What’s Going On

Hi Everybody! We just wanted to send you some updates on what’s been going on at Hamomi lately.

We’ve been having lots of fun!

I’ve been back in Nairobi since the end of March. It’s been a great trip thus far. First things first upon arrival: delivery of donated items!

It’s rainy season, so floods like this happen in 20 minutes, easy.

So Clinton,  Edwin and Henry have been very grateful for the delivery of Roma Boots! Thank you, Roma!

Through the Lee Family, Bear Creek donated tons of little, personal sewing kits. A great way to keep the new uniforms nice – uniforms for which Christopher Lee fundraised. Thank you to the Lee’s.

Raphael taught a lesson on the proper stitches before we sent them on home with the kids.

Bibian Odhiambo, a nurse practitioner in Seattle, has been visiting her family in Nairobi and came down to Hamomi a number of times…

…first to help Dorita in leading a workshop on girls’ health.

Dorita walked the girls through how to use the Days For Girls reusable pads, an innovation introduced in 2011…

…and then they were given their new kits – which they were very excited about. A lot of swapping and enthusiasm over the patterns and colors they each wanted. Thanks Days For Girls and Mallory Brick!

Second, Bibian came to visit the secondary school students whose scholarships she sponsors. Here she is together with Brian who placed number 1 in his class in his first term! Bibian is a very proud Mama of both Brian and Benjamin, her scholarship recipients.

Visitors keep coming as we have the Ngarachu family’s special story! Mr. and Mrs. Ngarachu are flying to Seattle on Memorial Day to watch their daughter graduate from nursing school because their other daughter, Megan, won the raffle drawing for two tickets to Kenya on Hamomi! Congratulations!!! We’re very excited to continue to share their story. Also, this Wednesday, they have gotten a pilot from Kenya Airways to come to Hamomi to talk to the kids about his story and how he became a pilot. So many of our students want to be pilots and it will definitely inspire them.

Then it was time for the Field Trip 2013! Nairobi’s Giraffe Centre donated a field trip for 47 students  to spend a fun educational day at the Giraffe Centre, Elephant Orphanage and Animal Sanctuary. They got to feed Daisy, the giraffe.

Some were a bit braver than others.

And they got to watch the baby elephants get fed milk out of giant milk bottles. Don’t worry – the remaining students have a field trip coming up in July!

And more volunteers arrived, this time from Sweden! Annika Hagberg and Caroline Jonsson brought their backgrounds in the environmental sciences to teach our staff and students about climate chance and what they can do to make and impact. Above, they are pictured with Phebe and Gudah who run the Hamomi Briquettes program. They were so excited about this workshop to learn exactly why their clean-burning briquettes are so important.

Here you can see the list created when the kids went around and said what they learned. It was a wonderful, empowering couple of days that left the kids with plans to clean up the surrounding area and excited about solar power.

Annika also had one more special reason to visit – to meet the Mildred, the secondary student whose scholarship she sponsors. Annika says this is the first time her family has come together and donated to charity.

They were very beloved. Daniel tied up Caroline with a jump rope telling her she couldn’t leave…

…and the kids got Annika. They are missed…

…but thank goodness Lauren Whetstone arrived to pick up where they left off and introduce her Solar Lights project. Above is Gudah practicing his sales pitch with my water bottle. We are hoping to build an entirely sustainable business which will employ Hamomi alumni, parents, guardians and others in our

As always, Sammy and Godi send their love. They are doing well, as is their father, Nathan. Growing so big, it’s hard to believe!