Letter From The Girls

So much time has passed and I'm sorry for the extreme delay on updates.

As some of you already know, I am back in the States. I just got back a few weeks ago and have been trying to adjust to life on this side of the world. I have come back to finish school and create a stronger program for Karama House.

Despite the many challenges that we were faced with, the program turned out to be quite successful. Both Deborah and Ann are living independently in an apartment in Nairobi, and attending college. They are managing their own finances which includes paying for school, rent, food, bills, etc. Deborah and Ann have gone above and beyond what I thought anyone in the program would have done. I could not be more proud of their hard work and determination.

Both of the young women wrote letters to everyone who has been supporting their efforts this past year and I want to share them with you.

Hi,

My name is Ann Wairuri. I am twenty-one years old.

I graduated from high school in 2007. The main reason for writing this letter is to thank everyone who has supported Karama House. Whether it be through finances, clothing, food, shelter, or prayers; I am thankful beyond words.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Larissa very much. She has been taking good care of me while I’ve been in the program. She has paid my fees for a two-month computer class so I can be a step ahead of everyone else starting college. She has also encouraged me to enroll in college and help pay for my school fees. I am very excited to start classes this month on the 6^th. My focus will be marketing which is a three-year course.In the program I had the opportunity of learning many things I was not aware of like HIV/AIDS, pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, just to name a few. I also learned how to make jewelry using beads. With the business skills I was taught combined with the knowledge of beading, I was able to start my own small business selling my handmade products.

We are doing well, but thinking about Larissa going back to the States to complete her schooling does make me sad. However, I do believe she will come back to continue with the project when she has completed her degrees . Even if Larissa is not with us here in Kenya, Karama House will still exist for us during our time in school.

Thank you very much.

From,

Ann Wairuri

Hello, my name is Deborah Kemunto. I am 21 years old. I graduated from high school in November 2008.

The aim of writing this letter is to express my gratitude towards the Karama House Program. Its has been of great help to me because once I finished from high school, I didn’t have any hope of getting support to go to college. Now, I am happy because Larissa is making sure to support and encourage us to join college so that we can achieve our goals.

Secondly, I would like to thank each and every one of you who gave a hand in order for this program to come up and grow to bring up girls who can be responsible of their own lives. That includes being active in society and educating others who are in need as well.

Most importantly, I would like to thank you for supporting us in many ways including; financially, with prayers, clothing, providing us a home, and last but not least the love you have shared with us. This has really encouraged us and made us feel like there is nothing that can stop us from becoming what we want to be in life.

Thank you for allowing Larissa as the director of this project to come and be with us. She has really been of great help to us in so many ways. So far, she has been teaching us how to associate with people in the society, sex education, finance, and encouraged us to do a few jobs at the Shelter. The jobs included; teaching certain subjects at the school for the younger kids, washing clothes for the babies, cooking, and even working as the office secretary. We’ve also learned how to create various small businesses like tie and dye, which I have become very skilled at. Others in the program were doing beading and soap making.

The most exciting news for us is that soon in July and September we will be joining our various colleges. I will be joining in September for either nursing or disaster management, and I can’t wait to start. I will work very hard to get the grades that will allow me to start working as soon as I graduate so I can be responsible and help the needy as well.

It’s really sad that Larissa has to go back for more studies but there is nothing we can do about it. We really hope and pray that the Almighty God who sent her to be with us will still enable her to come back and continue with the project. I believe it will be of great help to many girls throughout Kenya. She has really done a lot for us by loving us and keeping us from harms way. May God uplift you all and shower many of blessings upon you for what you have done for us.

Love you all.

Deb

We are still supporting the young women financially due to lack of part-time jobs offered in Kenya. We are hoping to find jobs for the girls in the near future. Until then, its up to us to support the girls and make sure that they are able to finish school and reach their goals.

Thanks for sticking with us, and if anyone has questions please feel free to comment or email me at karama.house@gmail.com.

Larissa

A Bit of a Personal Note

Two posts in one month! I think I'm breaking some sort of record...

This past week has been so great for all of us! Four teams from Baylor University have come to Nairobi for a two week mission trip. They arrived early last week and I can't tell you how great it has been to spend time with old friends and making connections with new ones.

I have been waiting very impatiently for my great friends, Ben, Jamie, Tracy, and one of my best friends in life, Kelly. They are the ones that I call or email constantly for advice and support. I'm so thankful that they have the patience of a preschool teacher. I am going to be so sad to see them go, but I know that I will see them again!

Deborah and Ann have been having the time of their lives meeting all the new visitors and spending time with all of them. They have also been working overtime with their small businesses. The UBC group came to the house to visit last week and placed orders for items they wanted the girls to make for them. This is so great because they have been struggling to find places to sell their items.

On Friday night, I was asked by the leader of the Baylor sports team (Wes Yeary) to talk to his group and tell them what I do here. I was a bit nervous because its extremely rare for me to explain what I do here verbally. Its usually just through email or blogs and even those are just updates.

When I went in to talk to the group I figured that it would be me talking for about ten to fifteen minutes about Karama House, then off to bed. I have gotten used to people asking about the program and it only taking up about 10 minutes of the conversation. That was not the case that particular evening. I stayed in that room answering questions and telling stories for almost 3 hours... it was amazing. There were about 8 or 9 of them that stayed the entire time asking every question under the sun. I could not believe that they were all so interested in what I had to say and I kept telling them that they could go to bed at any time and I wouldn't be offended. They insisted that they were really interested and wanted to hear more.

As you can probably tell, these past five months have not been what I or anyone had expected. I was completely focused on keeping the girls safe, and keeping the program running. I didn't realize that I was feeling like something was missing in my life. All the emails I have been getting from friends and family have helped enormously. They actually made me forget for a while that I was running this program alone. I knew that there were people that supported me in the States but sometimes its not so apparent when I can't see it for my self.

After talking to the 9 amazing young women for hours on Friday night I got a visual sense of support that I had been missing my entire time here.

Spending two weeks in a foreign land on a mission trip and seeing things you would never see in your daily life can be overwhelming. Knowing that, I appreciate even more, the support I got just from that one night. Even if every one of those young women go back to the States and I never hear from them again, their enthusiasm and support for those few hours will be appreciated and remembered forever.

So, if any of you have been thinking about going to volunteer in a foreign land but don't think that you will make an impact, think again. Just a few words of encouragement to someone who needs it, can bring that person back to life.

Thanks again to all the teams from Baylor visiting various projects in Kenya, you are all really making a huge difference in the lives of the people here.

-Larissa

Computer Classes

Well, it seems as if things are really moving forward here. We have been very busy preparing the house to be filled with volunteers starting the 30th of this month! We will have a total of 6 volunteers at one time so that makes 9 of us in the house at once! Its going to be great to have more people in the house to fill up all the space! Plus, having visitors is always fun. 

Until then, we are waiting for the UBC team to get here. They will be here on Monday and we could not be happier! The girls have been working very hard on their small business items and are ready to show off their products to everyone. They also signed up for a computer class and have been going to that 2 hours a day, 5 days a week. They will be in that class for two months and they have learned so much. Both girls went to the same high school and computer classes were not offered there. They have been so happy going to their class and finally learning how to use a computer. They come home everyday and tell me what they've learned  and are trying to figure out a way to save enough money to buy a computer so that they can practice. I let them use my computer as much as possible but I'm constantly on it working and its a Mac. They only teach Windows here. Hopefully we can get one for them soon!

Speaking of classes, Deb turned in her applications for nursing schools and she is now waiting to hear back. Ann will apply next month for Marketing and should start sometime in August. They have been doing great with saving their money so that they can pay for school. Its amazing how this program has really taught these girls that they don't need hand outs all the time. They have taken on the responsibility of paying for their own school with such enthusiasm that its really inspiring.  

Despite all the things that happened at the orphanage, I'm just glad that at least two girls are benefiting from this program. The other girls that are still at the orphanage were well on their way to the same goal. They were doing so well but that got cut short.  I just hope that someday they will have the opportunity to pursue their goals.

Well, I think that's about all I have for now. There will be more updates when the UBC team gets here and pictures! 

Until next time!

Our New Home

Hi Everyone,
Well, I guess its time for an update. I know it has been about a month
since I last  posted on the blog. A lot has been going
on here and for the most part I wanted to update everyone on what's
going on here when things had calmed down and I had some positive news
for you.

To start off, we are all doing fine. The program has been put on hold
for the last couple of weeks because as of  March 24th, we are no
longer living at the Shelter. I know that I had been informing all of
you that things were fine and as far as the program was concerned,
things were going great. The girls were working very hard and learning
a lot. It really was proving that the program was working and was
impacting them in a positive way.

Unfortunately, there were other issues occurring at the Shelter that
were preventing the program to move forward in a positive way.

When it became clear that running the program at Shelter was not the best place for the girls and the program to prosper, I made the decision to relocate. With the help of some great friends here in Kenya, UBC, and WME (World Missionary Evangelism), we are now in a place were we can work towards our goals in a healthy way. 

We have rented an apartment closer to Nairobi and will be
running the program there. It is a very nice place with three bedrooms
and enough space to do all the things we need to do to continue on this journey. 
I am sorry to say though, we are down to only two girls in the program. The
Director of the Shelter will not release other girls from the
Shelter to continue with the program. I'm hoping with time, she will
release them and give them the chance to succeed in this program.
In the meantime, I am looking for other orphanages to work with and
have their girls come and participate in the program.

It has been quite a roller coaster ride since I've been here but I
feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Its

nice to have a safe place for the girls to call home here and know
that they will still be able to continue building their future.
Currently, we are working very hard on moving in, getting all the
necessary items to fill a home like furniture, dishes, beds, etc. I'm
hoping that we can get most of it by the end of next week so we can
finally start running the program again.

The two girls that are with me have been through a lot and have been
nothing but positive this whole time. They were actually chased away
from Shelter one year ago because they did not the get grades in
school that were required. So they were out for a year, then had the
courage to come back, stay at Shelter just so they could better
themselves with this program. And now they have had to leave again and
move into a completely different place. They are truly amazing, and
living proof that if you want to improve your life, you have to have
the guts to do it yourself no matter how hard it may seem.

I will start posting more often now that we are getting a little more
settled and things are calming down a bit. It has been a really hard
past few weeks for all of us but I know that this program is important
and will help many people in the future. I'll try and get a video up
as soon as possible so you can see where we are living now, and show
how the remaining two are doing.

I hope you are all doing well, and I will be writing again very soon.

Thank you for all of your support, thoughts and prayers.

Larissa

College Time

Now that we are going steady working on the small businesses, its time to start applying for what they are working towards. The past few days have been filled with almost nothing but college research. The intake dates for colleges here are May, July, and September. They all know what the want to study and are so excited to start applying. Its a bit harder here because not all colleges have websites so a lot of the research has to be done by going to to the actual campuses. 

They all want to go to school so bad, so they are doing the very best they can to earn enough money to go to school. 

The competition here is very competitive when it comes to selling things without an actual store. 

There is a grocery store that has tables out front that people can sell their items. I am trying to work it out so that they can sell their items there. A lot of people go to that store so I am hoping that it will improve their sales. 

I fear that they won't be able to earn enough by the time school starts even with them saving half of their salary and small business profits. I'm hoping that we can do some kind of partial education fund for them. I want them to know that they have to work in order to pay for school but I would hate for them to miss out because they could not earn enough. I'm hoping that if people see how hard they are working to save enough to go to school it might give them some motivation to help them with school. We shall see.

Also.... Kate is going to school on Monday! There are a few sponsors that decided to pay for her school fees so she heads out next week! She is very excited and we are all so excited for her. We will miss her in the program so much, but its great that she has this opportunity to go. She will be going to school in Nairobi so I will be able to visit her and make sure that everything is going well. She will be studying business because she wants to open her own restaurant in the future. 

I am so excited to see the UBC team in two months even though it seems like they were just here last week. I know all the girls will be working so hard on their products to try and sell to everyone that comes so I hope they are ready!

Other than that, nothing else is new around here. Still working hard as ever and doing my best to make sure the girls are ready to take on the world!

More soon!

Selling Selling Selling!

We are now entering the third month of the program. I think we have made a lot of progress so far and am very happy with how things are going. I hope that this next month we can continue moving forward with the classes and small businesses. 

As of now, everyone has sold at least a handful of products to not only the staff here at Shelter, but volunteers, visitors and even people in town. It has been quite and experience going into town and trying to sell things. They have learned that its not easy to sell things to strangers. They found out that you need some tough skin because not everyone is going to respond nicely to them. Some people are very rude and will just ignore them as they try to talk/sell to them. But, there are also people who were friendly and even if they didn't buy something they wanted more information about the program. There have also been a few who said that they wanted to come to Shelter and see what our project is all about. We even had people who didn't want to buy anything but wanted to donate. It has been a very interesting process and I am learning a lot as well. 

We are doing the best we can without a vehicle. I didn't realize how hard it would be living so far from the city without our own car. By not having one it takes away from a lot of the socialization programs I wanted them to do, thus not giving them the full transition experience. I'm hoping that we can raise enough money soon to purchase something so that the girls can be fully prepared and aware of what to expect once they live out on their own. 

Other than that, all is well. I have been bad about posting blogs and videos and I'm sorry about that. I will try and force myself to sit down for two seconds each week and post something, even if it is short. Thanks for all the support, the girls and I really appreciate it!

Until next time!

Social Worker

Hello again!

I hope all is well in the States, everything is going great out here! All the girls are still working hard on their small businesses. We are currently looking for places to sell our products. We would love to get a shop of our own, but there are no places available. So, until we can get a place of our own, we are looking to see if we can share some space here. The big problem is that everyone and their mom has a non-profit/charity that they are trying to sell their items just like us. Hopefully we will find something soon! 

Last week we went out and got three of the girls that have ID's, saving accounts. Since they had worked  two and a half weeks for their jobs here at Shelter, they all got paid. They were all so excited to get money of their own that they earned. That day I had arranged for us to go to the bank and get saving accounts so that their money would be safe. The program requires them to put at least 50% of all earnings in to their saving accounts. Since only three of them had ID's, and you need an ID to get a bank account, they paired up with their small business partner for an account until the others get their ID's. 

I figured that they would all put the bare minimum 50% in the account but come to find out almost all put between 75%-90% in. It was so great! I keep reminding them that this program is for their future, so everything they do, they need to take that in consideration. I'm happy to see that speech is working!

In other news, Social Worker Mary is back! For those of you who don't know her, she has been the social worker here for quite a number of years. She has been gone these past few months on maternity leave. She is now back with her two month old son Jerry. He is so cute and I love him. 

So now that she is back, we have decided that she will help out with Karama House at least three days a week. This is very very good news! As much as I love doing all of this, I still need help. She is great and knows a lot more about all the girls than I do. It will be so nice to have a partner in all of this. I feel like things will move faster and smoother. We have a Social Worker!! YAY!! 

I think that is all the news for now. I will make sure and post some more next week. 

This post will be written with the help of one of the participants of Karama House. Deborah offered to help write this because its late and I'm too tired to remember what has happened so far. Lets get started:

These past few weeks have flown by and we have gotten a lot accomplished! Since the last post, we went on quite an adventure involving shopping for food (in bulk) in downtown Nairobi. Then, we had a meeting about choosing small businesses. After a few days, they had all decided on what they wanted to do. The girls decided to do their small businesses in pairs. Once everyone had a partner, they decided what business they wanted to do. They all had such good ideas that within the next few day

s we were out shopping for their supplies. 

The businesses are:

Jewelry Making- Ann and Gladys

Soap Making- Cate and Judith

Tie Dying- Debbie and Roline (we call her Volunteer)

They have all started working on them and are so excited to get their products to the market and selling to the volunteers here at Shelter. 

This week we ha

ve started our classes. We have done Finance and Sex Education. I wanted to start computers as well but the electricity is very inconsistent here.  They have all gone very well and I think everyone is learning a lot. 

I have been doing my best posting videos but like I said, the electricity is kind of a hit or miss right now. Hopefully there will be more soon!

Now, lets have a word from Deborah who has been helping me with my spelling this whole time... 

Hi guys, actually we are doing great here at Karama House by the help of our mum Larissa. Thanks also for your support, you really mean everything to us! May God bless you abundantly. love you big,

Debbie 

Last thing... today we had a great time taking pictures and thought that I would share some! 

January 12, 2009

 

Yesterday we had our first Karama House meeting with most of the girls. There were just five of them because the other two are coming to Shelter today.  I had Paul video most of it so that you all can see who was in the meeting and how it went.

We were missing Ann and Deborah but I had explained everything to them last week when I saw them in Nairobi.

Check out the video to see how it went:

http://www.vimeo.com/2899425 

After the meeting everyone went to the dorm and got their belongings to move into their new homes in the guesthouses. There were three rooms available so three girls had to share a room until one of the volunteers left. I told them that since the other two were not here yet, this would be a temporary roommate situation. Once the other two came, we would be switching roommates. I did this because I wanted them not to stay with their best friend. I want them to learn how to live with other people and get to know everyone better. When they go off to college and stay in hostels, they will be forced to live with at least six other girls that they don’t know. This will give them some practice on how to deal with other females their age that they may not know very well.  I know that they stayed in the dorms with about 80 other people but a lot of them were younger girls that they were helping to take care of. This time, they are with their peers the whole time and they need to learn how to get along without gossiping and complaining to their friends like most girls do. I think it will work out just fine but we will have to see!

Short Post

January 8th 2009

Today was a pretty chill day. Almost all of the kids have gone off to school so it its really quite around here. I forgot how uneventful this place can be when school is in session. The good thing though is that the UBC team came today and will stay till tomorrow.

It was nice to talk to Jamie and a few of the girls about the plans for KH. They gave me a lot of good advice and ideas about the financial situation. After all that, it was lunch time, then time to play with the little ones outside.

I did talk to Deborah today and she will be coming here with her guardian’s eldest son to talk about KH and whether or not she should come to stay. I think Anne’s guardian will be coming either tomorrow or Saturday. I am so ready to get this program started but I don’t want to start without everyone. So, they will have till Sunday to decide then we will start the program on Monday whether they are here or not.  I really hope they will agree. I think they will.

So all I have to do now is wait here at Shelter for them to come. I guess that will give me more time to get the contract finished and all the plans finished.  Better get back to work!

Attempt To Get The Girls Back

January 5th 2009

Today was a fantastic day!

Kate, Rhoda and I went into Nairobi today to meet up with Deborah and Anne (the two girls still out of Shelter). We went to see if they would come back to Shelter to participate in Karama House. We all decided to go to my good friends Otieno and Janet’s house to talk about everything. I was so happy to see Anne again. I think it has been well over a year since I had seen her. She looked good so I was happy. It was great to see Deborah again as well, even though I saw her a few days earlier.

I had missed them so much!

 When I first got there, we all talked for a while, then it was time to talk to the two girls in private about coming back to Shelter for Karama House. Janet, Otieno’s wife was there and talked to the girls first, then I came to answer some questions that they had for me.

 At first I thought they were going to say no about coming back, but Janet helped me explain why this would be a good thing for them. So finally after talking for about an hour, they agreed to come! I told them that I wasn’t’ trying to make them come because it is their decision but it would be a very good thing for them. I know that Janet wasn’t going to let them leave without saying yes haha. She is so great and is like a second mother to me out here.

 So now, all I have to do is go back into town on Sunday to stay the night with Anne so I can explain to her guardian the program and why she is coming back. Then, on Monday, I will go and stay at Deb’s house and do the same there. On Tuesday morning, the three of us will come back to Shelter together and finally start the program! I would have liked to start earlier but I don’t want to start without everyone here. Plus, I know that it must be hard for those girls to have to pick up and move their lives again. I want to give them some time to think about this and let it sink in so they are prepared to come back and work towards a better life.

I’m glad we met at their house because I got to see Otieno, Janet, their kids, and Janet’s brothers and sister. They are all so great!

Until I can bring the girls back on Tuesday, I’ll be here in my room working on the contracts and curriculum for the program. I have been doing some video and vlogs as well. I’m doing my best to keep everyone updated even though I don’t have the internet yet. I will have it soon! 

Happy New Year!!

I’m sorry this is so late, I have been busier that I thought I would be.  I hope you have been checking out the UBC Kenya blog, I know they have been posting about their trip.

Well, I’m finally here!!! It took almost two years and its finally happened! Its been so great seeing all the kids and staff at Shelter and knowing that I don’t have to leave anytime soon. I will have to say though, this still doesn’t feel real. I still feel that at anytime I will wake up and be back in the States. Its okay though, I’m sure it will feel real soon enough. Until then, I’ll just enjoy living in a dream.

Since I have been so bad at posting, I’ll have to rewind and skim through the trip thus far.

To start off, the flights were extremely long…a bit longer than I remembered, but I suppose I was a bit more excited this time around.  When I finally got to Nairobi, a huge group of kids were there to greet me. I nearly got knocked over with about 10-15 kids charging at me and jumping on me all at once. I was so great to see all of them especially right off the plane.

The UBC team had arrived about an hour before I did so the other van had taken them to the Gracia House where they were staying that night. We headed that way as well so that I could stay the night with them. I wanted so badly to go to Shelter but I knew I would see the rest of the kids the next day.  

So the next day we headed to Shelter and I could not have been more excited. All the kids came running up to the vans so excited to see all of us. As soon as I stepped off the van, I felt like I was finally home.

After hugging everyone, some of the older girls performed a dance and the little ones sang a song for us.  When the performances were over, the kids took us around to show all the new additions to Shelter. Everything looks so great!

After that, I got all of my things and went to my usual room to get settled. It was just like old times… minus Meg L. I thought I would be staying in the guest rooms with the other staff but Mum thought I would be much more comfortable in this room, and she’s right. I love this room, it’s big and I have my own bathroom.

Later that night, I unpacked all my things. It was crazy to actually put my clothes in the closet instead of living out of my suitcase. I have books on the bookshelf above my desk, pictures up of friends and family, and something in each drawer. It feels great to fully unpack here. Speaking of that, I need to do all the finishing touches! Hope all is well!