On the 2nd of December our team was busy once again with the collection and distribution of over 3.5 tons of food parcels for eighty of our community neighbours in the Masai Mara. This was the seventh consecutive month of support that these families have been able to receive. We had a tremendous amount of rainfall in the area which meant an abundance of mud! This made getting our supply truck into the areas that much harder, but following a small delay all was collected and the first mamas were happily receiving their parcels. Each family received 12kg of maize flour, 2.5kg of sugar, 4kg of dried beans, 2kg of cooking fat, 100g of tea leaves, 1 large cabbage, 2.5kg of rice, a bar of soap and 200 grams of salt.
Mara food drive – photo credit Julius Karia
These food parcels were 100% supported through the generosity of the Mara Rianda Charitable Trust and their kind donors. The trust has been instrumental over the years in helping the Maasai community around the Mara Rianda area especially in terms of health care and schooling.
Mara Rianda Primary School – photo credit Will Fortescue
Loldia House lends a helping hand
On the 10th of December we facilitated our fifth month of community support to fifty needy families living in Kasarani village on the shores of Lake Naivasha. Our Loldia House team locally sourced and packed each of the items that made up the two tons of food into 50 food parcels before meeting the families outside the chief’s office for the distribution event. Each family received 12kg of maize flour, 2L of cooking oil, 100g of tea leaves, a bar of soap, 4.5kg of dried beans, 2 cabbages, 3.4kg of tomatoes, 3kg of onions, 1 kilo of salt , 4kg of sugar and 4kg of rice.
Loldia House food drive – photo credit Keith Mwenesi
The families were so grateful for the assistance as highlighted in this note of thanks from Mama Mbuga: “Thank you Governors’ Camp for your support, now we can enjoy Christmas! We are very happy for the community support that you are engaging in; it makes a big difference in our lives, as anybody can imagine. Thank you and bless you”.
Keeping things going in the Masai Mara
On the 16th of December we facilitated the second support event within one month. We were able to provide almost four tons worth of food parcels to a further 120 families in the Masai Mara. We first distributed support to 35 families living in the Aitong area, followed by a further 85 families in the Mara Rianda area. Each family received 5kg of beans, 12kg of maize, 100g of tea leaves, 2kg of cooking fat, 4.5kg of sugar, one cabbage, 4.5kg of rice, 200g of salt and a bar of soap.
Both the Loldia food drive and the second Masai Mara food drive were 100% supported using funds donated by the Chairman’s Foundation via The Wilderness Trust. We wish to express our sincere thanks to everyone who has made this work possible. Together we are helping to alleviate some of the pressure that these families are facing caused by the crash in tourism due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Highlighting the work of the Friends of the Karen Street Children
In Kenya, primary schooling is free (except for uniforms, shoes and some books) – but secondary schooling has to be paid for. This means that many children simply cannot continue school after the age of 14, even if they are very bright. This is a huge loss, for the child, for the family and for the community – and the missing of an opportunity to climb out of grinding poverty.
The Karen Street Children’s Trust was established in 1995 with the purpose of rehabilitating children who had drifted onto the streets in the suburban area of Karen, Nairobi. These children all came from very impoverished backgrounds and were living desperate lives surviving on whatever they could find. Applications to the Trust are reviewed by a committee and once admitted to the programme, school fees are paid and uniforms and all school shopping provided for them. All of the Trust’s children are in boarding schools since often the home circumstances are very hard. Students meet at the Trust’s centre in the holidays where they are able to socialise, have a hearty lunch and take part in extra tuition in subjects they may find difficult. Funds permitting the Trust aims to take each student through tertiary education and then using contacts in the local community, to find opportunities of employment. To date, 186 children have been helped – WATCH THE VIDEO.
Governors’ Camp co-founder, Dr. Romi Grammaticas, is also the founder and chairman of the KSC Trust and has ensured a long-lasting relationship between the company and the Trust. Governors’ has provided logistical support, apprenticeship training schemes, job opportunities and long term employment for many of the Trust’s graduates.
Governors’ Camps provides apprenticeships and employment opportunities for KSTC
Each graduate who gains employment is lifted into a secure life. In Kenya there is a tradition of help within families so every KSC scholar in employment is likely to be helping to pull their families out of desperate poverty. We are very proud to be allied with and support this impactful project which has touched so many lives.
Dr Romi Grammaticas
Did you know that you can raise FREE donations for The Karen Street Children’s Trust when you buy things from Amazon? All you need to do is create a free account at smile.amazon.co.uk
AmazonSmile is a website operated by Amazon that lets you enjoy the same wide selection of products, low prices and convenient shopping features as on amazon.co.uk. The difference is that when you shop on smile.amazon.co.uk, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the net purchase price (excluding VAT, returns and shipping fees) to the eligible charitable organisation of your choice. So, we are kindly asking you to please select the Karen Street Children’s Trust as your preferred charity when doing your online shopping. Thank you.
You can learn more about the charity via their website www.karenstreetchildren.org and you can catch a copy of their December 2020 newsletter HERE.
By Alisa Karstad, Community and Conservation Manager for Governors’ Camp Collection.
