We support people in need in Kitui, Kenya. 
We work to provide the marginalised with clean water and access to education, and to empower them by boosting their economic independence. 

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Updated April 5th  2012

Annual Financial Report

We have previously let you know about a delay in presenting the financial reports for 2010 and 2011.

In the past, we have been able to present this essential information shortly after the end of the financial year. We take our responsibility for accountability  very seriously and we wish to assure all our supporters that full details will be reported in due course.

Our principal partner in 2010 & 2011, and since Friends of Kitui was founded in 2005, for the execution of projects in Kitui has been the Development Department of the Catholic Diocese of Kitui.  We have been seeking a full reconciliation of project finances, prior to initiating any new programmes.  We became aware that a number of cumulative misunderstandings (each relatively minor in the overall context) concerning the allocation of funds transferred to the correct expenditure headings has resulted in an apparent surplus under certain project headings and an apparent deficit under others. There is no question whatever of any misuse or loss of any funds transferred. Over the seven year period, there has been a number of personnel changes in the Diocese of Kitui and the introduction of new financial systems, which is only now catching up on this situation.

Since January 2011, no new water projects have been initiated through the Diocese, pending a resolution of the situation mentioned above, and the status of certain other smaller projects is on hold.

The Friends of Kitui school fee support programme continues under the direction of the Education Department of the Diocese of Kitui. Additional students have been taken into this programme this year (2012).

The Diocese of Kitui is under immense pressure to deal with the humanitarian emergency resulting mainly from a series of failed seasonal rains. However  Bishop Anthony Muheria has promised us that he will prioritise this matter and to have a resolution by early May 2012, following which we will publish an up to date statement of project status.

Schools & Education Update

Without a secondary school qualification, it is almost impossible to secure permanent employment in Kitui. Over 30 students from very needy backgrounds, some orphaned by AIDS or other causes, who would otherwise have no chance of doing so, are this year able to attend secondary school through the generosity of Friends of Kitui supporters.

 Sponsorship means that each child gets food, accommodation and tuition for a school year. Although tuition is free of charge in all government owned schools, total costs range from €300 to €500 per student per annum for tuition, full board, textbooks and personal essentials.

 Please redouble your efforts to support these needy children. In times of economic downturn, it is always the most marginalised who suffer first.

  Read More

St. Columba's Vocational School for Girls, Kitui

St Columba's offers a syllabus that is 70% vocational and 30% academic, and has a Production Unit within the centre where one term is spent in gaining industrial experience.

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Friends of Kitui has contributed towards equipping a computer lab (left) where students gain experience on business-oriented software applications, as well as gaining up-to-date communications skills.

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Students at the polytechnic, which is run by the Ursuline Sisters in Kenya study the core second-level subjects, but with a particular emphasis on life skills and work skills. The girls are encouraged to develop their sense of self-worth so that in future they can realise their dignity as individuals, and live their lives in freedom with a strong sense of security.

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(Above) Sr Clare Ursula Tobin with four of the students.

(Right) Some of the students pictured in November 2010 standing on the site of two new classrooms funded by Friends of Kitui. Construction is now completed

P9300008.JPG (74033 bytes) (Above) The centre provides training in cookery and hospitality skills. Friends of Kitui has contributed towards the extension of the cookery kitchen. The centre intends to offer Food processing as an exam subject in 2012

 

What we have achieved so far- with your support!

Water Projects

In total, we have now completed 64 projects benefiting 27,800 people.

 

School Fees

Over 30 students, who would otherwise have no chance of doing so, are this year able to attend secondary school through the generosity of Friends of Kitui supporters

 

School Building Programme

A new 450-student St Michael's primary boarding school has been constructed.

At Makayauni, an isolated community in a very arid area of Kitui, a new primary school serving 280 pupils has also been completed.

In addition, other groups working under the Friends of Kitui umbrella have supported income generating projects such as The Honey Project, micro-businesses for chicken rearing, and a project for the manufacture of Aloe Vera soap in Zombe.

 

About Friends of Kitui-

What we do

What we believe

Who are we?

What have we achieved?

 

Water Projects Update

Our Fourth Round of water projects has now been completed. These 27 new projects in 25 locations will serve a total of 14,800 people.This time we have included sanitation projects.

The preceding three rounds have delivered 37 projects which have helped bring cleaner, safer water to over 13,000 people in 33 villages and 4 schools. In total, we have now completed 64 projects benefiting 27,800 people.

 

A special thanks to ElectricAid who have funded water harvesting facilities at five schools, and to the people of Rathgar Parish who have funded 10 projects in the Kyuso area of Kitui

 

For updated photo-documentary on the construction of Sand Dams, Click HERE

Click Here for more about Water Projects

 

St Michaels School Formally Opened on February 26th., 2011

The official opening of Phase One (classrooms) of the St. Michael's School Project took place in Kitui on Feb 26th. Students will commence on May 1st, which is the beginning of the school term.

This is fantastic news, the culmination of 5 years work and we are sincerely thankful to all our supporters. In particular I would like to thank Paul Healy, who had the vision to make this happen.


The final figure for construction costs has reached €600,000 euro of which we still have €30,000 to raise.


Aidan Corless

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Read more about St. Michael's School HERE

 

480 students will now experience a primary school education in surroundings of modern standards. 

 

The school is dedicated to the memory of Fr. Joe Corless C.S.Sp, late of Blackrock College, Dublin

Read More

 

Why not get on-line now and donate your unwanted gifts? It's easy- just click on the logo below!

Give and Buy was devised by two Irish charities focused on Africa - Friends of Kitui (Kenya) and CareAid (Tanzania and Zambia).

Think of it as a "Charity e-bay" totally focused on helping others!

Click on the logo to go to GiveandBuy.com

GiveandBuy will send 100% of the funds it receives to your chosen charity.

Sell your unwanted household and workplace items, and your professional skills, to benefit others!

 

We bring you two stories of change which could not have happened without your support!

Water Projects- Our First Story of Change

Click HERE to read a fantastic story of change from one of the 64 water projects now completed by Friends of Kitui

And the second story- Makayauni School Building Project is now completed!

 

At a parents meeting on September 22nd 2010,  the Head Teacher said:

“The one thing that I would say Friends Of Kitui has achieved in Makayauni is not so much the construction of beautiful buildings, but the awakening of the community to realise the potential they have of transforming things when they work together."

18 months ago we set out in partnership with the teachers, parents and local community  to build a non-denominational Primary School in Makayauni, which will provide free education to approximately 290 children of all denominations and beliefs. The school  cost €42,000 for 8 classrooms and an administration block. This is a joint effort between the people of Dalkey in Ireland and Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex, England in partnership with the community of Makayauni. The project has been managed on the ground by the Development Department of the Diocese of Kitui.

Work commenced January 2010, and the four classroom blocks and administration block have now been completed, giving the school 8 new classrooms.  The community gathered materials such as sand and gravel, provided unskilled labour, and manufactured bricks for the construction works. 

In a "Baraza" (community meeting) held on September 22nd, the School Committee set out their priorities for further improvements. These are for further water harvesting facilities, furniture for the classrooms, a pre-school or nursery classroom, and more toilets.

Your further help towards funding equipment and facilities for the school would be greatly appreciated.

 Read More Here

For up to date photos of the new buildings click HERE

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The new classrooms are put into use! The parents and teachers are now studying their priorities for the next stage- furniture and equipment for the school. On the extreme left the 50,000 litre water storage tank supplied by Friends of Kitui can be seen beside one of the new classroom blocks. The School Principal Mr Kamanga with the Senior Teacher, Mrs Marjorie Njeru, outside the administration block. November 2010- Terry Dunne from Dalkey Outreach inspects the new school buildings.

 

 

Empowerment of Women

The Honey Project

Sometimes we get it wrong...

  Our dream was to initiate a honey business in each of the 23 parishes of the Diocese of Kitui that would be managed, owned and operated for the sole purpose of empowering women financially, so that the women would have economic power to direct their own lives and have resources to care for their families.

The Honey Project has had limited success. Just over one-third of the 200 hives supplied by Friends of Kitui are currently occupied by bees. 

Following the first hints late 2007 that there could be problems in achieving a satisfactorily high level of hive occupancy we have used funds donated for womens empowerment projects for such activities as soap making, basket making and chicken rearing, with the more dynamic women's groups..

Click HERE for an update on the Honey Project

Worldwide, more than two thirds of those living in poverty are women.The underlying reasons are the status of women, gender issues, and lack of equality.

For generations, women have borne the greatest burden of famine, discrimination, and being treated as second class citizens.  Kitui Diocese has had a women's programme for over fifteen years with a full time women's co-ordinator working for the financial, cultural and social empowerment of all women.  

...more often we get it right......

Three womens groups in the parish of Zombe have now built up a track record in micro-businesses. These income generating activities produce a significant contribution to the household budget and give a small cash reserve to meet unexpected demands. The women organised themselves, each group electing their Chairperson, Secretary, & Treasurer, and collected a small contribution from each member. The seed capital was used for training in soap manufacture, using the local aloe vera plants, and for purchase of materials and equipment. 1300 bars of soap and 130 beautifully made handbags were shipped to Ireland and sold at the Dalkey Outreach monthly coffee mornings.  

The “Chicken Group” got together in 2008 and funded the construction of a chicken coop in Zombe from their own resources. Following that successful pilot scheme, Friends of Kitui is now supporting a larger scale project and will contribute further seed capital to purchase good quality breeding stock and to provide the essential vaccinations against endemic diseases. 

Read more HERE

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A woman breaks stones in Kitui to earn a few shillings for her family.

Click to enlarge

 
 

The average per capita income in Kitui is less than €2 per day

How other groups are helping Kitui

Dublin's Rathgar Parish  partners with Kyuso in Kitui

Read more

The H2O Challenge!

How the people of Minnesota are helping Kitui Click here for more

Friends of Kitui now extends to Sussex in the UK. 

People in Shoreham-by-Sea learnt of the efforts and wanted to contribute towards developments in Kitui. To start the fund-raising endeavours, Maureen and Bernard Challen, who celebrate 40 years of marriage in August 2009, asked that any gifts to them be in the form of donations to Kitui, especially the building of a new schoolroom as a part of the Makayauni school project.

Various activities and fund-raising events from Sussex are envisaged to support the Friends of Kitui. Read More

Learn more about Kitui-

geography, history, it's people, and statistics- and why we should help. 

 

Click here