Autumn Newsletter 2015

Panasonic summer 2015 WellWe do hope you have had a good summer. Our weather seems to have had its highs and lows over the summer months, but I really can’t say that our barbecue has been overused! Maybe we shall have a reasonable autumn.

Paul had a good trip to Kenya in August. By that time the Foreign office had lifted the restrictions, which was a relief, and he was able to see 72 patients over 3 clinics, so not bad going given the hot weather, no air conditioning, and quite a bit of rain!

He was able to go and see the various projects we had been involved with over the past few months.

The staff classroom is a great success, so the staff at the school are happy.

Panasonic summer 2015 JiggersHe saw the new toilets which have been completed at Taliban, and looked at the feet of some of the children who had received treatment for Jiggers. A brand new well in Taliban is now complete. Photographs are shown of these projects, though Paul was unable to take photos of the inside of the homes which have been disinfected, as they have no windows, so are pretty dark. We have also been able to supply a good number of mosquito nets, and we have some money put by to provide more as required in the future.

The school block of toilets is also finished, which means there is now space for one more classroom to be built when we have funds.

Pearl has had several school visits recently, and our local Rotary gave us some money to provide Panasonic summer 2015 Toiletssome furniture for the staff classroom. The children at Longwell Green School had a wonderful Charity Fair one afternoon in July. Pearl was there, and enjoyed a great time, throwing wet sponges at members of staff, and eating the cakes made by the children. She also guessed the names of teddies, numbers of sweets in jars, and many other things, though didn’t win any prizes! The children themselves made approximately £400 from the Fair for the Trust, which is tremendous. Thank you to both Longwell Green Junior School, and St Peter’s School in Portishead, for their hard work, and generosity. St Peter’s held a sale of cakes and toys, which again raised more than £400. Pearl was able to help behind the counter, and wore Kenyan dress for the occasion!

In Kenya, now that the travel restrictions have been lifted, it is hoped that business for the locals will also improve. The hotel where Paul and Pearl stayed, is in a rather sad state, but they did have a few Russian and German guests when Paul visited.

It hardly seems possible that we are now thinking about Christmas! The children at St Peter’s School really wanted to provide money from their sale for the children at Little Angels to celebrate Christmas with extra food and gifts. Their gift will be sent out in November in time for Christmas.

Paul will go back in December, though Pearl will not visit this time, as she has commitments here in Portishead. We will monitor how things are in 2016.

So much has been achieved this year, two blocks of toilets, a new well, mosquito nets by the dozens, a new staff room, treatment for all the many children with Jiggers, fumigation of a whole village, extra food, some urgent operations carried out, treatment for those with malaria, broken bones, and other ailments. To say nothing of the day to day running of the school, continuing to provide two meals a day, plus full board for the children living in the dormitory, paying the teaching staff, and the ongoing upkeep of the school (painting, repairs etc) and the water and electricity systems, (which are a continuous headache!). Part of the fencing has been broken, so that also needs to now be fixed when funds become available. All of this could not be achieved without your support, so we would all want to say a very big ‘thank you’ to everyone.

There are plans afoot to hold a dinner/dance next year – more about that in our next newsletter!

With our very best wishes, and thanks

Paul, Pearl, George, Debbie & Paul.

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