From the wonderfully cool climate of Nairobi, we set off the next day via the hot and humid Kisumu to the village of Awasi near Lake Victoria.
We were already a little worried after the shocking news in April of the death of Rose Omia, the “angel” of the Mathare slum in Nairobi and founder and “mastermind” of the community center and preschool we support in her home community of Awasi.
In the 7 years since its foundation, this project has developed so well during our regular visits.
And we were very pleasantly surprised by the cheerful group of children with dances and little “shows” and the motivated employees who greeted us and proudly showed us the progress they had made together in the meantime: for example, the women’s self-help group, which had enabled some members to take their first steps towards greater economic independence with the help of mutual microloans.
Or the group of “rainworkers”, who hold regular workshops to educate people on issues such as family planning and women’s rights. They believe that they have already seen a decline in the birth rate and, in particular, teenage pregnancies.
The large community hall is almost finished and will later be rented out and used as an additional source of income for the project.
A well test drilling is planned and could dramatically improve the water supply not only for the school but also for the surrounding families and also enable the planned reforestation project.
“Mother” Rose Omia had planned all of this and transferred her social work, which had been so beneficial up to that point, to her home community, but how should things continue without her? We had the impression that this had already been successful since her death and, together with the members of the Mary Hill Selfhelp Group, the supporting organization of this center, we were also able to work out a new management structure. We therefore left Awasi, this “small but mighty” project, convinced that it would continue to develop positively.
At our second destination, the Eroret School in the Maasai bushveld, which can be reached via adventurous tracks in 2 hours from Nairobi, we were also very pleased and surprised by what we found and experienced there.
The water tower financed by Austrian Doctors a year ago showed us the way to the school in this barren plain of the Rift Valley. 4 large water tanks, covered by solar panels, store the drinking water extracted from a depth of 220 meters.
At the edge of the school grounds, a 1/2-hectare, solidly fenced field could already be admired, where, thanks to drip irrigation, clear vegetable greens stood out from the dry brown surroundings. The vegetables will significantly improve the affordable and healthy diet of the now over 300 Maasai schoolchildren and the surrounding families.
One of the main purposes of the visit, framed by dance and sports performances by the cheerful but also very disciplined school children, was the planning of an extension to the school as a boarding school for an initial 50 girls.
Schoolchildren have to walk up to 3 hours to school every day – in one direction! – and this can be particularly dangerous for the girls. That is why the principal John Kintalel and the community are very keen to offer these children an alternative in the form of a boarding school. Alexander Heilig, a German-Swiss architect, accompanied us and prepared a very attractive architectural plan free of charge. The civil engineer who traveled here will therefore prepare a cost estimate and then, thanks to a generous sponsor, this construction project could be implemented relatively quickly over the next few months.
The teachers also wanted to expand the school levels from 8 to 9 due to a change in the Kenyan school system, which would of course require additional resources in terms of space and personnel.
John and his wife Esther, herself a teacher, were, as always, warm and attentive hosts for us visitors, so that we returned to Nairobi after this project visit with a very satisfied feeling.
In both projects, we had the certainty that the financial and planning support of Austrian Doctors would meet independent, reliable, self-confident and creative partners and that these “joint ventures” have developed very successfully and will continue to do so.
All of this is only possible thanks to the continuous support of many donors! Many thanks to you all!
Yours, Dr. Christian Gross
Chairman of the Austrian Doctors
