Faith Wambui walks to her new school. Faith is an orphan and her home was burned during the election riots and she has relocated to Riruta
Stephen, Faith, and Alice are moving to the next level from Tenderfeet, and will be attending Bensesa Primary School
Mama Margaret discusses school fees with the director of the Bensesa school, where former Tenderfeet students will be attending
Younger students in Riruta
A few pages from the math workbook of Moses Mirigi. Poor children from illiterate families in the slums usually enter Tenderfeet without any knowledge of English or any familiarity with numbers.
Margaret's sister Mary prepares lunch for Tenderfeet kids in RIruta
The older kids at Riruta eat their lunch. The Tenderfeet feeding program is tremendously important to the children and their health.
Some of the sponsored children of Riruta
A delicious Kenyan meal of peas, potatoes, cabbage, rice and a small portion of meat.This would be a holiday feast for poor families,who get by on greens and rice if they have enough money that day
Margaret and the father of the Ochoki children. In the past, he struggled with alcoholism and was very irresponsible. Through counseling and tough love, he has turned his life around and now is working extremely hard for his children.
I brought some lollipops as a little treat for the kids. I was really impressed by their politeness and manners.
Lunch is prepared at the Kibera school.
This is Boaz's mother, who volunteers at the Tenderfeet school in Kibera. She is a big help to the school
Tenderfeet Kibera school from the back side. You can see the lower right corner where an attempt was made to burn the school during the riots. Three attempts were made to burn the school down during the turmoil following the elections.
Edwin Angote is the Lahash representative for East Africa. We are at his home with his delightful wife Christine.
Sharon Kwamboka is an orphan attending Tenderfeet. Here she is at her front door, her grandmother is to the left and Mama Margaret is standing behind her. Thanks to her sponsor,she is now getting much-needed assistance
Tenderfeet staff and children in Kibera
This is Lydiah, the big sister of Tenderfeet student Phelix Ondiek at her home in Kibera. There was no school for her to go to on this day because the government schoolteachers were on strike.
Wickliff Wesonga is an orphan and former Tenderfeet student. He is showing a strange growth on his tongue that needs to be seen by a doctor. Since his family can't afford treatment, we are using some special donations to see that he gets help.
She no longer lives in Kibera, but Mama Margaret can't walk ten feet in the slum without being greeted by people she has touched. Everywhere we went, people wanted to talk to her. This man is a parent of a former student of Margaret's.
Teachers Karen and Elizabeth enjoy a light moment after class. You can see how warm and fun to be around these teachers are and I couldn't resist including this photo
Rahab is Boaz's little sister.She was badly burned on her leg and the Emergency Fund was used to pay for burn treatment. She has healed well.
We were at a large supermarket and I used the opportunity to verify prices.Margaret bought the bunkbed for Boaz for around 12,000 Kenya Shillings.This bunkbed in the store was over twice the price, showing Margaret works hard to find a bargain. Many bunkbeds in the store were much more expensive than this one. Lumber prices have skyrocketed in Kenya causing furniture to be very costly
Mama Margaret applies the eyedrops prescribed for Boaz at her house following his appointment. Boaz had eye surgery in December.
The new land for Tenderfeet, made possible by the Collette Foundation. Margaret and the real estate agent (waving in the distance) stand at two corners of the site. The land is spacious!
Brian Ochoki is a sponsored child and former Tenderfeet student
Gillian was severely burned in the middle of 2008. The emergency fund was used for treatment, but a bad scar remains.
Tenderfeet students Moses, Simon, and Stephen enter a compound where Simon's family lives
Simon's big sister Mercy. She is starting 8th grade which is likely her final year of education because the family has no money. Her situation is both typical and tragic. I was really impressed by her maturity level.
Tenderfeet student Simon Njoroge with a homemade toy car
This is the grandmother of Stephen Maina showing a handcraft she makes from beads. Tenderfeet works with widows to help them earn money to be better provide for their families.
This is the mother of student Debra Nyirazaga. Her husband was killed in 2001 when visiting relatives in Rwanda. She explained how Tenderfeet is the only school in the area that doesn't charge tuition.
Gilbert Kimutai (left) has volunteered with the project in Eldoret. Here we are talking with Jeremiah Kitonga (pictured with daughter Maggie). The children were really suffering, and we agreed that for their sake, they should relocate to Nairobi to live with Mama Margaret.
Monicah is a sponsored child. In early childhood, because of poverty, she missed school as well as attended poor quality, overcrowded public schools.Because she is behind, she is discouraged because she will have to repeat 7th grade and is several years older than other kids in the class. We are counseling her to stay in school and she agreed.
Mama Ouma takes care of two boys. Last time I visited she suffered from TB, but is doing better now. Even though she is desperately poor, she wanted to give me a chicken to take home to Texas, but we agreed it would be too difficult carrying it home on the airplane :-)
Mama Phyllis is the director of Lewa Children's home in Eldoret. She took in these three darling girls who were in a terrible situation before. It's a wonderful place for kids with nowhere else to go.
Jennifer is blind,but thanks to her sponsor she has a good,safe place to live. Another friend from Houston kindly donated Braille materials,the Bible on CD,and a CD player.Here I am explaining the basics of Braille.
Rency Chepchumba is a teacher who runs a small school for needy children in Eldoret. Here she poses with Mama Margaret and her son David.
Thomson Falls is on the road to Nyahururu, where Lucy relocated after the post-election riots.
Lucy Muchoki shows the schoolbooks purchased for school thanks to the sponsorship program. Lucy is paralyzed from the waist down and almost died in 2007. Despite the hardships she's faced, she always keeps smiling. Lucy is a joy to behold!
Outside Lucy's house, you can see the area where families wash clothes, dishes, and prepare meals. It's very difficult to do these things without running water.
A bag of charcoal costs around $12-$15 US dollars and could last up to two weeks if used carefully. 99% of poor families in Kenya cook on charcoal stoves, but most struggle to afford charcoal.
A typical Kenyan shopping area. At left is a small grocery, to the right is a furniture shop, usually selling handmade wooden beds and chairs
Lucy's father sells clothes he buys wholesale in Nairobi and brings back to Nyahururu, a round trip of about 7 hours. He makes about 10-20 cents profit per clothing item.
A squat latrine typically shared by 5 or more families. This one was a bit nicer than many you find in the slums, especially the ones in Kibera which can be very unsanitary
Esther Karanja is the mother of Emily, a student who is starting high school in Nyahururu. We were able to use sponsorship funds to make this big step possible.
The road to the Riruta school can become a muddy mess even after a small rain. I realized how important it would be for the schoolkids to get rubber boots (called “gumboots” in Kenya) for these conditions. Many families can't afford them.
Kids schoolshoes after walking through the mud. The mud is really sticky and during the rainy season, it becomes a big headache
In downtown Nairobi, you can find all kinds of restaurants. The “Tacos Club” logo looks somewhat familiar...
Shadrack is doing great and very popular at the Treeside school for children with special challenges. The teachers are proud of his progress and think his future is bright. Shadrack is an orphan who had brain surgery in March 2007.
Jeremiah Kitonga's son Samwel, together with his two sisters, relocated to Nairobi to live with Margaret. Here he gets off the bus after a 7 hour ride.Samwel is always in the lead with a smile on his face.
While we were buying children's clothes at the big market in Nairobi, some former students (now grown) of Margaret stopped to say hello and visit. We ran into Margaret's students of all ages pretty much everywhere we went.
Margaret shops for school shoes for the children of Jeremiah Kitonga. We walked a long way to find these good-quality second hand shoes. She haggled for what seemed like 15 minutes to lower the total price by $3, then we waited another 15 minutes while the vendor fetched a receipt.
This is the high school Kevin Ochoki attends, thanks to the sponsorship program. There are no high schools available near his home in Kibera, so he must board at this one. Boarding schools are the norm in Kenya and non-boarding alternatives are rare. Poor families can almost never afford high school.
Children at Tenderfeet receive vitamins donated by Collette visitors.
Teacher Lydia makes learning fun for the young children.
Kitonga's daughter Shiro will attend Bensesa Primary, the same school as several other former Tenderfeet children such as Alice, Faith, and Stephen
Ombasa Mogere is the accountant who oversees the finances of Tenderfeet. He audits receipts, ensures there is clear bookkeeping, and verifies that all spending is appropriate.
All receipts are saved and sent to Lahash in Portland quarterly. A breakdown of the assistance provided for each sponsored child is carefully tracked and checked.
Mercy is the social worker that is administring the Tenderfeet sponsorship program. She has experience as a teacher as well as being on the staff at projects such as an abandoned baby home
I met with the lawyer handling the Tenderfeet land purchase. Nairobi real estate is more complicated than quantum mechanics, but Mr. Kamau understands it thoroughly.
Students and teachers at the Riruta school.
Maragaret's sister Mary starts the charcoal stove used for preparing lunch. In the distance is Liberty Academy, which charges 1000 shillings (about $15) per month. Most poor families could never afford such a school
Edwin Angote measures the height of Sharon Wangari
Faith Wambui writes a thank-you letter to her sponsor
Cathy Khulman and Esther Ngina make a handcraft at school. These are two of the brightest students but would be unable to attend school without Tenderfeet
Faith Wanjiru is Mama Margaret's niece, who is an orphan. She is starting a non-boarding high school that is fortunately near Margaret's home. Margaret fundraised endlessly door to door and even requesting donations to passers-by on the street downtown, in order to raise the tuition for the school.
January is part of the dry season in Kenya, and there was a severe water shortage. Water must be purchased and carried like this, sometimes long distances.
Here we are buying 40 yards of material for school uniforms for Tenderfeet, using the money donated to the Lahash Christmas Fund. Tenderfeet has been threatened with closure repeatedly by the Education Ministry because the students don't all have uniforms. Most schools won't accept a student without a uniform, but Margaret can't turn them away.
Margaret Wambui is the chairperson and Stephen Kiarie is the secretary of the Tenderfeet board. Tenderfeet is a registered Community Based Organization, and the board serves an important oversight role.
Arian Ogo is starting high school this year in Matuu, thanks in large part to her sponsor. Arian comes from a rough part of Kibera but can go far with a good education.
Kitonga's kids were adjusting well to life in Nairobi, pictured here with Mama Margaret's son Ezra.Left to right: Samwel, Shiro, Ezra, Maggie
