Emergency and Orphans Funds

Gillian Adhiambo is a young student at Tenderfeet in Kibera. In June, a container of boiling liquid was accidentally spilled on her leg. The burn was severe.



Thanks to the Tenderfeet emergency fund, Mama Margaret was able to get quality medical treatment for the leg. Dressings were applied and tended over a period of many weeks.

The burn has healed up now, though the scars remain. The emergency fund has come to the rescue of many Tenderfeet children. Donations to the Ten for Tenderfeet program allow the emergency fund to exist.

We've also recently set up an orphan's fund to help some of the school's neediest children. Orphans often live with relatives or good samaritans who have difficulty absorbing the extra expense that comes with the orphan child.

Three such children are Fredrick Muchangi (10 yrs), Yvonne Lituiza (5 yrs), and Dickson Mberia (4 yrs). These children were orphans who lived with a good samaritan unable to care for them anymore. They are currently staying with Mama Margaret.


Thanks to a kind sponsor, as well as the orphans fund, we can afford to come to the rescue of children like these and several others who attend school but need extra help outside of the school.

Especially now that food prices are higher than ever, the orphans fund can ensure that a sweet orphan girl like Esther Ngina (see picture) doesn't suffer because of going without meals.


Esther, who lives with an Aunt that struggles to eke out a living, sometimes came to school crying because she was so hungry. Now we are able to help her to get the food she needs. Cornerstone Methodist Church had a generous love offering in September to boost the orphans fund.

May Tenderfeet Updates

We have been blessed to have the former Tenderfeet students sponsored in a school called Perijang. A Perijang teacher is using the old Tenderfeet building to continue the education of these vulnerable children (please see picture). Although the school fees at Perijang are only about $5 per month, it is still too much for these children's families, so scholarships are being covered through the generosity of Tenderfeet friends in California and Rhode Island.

Meanwhile, the children in Kibera who were sponsored previously are still being helped through the sponsorship program. For example, the families of Winslet Auma, Collins Onyango, and Brian Ochoki are receiving assistance in the form of food, rent, and clothing. We still have many especially needy children in need of a sponsor. To find out more, please click here.

An important development in one child's life involves the treatment of an eye problem that Boaz Osiebe has faced for a long time. Last month, Mama Margaret took Boaz to the eye clinic where the doctor identified two different problems.


The first is the left eye being severely crossed (strabismus), which is less urgent and we intend to get treated in due time. The other problem is a complication in his unaffected right eye that could cause blindness if not addressed. Over the past several weeks, he's been taken in once per week for treatment and evaluation.

Please pray for Boaz, that the treatment will be successful and his eyesight won't be damaged. If you would like to assist with the medical costs, we would be deeply grateful. Please click here to make a donation to help out (type "Boaz" in the Donation Destination area).

Kenya Emergency Fund in Action

After several attempts over a slow network, Margaret was able to send some pictures of the Lahash relief effort.

These show the emergency fund donations put into action helping children that have suffered during the turmoil. Thank you so much to all the emergency fund donors! May God bless you for your generosity.

Above photo: staple foods like corn meal (for Ugali), rice, and beans can be stretched a long way for families low on supplies.

Above photo: the Tenderfeet team bundles up bags for each needy family.

Here Tenderfeet children like Moses Mirigi (red sweater center) and Faith Wambui (blue dress left) receive the supplies at the Jamuhuri showgrounds, where the food is distributed.

February Kenya Updates

Update (Feb. 19, 8:00 PM Central time USA):

After much deliberation and weighing of options, we have decided to change the focus of Tenderfeet to the Riruta area. This is the safer area that the school has been relocated to after Mama Margaret had to flee Kibera. As mentioned before, Riruta is about 5 miles from Kibera. It is still quite a poor area, but not on the massive scale of Kibera.

Therefore, starting immediately, Margaret will begin working in the community to find needy children who have no opportunity to go to school. The new building is slightly smaller, so we will have about 50 kids for 2008.

One of the big concerns was the 60 or so students we are unfortunately having to leave behind in Kibera. Since January marks the beginning of the new school year, there were about 20 of the previous 60 students that have now moved on to the next level of school.

So that leaves 40 of the 60 that would be attending Tenderfeet if it was still in Kibera. Of these remaining 40, Margaret has identified about 20 who are extremely poor and vulnerable and would not be able to afford school. The other 20 are in a slightly better position and will have other options.

For the month of February, we have paid for the transportation of many of these 20 (see picture below), but it is too expensive long-term.


Therefore, going forward in the months of March and beyond, for the 20 most vulnerable, we will offer scholarships so they can attend a school in Kibera. It's much, much cheaper than busing them to the new school site. In fact, a good school has opened in a church near the old Tenderfeet site. The school charges school fees of 200 Kenyan shillings per month (about $3), plus 100 shillings for the child to be in the feeding program.

Sadly, this is too much for these very poor children, so for these kids, we will pay their fees at least through the remainder of 2008 (10 months - 2 vacation months). After 2008, some will go on to the next level, and the remainder we will deal with on a case-by-case basis.

So in the next two weeks, we are focused on the children that are riding the bus to the school as well as finding deserving children from the Riruta area to attend the school from March onward.

Update (Feb. 14, 9:00 AM Central time USA):

We received updates and photos of the relief effort in action. Please see this post for more details.

Update (Feb. 7, 9:00 PM Central time USA):

Today Mama Margaret signed a lease agreement with the landlord for a new school building (see pictures, top is Margaret in the front, bottom is Margaret's sister Mary arranging desks). The building is nicer (brick vs. iron sheet) than the previous school building in Kibera. Unfortunately, though, it is no longer easily accessible for the children. The new location is in Riruta, near the area where Margaret has relocated for safety. Riruta is west of Kibera, near Dagoretti.


Earlier this week, the items in the school were transported by Frank out of Kibera on hand carts (similar to this photo). This was done in response to threats that the school would be burned by a gang of thugs.

Everything in the school -- desks, supplies, cupboards, and so on -- was moved except for a few desks that were in bad shape anyway. Moving the items with handcarts was dangerous, tense, and exhausting. Margaret paid for a security escort, but it was still a scary experience. Handcarts were used because trucks refused to enter Kibera for fear of being burned, as several had been in the last month.

The handcarts were pulled 15 minutes away to the Jamuhuri Showgrounds, a safe area being used for refugees and a transportation hub. When all the items were moved, the items could then be loaded onto a truck which took them 3-4 miles to Riruta and the new school building.

Today, the leader of the Luo thugs called Margaret and threatened to cut her head off if she came into Kibera again since she is a Kikuyu. The same group looted a school near Tenderfeet operated by a Kikuyu under the auspices of the Methodist Church.

Now Margaret is investigating options for transporting the children from Kibera to Riruta, such as renting a school bus. In the meantime, school will have to be suspended.

Update (Feb. 3, 9:00 PM Central time USA):

At Tenderfeet, school has been open and closed, open and closed in reaction to events in the country.

For instance, two members of parliament from the opposition party were killed last week, causing flare-ups of violence. In response, the school closed. During pockets of calm, the school has been open.

Now a gang of thugs is threatening to burn the school down. Mama Margaret is responding with a plan to relocate the items within the school to a safer area. We are hoping to have this complete in the next few days.

In the midst of all this horrible news, there are a few bright spots. For example, even as the threats were made to burn the school, Margaret was en route to taking Shadrack to a special boarding school in northern Nairobi called The Treeside School.

Treeside is aimed at educating children like Shadrack who have special challenges. Due to setbacks caused by his brain abscess, doctors have recommended Shadrack go to a school like Treeside to help him make the best progress with respect to his developmental needs. The school is a bit expensive, but thanks to the wonderful Christian youth group "Corby's Castle", the fees can be paid. Please see the photo of Shadrack in his new school uniform.

In Eldoret, Lahash is seeking to assist the the clients remaining in the Munyaka area as well as some that have relocated, including Lucy and Emily in Nyahururu.

Please note: previous updates can be found here and here.