Photos

Here's Lauren playing with the kids at the K-Branch of the Limuru Children's Centre (located in Kamarithu - a village near Limuru).

Shoe Fittings at the Children's Centre. I think this one is definitely ready for new shoes! I may have mentioned this in an earlier post, but thanks to the donations and support of many of you, we're able to purchase new shoes for all 250+ kids served by the LCC. And, after our meeting at the shoe factory, it looks like we'll be able to afford the best quality shoes for the kids (around $15 US per pair). These will be worn every day and will hold up for 3 years or so as long as they don't outgrow them. These kids walk LONG distances to and from school every day and wear out shoes quickly. Fitting them for shoes was an incredible humbling experience!

Fitting kids for shoes....

Worn out shoes - ready to be replaced.

The market in Limuru where we buy produce.

Lentils, corn, and beans for sale at the Limuru market.

Kids at the LCC being nosy (watching us fit for shoes). I was doing duty as the gatekeeper :)

These pictures are from our work on Monday measuring kids at the K-Branch which is the newer (about 2 1/2 years old) branch of the Limuru Children's Centre. They currently serve over 90 pre-schoolers providing 2 meals each day and classroom instruction in a safe and loving environment. It's a tiny space but amazing what all they can accomplish with what they have. When we came in 2007, they were only serving around 40 kids. When they accept kids into the program, they commit to paying their school fees once they start primary school (I think it's around $250 per year for books and uniforms), so that limits how many kids they can serve. Thanks to sponsors, donors, and major fundraising efforts, they've more than doubled the children they're able to serve in the past two years.

Yesterday (Tuesday) we visited Sister Sandra (a nun from Malta) who runs a vocational school for girls where they learn sewing, tailoring, knitting (including knitting machines) to eventually seek employment in a factory. She also has an orphanage serving about 60 kids. Her property was donated by monks, but she has to constantly fundraise and find income sources to support her work. She's a lovely lady who we really enjoyed talking with. A company from Holland is donating 5 knitting machines and training for her staff, so she'll soon have a mini-factory onsite to be able to offer employment to some of her graduates. They'll be producing sweaters for school uniforms. In the afternoon, we went to the main branch of the Limuru Children's Centre and measured another 150 kids or so for shoes. We're nearly finished with the shoe fittings.

Today (Wednesday), we're meeting with Pat Dixson (who runs Pat's Feeding program - providing food twice each month to approximately 300 elderly, widows, and people living with AIDS). We'll be helping with her feeding program on the 15th and hope to work with some of the 10 schools that she supports. This afternoon, a small group (Anna, Karen, and Lauren) are going with AB to visit a local hospital while the rest of our group will either go to a baby centre to rock babies or to Cheshire, the home for the disabled to work with their residents. Tonight, we've been invited to our friends (Patrick and Anastasia) home for dinner and are looking forward to a traditional Kenyan meal.

We continue to stay busy but enjoy our down time together in the evenings. Everyone is healthy, rested, and well (although not necessarily clean!). Please keep us in your prayers!

One of the girls at the K-Branch of the Limuru Children's Centre.

The exterior of the K-Branch including the Jesus mural painted by the 2008 team and the dining room addition we built in 2007.