1000 Diapers for Joytown Primary School! SHARE LOVE!!

Hi guys – There has been a brief interruption in my review of last Saturday’s activities because a competing priority has reared its head. About 2 or 3 months ago, I attended a Rotary Club big giant Sunshine Fun day that was held for children with disabilities in Nairobi and in towns around the circumference.  I haven’t written about it because honestly, finding words to describe it to actually transfer the vivid images in my mind from that day over to you –it’s just impossible.I know this blog is long but please try to read through and then watch the 2 min video at the end. This post is about Joytown Primary School for the physically and mentally handicapped and a very very easy way you can make a HUGE difference.

Being disabled in Kenya is whole other thing.  In most cases, you are discriminated against, ostracized from your family/village, and forced to live in a world that has zero accommodations for people like you.  No wheel chair ramps, no sidewalks, no handicap buses, no handicap bathrooms (if you can find a bathroom). Finding a job is close to impossible.  Furthermore, for the most part, people do not have discretion when they see things that are different than them. They stare and they point.  And they do not always accept people with disabilities as being part of main stream society. (okay, this is not just a phenomenon in Kenya – I think we in the US have a ways to go on this too).   And top of it all YOU ARE A CHILD!   Maybe abandoned by your family because of your disability, maybe not, but definitely stared at constantly, made fun of by people that see you, and ostracized in the community. There aren’t enough care facilities or special schools for these kids  or even staff and the conditions in many of the places are crazy substandard – even for Kenya. The cost to take care of kids with disabilities is astronomical and so these places do what they can but it’s often not enough to meet basic needs. Medical treatment is not available for everyone and most can’t afford it anyways. It’s just a sad situation. 

So, on Rotary Fun day various schools for kids with disabilities loaded up their kids on buses and brought them to this stadium place in Nairobi for the day. It was not a big giant fair day by our standards. It was basically just some stands that the kids could sit in and watch a few clowns on the field, see  a guy walking on stilts and hear music being played and get some milk and muffins.  No interaction really – but it was still really fun for the  kids and something new and different than their normal routine and setting.  Kids that could, danced and clapped and there was an MC that had them laughing and singing. Here's some photos of the day:

Setting up

Crazy Sergeant Clown

little cuties waiting for the potties

Machakos School for the Deaf - these guys looked fancy. Very nice uniforms, etc

Entertainment Dancers and drummers

 Busses pulling in

Some schools, like Joytown School, a Salvation Army founded institute,  had more seriously disabled kids that had mobility issues. It was clearly one of the more severely financially challenged schools and the kids had more needs than many of the other schools.  But these kids were amazing. Everyone helped each other get up into the stands – the kids that used crutches helped the ones with wheelchairs and the ones with wheelchairs helped the other ones in wheelchairs..i mean seriously.  These are KIDS!  I mean, they still giggle and have fun and you see they were just happy to be there.  It broke my heart and warmed it at the same time.  Their resilience was just striking.  These are God’s kids you know? I mean, really – it’s incredible what they are born with and go through.

Joytown Kids

The clowns sort of traveled around the stands making the kids laugh..or scaring them half to death depending on how you feel about clowns

Let me get down to the point here. These kids need new equipment and the school needs stuff.  I saw one little girl using a lawn chair with some wheels that had been rigged to it. Other kids had chairs that were just falling apart…kids had pieced together crutches and everything was just old and decrepit.  I didn’t take pictures because I wanted to be discreet but I knew I would need some in order to try and seek some help from the outside.

I spoke to the Director of the school and he says yes, they could use some wheelchairs but one of the main priorities is diapers for the kids.  As you can imagine, a school like Joytown, with over 300 kids, must go through TONS of diapers. So, I have been in contact with the wholesaler of the adult diapers that I am to buy - And I have some funds set aside, my own funds and some other from my family, etc.  But, these diapers cost about $25 for a box of 30.  So, our money doesn't go very far with prices like that. 

Many of you expressed that you would like to help in whatever way after I closed the fundraiser for Mwikali's school fund.  This is a genuine and direct opportunity for you to support these kids. I would like to set a goal of 1000 additional diapers beyond what the money I already have set aside can buy.  At say 4 diapers a day (i dont know) that's pretty much just taking care of one kid for the year..but that's something.

Here's a quick video I found on youtube that someone put together about the school. It really shows you more about the place:

 So, if you want to donate one pack of diapers ($25) or whatever you can do, I have set up the you caring account again, (click on that link) until Tuesday or if you are familiar with paypal you can just send it to my paypal at lenna41678@hotmail.com. That account is only used for this and Mwikali's fund and I know exactly how much is there right now for Mwikali - so anything that goes in over that is for the Joytown kids.

Let's get them 1000 diapers by Tuesday! WE CAN DO IT!! (I'm leaving soon and need to wrap it up quickly!) If you have any questions, just email me.

Vera Bradley on Steroids - Bagamoyo - GET YOU ONE!

Well it was quite a weekend folks. Jam packed with activities. More like Saturday had about 4 days of stuff jammed into it - and Friday was used for preparation for Saturday and Sunday was used for recuperation from Saturday.

I had planned a while ago to drive out to Nakuru (2 hours from Nairobi) to visit the Springs of Hope Children's Home that a beautiful woman named Molly Mitchel Bail runs.  I was connected to Molly through another friend that has a children's home in Nakuru and have been stalking her and the action around her  home on FB for a loooong time. Since I'm approaching my move date, I wanted to take this opportunity to gather up allll my stuff that i'm not taking with me and give it to them to find good use for. I really am trying to pair down - thinking about going home to all my stuff in storage makes me sick. I wish I owned nothing but what I have here with  me sometimes. Such a free feeling. No furniture, no boxes of scarey porcelain dolls from younger days, no shoeboxes of photos from jr high and highschool that I'll never do anything with, no yellow cases of old orthodontic retainers that for some reason I just couldn't throw away...(c'mon how badly did you want to wear a retainer in elementary school - you know you were the kid with the straightened out paperclip wrapped around your teeth to try and look cool - Oh i know you).

Anyways, besides donating my stuff I really wanted to visit the kids and see their bag making operation called Bagamoyo. YOU NEED TO SEE THIS PLACE. It's legit. In fact this post will only be about the Bagamoyo workshop since it will be a long one - Tomorrow I will tell you about the Springs of Hope Children's Home.

Here's all the crap I took with us - and can you believe I even forgot one whole duffel ..so there's more. I mean, I cleaned house. Food, medicines, clothing, fun stuff, shoes, shower stuff, jewelry I dont wear, all sorts of stuff. I know Molly knows many women that work in the workshop and the home and around there that could use all of it - so we brought it all.

We set out at 9am - It was Me, my awesome and inspirational friend Megan (she deserves to have a blog post devoted to just her and her fantasticness) and Abu - one of the guys that used to drive for RTI - he was our driver - I get a bit worried driving on the highways here - craziness - and it's the rainy season and Abu does it much better.

Megan just chillin in the green machine

We arrived around 11am and the first stop was to meet Molly and visit the Bagamoyo workshop that she created to fund the orphanage and to support women that are HIV+ in the community.  Sustainability People. It's a good thing.  These women and the operations manager design and create the most AMAZING bags of all kind.  The workshop and store is so nice! I was in shock that Molly put all this together so quickly - they have a legit operation going on and they are making such HIGH QUALITY bags - you just have to see for yourself and you really need to buy one - they are gorgeous!  It's incredible and Molly, the Director of Springs of Hope and the Bagamoyo workshop is a BEAUTY by the way - beyond the fact that she has given her life to all this and has changed the lives of so many - she is just a gorgeous woman (i hope you read this Molly cause you should know :-))
On with the photos of their amazing, incredible, unbelievably cool quilted bags and workshop:

Bagamoyo means Lay down your heart in Swahili -  The Perfect name for their mission and method. It's an undeniable cause.

Inside the Bagamoyo Show Room - So colorful

More awesomeness

and More...

All their bags are incredibly well quilted and made from very strong materials. It's seriously way better than anything Vera Bradley has ever made and they are cheaper AND the money goes to a substantial cause - the livelihoods of vulnerable children and women with HIV

You can even pick out your own fabric from their really gorgeous selection and have your personal bag made - or dress - or pants - or shirt or whatever! Oh you know I'm having a bag and a dress made - you know me too well.

The women that make them - Talented group of women and some men in there too.

I wish you could see the quality up close...oh but you CAN! I'm bringing some back to DC to sell for them!

Se Moi!

Here are the bags I bought and will sell once I get home - Get in LINE!

Beautiful Green patterned Tote

Gorgeous  - Love the pattern

Perfect for that college student going to school in August!

LOVE - could be a purse, diaper bag, laptop bag, or all three!

Green tote again

MAC book case! SO COOL! I have another one like this that is larger and with a different pattern - I forgot to take a photo of it.

The quality is amazing on all of these.

And this is Molly - the Fearless LEADER!

I hope she doesn't get mad that I stole this from her FB profile! But, the world must know what an awesome woman this is.

If you want to buy some purses -  you can see some of the options here: Bagamoyo Facebook Link and you can pay with paypal!  Okay so I'm going to cut this off here since it's long but there is SO SO SO much more to tell about Saturday - More to come tomorrow on the visit to the Spring of Hope House.