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Updated
April 5th 2012
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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.
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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
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St. Columba's
Vocational School for Girls, Kitui
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| 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 |
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(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!
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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.
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About
Friends of Kitui-
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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
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St Michaels
School Formally Opened on February 26th., 2011
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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
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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
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Why
not get on-line now and donate your unwanted gifts? It's
easy- just click on the logo below!
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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!
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Click
on the logo to go to GiveandBuy.com
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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!
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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
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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.
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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.
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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. |
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Empowerment
of Women |
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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.
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...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 |
A
woman breaks stones in Kitui to earn a few shillings for her family.
Click
to enlarge
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The
average per capita income in Kitui is less than €2 per
day |
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How other groups are helping Kitui |
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Dublin's
Rathgar Parish partners with Kyuso in Kitui
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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
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Learn
more about Kitui-
geography, history,
it's people, and statistics- and why we should help.
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