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PROJECT REPORT
By Sophie Rodger
Eramba School.
During the two months of July and August 2009, I spent my time at Eramba Mixed Secondary School in the Kisii region of Kenya working on a sustainable resource investment project whereby myself and my project partner bought over 550 textbooks and spent more than £500 on science equipment for the 220 students. The aim of the project was to do what we could to boost exam results in this small rural school by giving them a more concrete foundation for education through providing the basic – but essential – tools of learning that were majorly lacking before our arrival. Through better exam results, it is hoped that more students will gain the necessary grades to undertake further education at one of the colleges or universities in the region, ultimately improving their employment prospects.
Students sorting the text books.
In addition to buying textbooks, science apparatus, sports equipment, and organising a (brilliant!) sports day, I played a leading role in the research and production of an extensive careers guide that informs students about every institution for higher education available to them in Kisii, as well as giving crucial information on the application process and funding (including scholarships) that they can benefit from. Having questioned the students at length, we found that their awareness of the post-education opportunities available to them was minimal, prompting us to find out all we could for ourselves and then making that information readily available to them. With the support of the regional District Commissioner for Education (somewhat of a ‘top dog’!) this guide has now been placed in every secondary school in the Kisii region, hopefully standing as a testament to both its significance and value. This was a massive undertaking in itself but worth every ounce of the painstaking work that went into it even if just one student reads it, follows its advice and is inspired to gain further qualifications after school that may ultimately change their life prospects in a country where unemployment and poverty rates are sky-high.
Sophie with one of the HFT book inserts she personally organised.
On a personal level, something I found myself doing a lot while in Kenya was looking around and making comparisons, often even subconsciously, between our ex-colony – its vibrancy, its variety, its amazingly positive people and their attitudes - and us. And one of the most striking differences I found was in the attitudes towards education of both the young and old alike. Unlike in Britain where education is now very much taken for granted, Kenyans – and especially Kenyan students – view education as something to be incredibly grateful for, as almost a lifeline, as a ticket out of extreme poverty. In realising this you couldn’t help but have such awesome respect for so many of the students at Eramba who took their education to be so precious, like the group of Form 4s who didn’t go home in the holidays but slept and studied in school, getting up at 3.30am and not going to bed again until 11 or 12pm. Yet it also this same realisation that made - or rather makes – me feel so profoundly fortunate for the education I have been privileged enough to receive. Perhaps the most inescapable comparison was that that surrounded me every day - the comparative wealth of Kenyans to British people. Poverty is deep-rooted but importantly, so too is happiness. Of course the students marvelled in wonder and excitement at my touch-screen digital camera but their happiness does not stem from the endless pursuit of acquiring new gadget after new gadget. Rather, their love for life and positivity were kindled, as far as I could observe, from something most people in Britain have never known – a collective community spirit in which everyone helps each other and in which everyone has a place. Of course Kenya needs to develop, I just sincerely hope that 100 years from now the Eramba community has managed to preserve the rich culture of kindness I was lucky enough to be welcomed into.
It is a cliché, but an entirely fitting one nonetheless; the whole project from start to finish was a life-changing experience, providing me with both memories and firm friends that will last long into the future. If I can capture it by painting one brief picture, I would choose the evening before we left the village having spent over 2 months there; invited to one of the student’s grandmother’s house, 8 of us sat around a little wooden table on crates, surrounded by 4 mud walls with chickens pottering around beneath our feet. By the light of one paraffin lamp, we ate sukumweki and ugali while talking for hours about all of our families, about Eramba beating two other teams to the football trophy at sports day, about corruption in high-politics and the post-election violence of 2007 and about the different attitudes to religion found in Britain and Kenya. For me, this evening captured possibly the most valuable aspect of the whole project – cultural exchange; the chance for not only me to learn about how ordinary Kenyan’s live, but for them to glimpse how we live in Britain.
Lastly, I am massively grateful to the trust for making this experience possible through your generous funding. Please continue to help and support future students make a difference to the people of communities like Eramba! Many thanks!
Jo Bayley - Kenya
Children at The School Holiday Club took part in Sign Language classes and also took time to say “Thank You Hazel’s Footprints Trust”
In October 2008 I began a year long voluntary placement with Action for Children in Conflict, a UK based charity which works in Thika, Kenya to prevent and rehabilitate street children. Although Hazel’s Footprints Trust were unable to support me with my personal costs whilst volunteering, they made a kind and generous donation to Action for Children in Conflict (AfCiC) and, over the course of my placement, I was able to see this money put to extremely good use.
AfCiC work to transform the lives of vulnerable children affected by various forms of conflict or crisis. Their projects focus on helping some of the most disadvantaged, disenfranchised and socially excluded children and young people in Kenya. The children come from backgrounds of abject poverty, family breakdown and abuse. They are in conflict with the law, living and working in the streets and have little or no access to education. Many resort to substance abuse as a means of escaping the cold and hunger which pervade their daily lives.
AfCiC believes that these children and young people have the capacity to change their own lives for the better and it is the charity’s role to nurture this process. AfCiC works alongside the children and young people helping to transform them into responsible individuals and productive members of their community. After all, it is these children who are the future of a developing country like Kenya.
Under their Third Aim, Hazel’s Footprints Trust granted £2310 to Action for Children in Conflict to be used to promote education amongst the disenfranchised children they work with. £1600 was used in to cover the salary of AfCiC’s Education Empowerment Officer for one year. During this time the Education Empowerment Officer, along with other AfCiC members of staff, undertook school drop out prevention workshops in five of the most vulnerable schools in Thika. This included a school for the visually impaired, a school for physically disabled children and two schools recognised to be attended by children who are at high risk of child labour. During these workshops over 100 teachers were trained on preventing school drop out and raising awareness of child abuse. Teachers learnt to deal with children who come from impoverished and abusive backgrounds and how to recognise children who are victims of abuse. AfCiC are now planning to undertake further work to facilitate better communication between children and teachers and to work with teachers to draw up set procedures to be followed when they suspect a child is being abused.
In addition £200 was given to enable the Education Empowerment Officer and AfCiC’s Interim Care Centre Teacher to undertake sign language training. AfCiC works with several children who are deaf and mute and, until Hazel’s Footprints Trust enabled our staff to learn sign language, we were unable to communicate effectively with them. Thanks to individual child sponsors, the children attend a boarding school especially for deaf children but now when they return to us in the school holidays we are able to provide them with the care and support they need. We have also introduced sign language classes to our School Holiday Clubs so all the other children we work with are also learning to sign.
Children at Kiambu School for the Deaf
AfCiC’s Interim Care Centre (ICC) provides a residential rehabilitation programme for street boys. The Interim Care Centre provides temporary residential care to street children who have particular problems as the result of solvent addiction, family breakdown or abuse, and who cannot, for these reasons, return home immediately. We carry out intensive non-formal education, rehabilitation and family reintegration work whilst providing a nurturing, protective and structured environment. Hazel’s Footprints Trust gave £210 to purchase new textbooks for the ICC in order that the children can be taught the correct Kenyan curriculum to ensure their successful reintegration into the mainstream schooling system at the end of their rehabilitation.
Former street children enjoy reading their new books.
On behalf of Action for Children in Conflict I would like to sincerely thank Hazel’s Footprints Trust and all the people who support the charity in their invaluable work. The money donated to AfCiC has made a significant improvement to the services we are able to offer the beneficiaries of the charity and we hope that the impact of the activities carried out thanks to the grant made by Hazel’s Footprints Trust will be felt for many years to come.
Asenteni Sana!
(Swahili for thank you very much!)
Cameroons Library
Joe Abel has sent us another few photos of the Lycee de Lara Library in the Cameroons we built last year. Maybe Ben and his merry gang on Rally Africa can call in on their way by next December ….if they are still going by then as the finish is in Kribi in the Cameroons!!!
Sophie Rodgers
As already mentioned on the Editorial page Sophie Rodgers has been successful in applying for funding for school equipment for her trip to Kenya in the summer.
Viet Nam
Jenny Flynn is working wonders out in Viet Nam now she has returned from the USA for a further year. Below are extracts from her and Mr Viet’s latest news report:-
A Message from Mr Viet - Executive Director:
Despite of the high inflation rate, pricing up and bad weather, we have been still able to have another successful year of operation. Many disadvantaged lives have been changed in the past year. We have been able to make all of them happy again and they have been growing up safely and healthy.
With the assistant from some returning volunteers, we have been able to make our program more structured and organized which enabled volunteers to contribute the most their skills during their placements and brought more benefits to the local communities. The world crisis has not stopped the flow of international volunteers who have great hearts coming to our program. 180 international volunteers have been placed to our programs. Thousands of working hours have been donated and the other donation is equivalent to USD 75,000. Thank you very much volunteers for your great contribution.
I went to a meeting with local government of the location where we are based in Da Nang and I was told Vietnam will be still affected by the world economic crisis in 2009. From the chairman of people committee, I knew that there are thousand of poor children in that area; and I found that we would have responsibilities to another 200 orphans and street children who live nearby GVN office who need helps from us. This would make the number of children we work with to around 1,200. We would love to have around 250 volunteers to come and work with us in 2009. May you enjoy a healthy life and endless luck in this brand new year!!!
Happy New Year
A note from Jen Flynn - Operations Manager
My ‘Welcome Home’ from staff, volunteers and the kids was fabulous! I came back in time to celebrate Christmas, my birthday AND New Years all within 10 days! We are hard at work now planning for 2009 – Training for Staff is ongoing, Sustainable Fundraising plans are in the works as are plans to Build Partnerships with other NGOs to strengthen our presence in Vietnam.
I’m very proud of the GVN Staff and Volunteers who worked hard in a terrible rainy season while I was in the U.S. They fought the battle of Mother Nature and won! Despite the worldwide economic issues, I had a successful ‘working holiday’ and was able to raise $3600 on my trip home (THANKS TO EVERYONE!!). I’m happy to be able to add my share of support for needed food and supplies for the kids.
The Chinese New Year is only 3 weeks away! Vietnam celebrates this holiday with a 3 day party and almost one week holiday. Our volunteers will pitch in to give some of the mothers and GVN Staff some well deserved time off.
If you aren't already a member, please join us on Facebook!! Search: 'Global Volunteer Network Vietnam' for messages, photos and videos.
HFT London Kenya Project
The aim for HFT London is to donate over £5,500 to the sports project with an on-going commitment to support the sports training on a three year basis as we are always very keen to help with self-sustainability and continuity of projects.
There are an estimated 1.1 million orphans in Kenya of which 150,000 are HIV positive. The Lawson High School project focuses on Kitui district. It seeks to alleviate the impact on society of orphans growing up in child headed households without moral, educational or parental guidance in an impoverished semi arid area of the country. The project will provide the orphans a guaranteed opportunity to go to secondary school, leading to the possibility of going to university and getting a job that can allow them to break the cycle of poverty that has affected their families.
Currently around 300 orphans live in Nyumbani Village in Kitui, Eastern Kenya. They are all being looked after by the Nyumbani organization (http://www.nyumbani.org/) which ensures they receive the medicine, nutrition and medical care they need. All the children have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS, and a small proportion are themselves HIV positive.
The children currently go to the Hotcourses Primary School, built and run by the UK organization The Hotcourses Foundation (http://www.hotcoursesfoundation.org/). Currently 272 children are enrolled at the school, which opened in May 2007. Despite only being open a year, the school were the top performing school in its (out of 20 schools) and the second best performing school in its division (42 schools) in a recent government assessment exercise.
In Kenya, primary school lasts 7 years and finishes when children reach 14. After that, those with good results can get into fee-paying secondary schools (only state primary schools are free). The children in Nyumbani Village, if lucky enough to get into a secondary school, face long bus journeys of at least two hours each day if they are continue their education.
Lawson High School will address these needs by providing a secondary school in their village. It will be the only secondary school in the area and will provide a guaranteed school to which children from the Hotcourses Primary School can graduate. Opening in January 2010 for those currently in their final year of the Primary School, it will start with 60-80 students, and expand to around 400 students over the following four years.
However the school suffers from an almost total lack of sports facilities. Two rusty goals provide an improvised football pitch on an unleveled plot with numerous rocks and obstructions preventing the playing of a serious game. The new facilities will offer an athletics track, a tarmac basketball ground, a leveled football pitch with new goals and finance for sports kit, boots and coaching for the children of the school.
The aim is to transform the school sports facilities. This will both boost morale and motivation, and have a significant impact on academic results. The immediate objectives are as follows:
- Level the football pitch, removing protruding rocks and a water inspection chamber. It is not proposed to grass it because it would be difficult to maintain in the local climate given the frequent water shortages.
- New goals for the football pitch
- Lay an athletics track with a murram surface
- Purchase equipment for athletics, including javelins, discuss, high jump etc
- Lay a tarmac basketball pitch
- Put sand down for a volleyball pitch
- Purchase 30 pairs of trainers and 30 pairs of football boots
- Purchase sports kit for 60 children
- Arrange part-time sports coaching
Loreto School Project to Kolcata in India.
It’s no secret to the people closest to me that I loathe the country I live in, I don’t hide this fact and I’m not ashamed to admit to it, I’m sure there are more people who feel the same way. My dislike for Britain was one of the reasons fuelling my ambition to become a volunteer, but as the project progressed my reasons began to both broaden and deepen in meaning. I did not have many reasons to speak about, but the few I did I could have spoken about so passionately and truthfully it would not have made any difference. The typical volunteering cliché is wanting to “make a change”- yes we all wanted that, but I wanted something more. I wanted to stand back from the majority and say that I had done something about world poverty, and I am unlike the rest who acknowledge the desperateness of the situation but do nothing to help. If you live in ignorance, like most of us do then you can have a clear conscience, I however am not an ignorant person. I was unsure as to what would be expected of me as part of the team, but I knew I could offer my genuinely open heart and lively personality to the project, after all I believe that good actions made heartlessly is as bad as no action at all.
My fears were not of going away or leaving my family, my main concern was losing my passport (at least then, however, I wouldn’t have had to come back to England). The idea that I was going to Kolkata was great, but the reality didn’t come until much later… the flight over there in fact! Because of this, I was scared of the actual day arriving, the day when I had to take all the advice and instructions and put them into action. When that day did come, I stood at the train station and distinctly remember thinking “what the hell am I doing”, the fear was evident as my link teacher came to cheer me up, and succeeded! Truthfully, I had no expectations of India since I tried to think of it as little as possible. My vague idea of India was heat, humidity and poverty. It was all of these things, and much more!
Rebecca with kids all over her.
As a summary of my first impression of Kolkata I can confidently say I hated it. I suddenly realised I was about to spend a month in a hot and over populated city which reeked of a combination of curry’s, sweat and urine. I was now living in a place where I was as important as a cow! Believe me when I say, it’s a compliment. Soon enough we slipped into the regular routine. Mornings were spent teaching, the afternoon was filled with research and preparation for the following days lesson, whilst the evening was what we all looked forward to as being when we saw the Rainbow children. As much as we all enjoyed teaching, it was by far the most challenging thing about the trip. The Hindi speaking year four’s were more than difficult to control, but a delight to teach… once we had their attention. The problem arose when we realised that everyday for them consisted of colouring, playing and when they were learning it was only to write and re-write the alphabet continuously. After much discussion we decided the best way was to not break their routine, but to assist, and expand on their knowledge. Meanwhile we would make a scrapbook of the English phonetics (accompanied by the Hindi pronunciation) for the teachers to teach the children themselves.
The Thakurpukur project was a success, we established the sustainable project and funded a bookshelf in each classroom filled with 200 books for the students to read at their leisure. The only unfortunate thing being that the school was to be demolished and re-built within the year so we could not see our project in progress, but the sister promised to take pictures and keep us updated.
Anisha and crazy kids.
My many memories of Kolkata I have, one stands out to have changed and affected me in a way I could never imagine. Firstly, we had met a man (Sandip) who asked us to his house to play music. We gratefully accepted and looked forward to it. Whilst there I found myself speaking with Sundeep’s father, he innocently opened the family photo album and showed me his “beautiful wife” and explained how proud he was of his family. The conversation deepened and he told me of his older son Sundip, he had been horribly bullied at university to such a degree he wanted to end his life. I spoke with Sundip and his father and mother for an hour or so, and they gleamed smiles at me left, right and centre. Before we left, Sundip asked me anything I could give him to remember me by, I had only friendship bands that the Rainbow girls had given me, so I gave him one. When Sundip ran of to get pen and paper for my email address his mother began to cry and said “thank you for befriending him, I’m so grateful”, I myself wanted to cry. I realised that I was his first friend, and may have changed his life for ever.
What I got out of the project is difficult to put into words; my attitude towards Britain has changed, I no longer hate it… I just pity it. But more personally, the trip has made me appreciate just about everything good in my life. I appreciate a good education, I appreciate my family, and actually I understand now more than ever how important it is to take full advantage and enjoy life as much as possible. For every moment we spend upset or angry, is another moment of suffering for not just the girls in India but for all the third world countries. Another moment where we complain about our lives when their lives are so simple and disadvantaged but yet, they look through happy eyes, showing their gleaming white smiles to the rest of the world. What the Rainbow girls got from us I believe is mostly a fun playtime, but I hope they know that somebody cares. The Rainbow girls being orphans of course, they have known nothing but rejection. I hope they realise that we care and love them, and that they have changed our lives as much as we have theirs.
Rebecca and Rainbow kids.
Being back in Manchester for me is extremely difficult. I find myself once again plunged back into the society which I strongly dislike. I find myself thinking even more so now, that some people are ignorant, and have no desire to change their lives for the better. As my friends and family talk about the latest technology or boast about the amount of money they spend on clothes, I think of the Rainbow girls and hope to god I will never forget that way of living. I would do anything to live their lives for them, if I could fly out there again this very instant I would do, and I would be much happier living there than I would do right now living here.
I intend on travelling much more when I go to University, and plans for a gap year are already in progress. My initial career plan to be a teacher has stayed the same, but now I am inclined to teach over-seas exactly like I have done this summer. In the society we live in now, I believe that young people have been negatively stereotyped. What our project has allowed us to do, is to break that stereotype and show that not all teenagers are the same. Many of us do want to help; it’s just unfortunate that very few have the means to do so. We are the first from our college to start the project, hopefully the younger students will see the opportunity and jump at the chance, just as we did, and change their lives for ever, just as it has done ours.
Cameroons Library Final Report Sept 2008.
The library building for the Lycee de Lara in Cameroon was finished at the end of June 2008. The Library has a large reading room, a space for the librarian to work in and an office. It’s equipped with two long tables with benches either side and a large bookshelf.
The building would have been finished much earlier, but the work was delayed for two months because of a shortage of cement that affected the whole of Cameroon.
We received four parcels of books, about thirty books in total, from Balfour Junior School, who raised the money by selling fair trade bananas as part of the year six fair trade project. These books include novels by African writers, dictionaries, Atlases and books looking the problems surrounding HIV in Africa. We were also able to put in a new photocopier as my parents donated the money to buy this. The photocopier will be very useful as students will be able to copy pages that they need to do homework.
The library committee is now going to raise money from local elites to provide textbooks for the library. The development committee of Lara (an organisation set up by the chief to undertake projects in the village) will also provide some money to buy books.
The library committee will oversee the librarian and organise regular audits of the books, as well as deciding what new books to buy each year with the part of the school budget that is dedicated to the library.
Having a library in the school will improve the chances of all students going to the Lycee especially for those who come from very poor backgrounds. Everyone at the school and in the community gives their thanks to Hazel’s Footprints and to those who raised the money. It will make a big and lasting difference.
Edinburgh Global Partnerships
Dear Hazel’s Footprints Trust,
The student-run volunteering charity Edinburgh Global Partnerships (http://www.egp.org.uk/) has supported New Vision for the past couple of years. In summer 2006 the first group of 8 student volunteers went out with £7000 raised in the UK to help renovate the 2 original classrooms and build 2 new ones to accommodate the extra pupils who were starting at the school each year. The 2007 EGP project with New Vision School involved the construction of a dormitory to enable children from further away to study at the school, whereas before the catchment was limited by the distance children could walk in to attend school each day.
The dormitory taking shape. 2007.
The role of the volunteers was to help out on the building site and in the school wherever needed. Digging the foundations in the first week was definitely the hardest task, and on site they sieved sand, mixed cement, and moved earth, rocks and bricks. The children at the school were fantastic and the volunteers would take any opportunity to sneak off site to play with them!
Infrastructure is only one part of a successful school; so much depends on the skills of their teachers, and there has been a shortage of qualified teachers in Tanzania as the number of schools keeps expanding. In 2005 New Vision School had 4 great teachers but none were fully qualified. With money left over from the 2006 construction project that was finished under-budget, New Vision and EGP set up a revolving teacher training fund that would provide the funds to send promising local students to teacher training college, who would then work for the school. The first participant was a young man called Evelius who at the end of his first year was second best out of all the trainees in the college. Hazel’s Footprints Trust kindly donated the funds for his second year’s training, and so by the end of this academic year New Vision will have an excellent new teacher arriving.
Hazel’s Footprints Trust has also provided money towards textbooks for New Vision School, which I know will have been greatly appreciated by all the students who are incredibly enthusiastic and keen to learn. The Form 4 pupils (the highest year) sat their national exams towards the end of last year and did exceptionally well – amongst the best in the district. With students setting their sights no lower than becoming Prime Minister (right) and President (far right) of Tanzania they certainly have a long way to go but I have a lot of faith in them!
Tanzania's future leaders with Josiah, the project leader.
On behalf of everybody from Edinburgh Global Partnerships who has been lucky enough to be involved with these projects over the past couple of years, I would like to say thank you so much to Hazel Footprint’s Trust for your support of the students and teachers of New Vision School. Please keep up your great work.
Janet Crossley
(Tanzania project coordinator 2006, EGP committee 2007-08)
Hazel’s Footprints Trust is delighted to announce several projects we are supporting under our Third Aims banner.
- Firstly, with generous financial help from the Craignish Trust in Edinburgh we are building a sports field and changing room in Xorikas which is a small town with very few facilities in the heart of Damaraland in Namibia. Although primarily for the school it will also be able to be used by the town as a whole giving a much needed recreational area to the community before the threat of housing overtakes the proposed site.
- Secondly, through Elliot Grant’s London Marathon (see Fund Raising events) efforts we are giving a donation to the Mukuru Orphanage and School in Nairobi and, as well as the money Elliot raises, we at HFT are delighted to match fund his fund raising efforts up to £1,000.
- Farming friends Guy and Philly Lee and their daughters Emma and Annabel have been involved in raising money for Nserester Foundation in Uganda over the last couple of years. Again HFT is delighted to help out by giving them a donation of £1,500 towards the tractor which has in fact now been bought and put to good use on the plot of land as well as being hired out to others thereby bringing in some extra income to the orphanage, but you can read below in Guy and Philly’s own words what a difference they and the Rev Dr Issac are making to Ugandan children’s lives. You can read all about the orphanage/school at http://www.nserester.com/
And lastly, but by no means least we are pleased to be helping out with an Edinburgh University project in the Kagera Region of Tanzania under the banner of Edinburgh Global Partnerships http://www.edinburgh-global-partnerships.org/ called The New Vision Nursery and Primary School. We were approached and asked if we could help by Hannah Pavey who went out to the project with the University last year and so we are sponsoring one of the teachers to go for a year to take a teacher training course so that they are recognised by the Government education system and are also donating £250 so that they can buy new text books for the national curriculum. Co-incidentally this is the same Edin Uni group which Emma Lee (above) went with to Nserester in Uganda a few years ago and they seem very good at picking projects which involve a large slice of self help from residents within the country; something we at HFT are very keen to see as it means there is a bigger chance of continuity in the long term.
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