friend Craig Garratt who visited her home while meeting some of the families of Tenderfeet.

Linet passed away this week from pneumonia, her tragic death directly related to her HIV positive condition. It's a familiar and heart-breaking story, one that tragically happens over and over again.

In fact, Linet was an orphan herself. Her parents both were lost to AIDS, leaving her and her siblings to live with relatives. Her brother Wickliff, 10 years younger than Linet, was a student at Tenderfeet and has been mentioned in previous articles.

While still a teenager, Linet got married. A few years after Shally was born, Linet's husband became ill and passed away from AIDS. He never told her about his condition, so when Linet found out she was HIV positive, it was a total surprise. Linet struggled to make a living doing whatever odd jobs she could find.

She depended on ARV drugs to keep her healthy enough to continue working, but a recent cold and rainy spell hit Nairobi. Apparently, when she got sick with pneumonia, it came on fast and she didn't take action in time.

If the Tenderfeet team would have known, they might could have saved Linet. It breaks my heart to say that she suffered and passed away in silence.

Linet belongs to the Luo tribe, who have very strict customs about burial. Luos believe that those who have died must be transported to their homeland near Lake Victoria for burial.

This means in practical terms that the family must fundraise to afford the hundreds of dollars for the transportation and burial of the body. It will be a severe strain on an already terribly stressed family. If you would like to help, please click here and enter "Linet" in the Donation Destination.

Any assistance would be a huge blessing to the girls.

Below is a photo of the two girls left behind, Shally is on the left and Emmaculate ("Emma") on the right. It was taken about one year ago during the "Day of the African Child" event.

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May School Updates

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The second term of school started today. We are just about ready to move in to the new school building. Lahash representative Edwin Angote took a series of photographs of the new building.

All that remains is to plaster and paint the walls, install the glass in the windows, and finish some of the floors. Of course, there will also need to be some cleanup of the construction materials, but that won't take long.

Tenderfeet's wonderful partner, the Collette Foundation, has remained steadfast in providing the funding for the construction all the way to the finish line.

In Riruta, the church where Tenderfeet has been located has agreed to let the children remain for a few more days until the building is complete.

In Kibera, the government has promised to demolish the buildings along the railroad tracks -- including Tenderfeet. However, the actions have been delayed because they are expecting a huge backlash, including riots and looting. So we will try to keep the Kibera school going at least for the next few weeks as the story of the railroad tracks unfolds.

Stay tuned for more updates soon.