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Dear East African,
Executive Director's Message
It's Tuesday January 7th at 9:05 am. I am writing this
from my office in the
brand new EAC establish Vutakaka Community Resource
Center. Today was our
second day of operating our nursery school and we
have already had a full
morning.
Just a few minutes ago, one of the children fled from
the
classroom screaming. He was running at top four-year-
old-speed until one of
our workers caught up with him. Unfortunately, the
worker incurred minor
bite wounds from carrying the child back. Though some
of the children (we
have 21 so far) are coping rather well, some have
never before been away
from their mothers. It doesn't help that some have also
rarely, if ever,
seen a mzungu (white person) and, unfortunately, I
terrify them. Right
now I am actually
hiding in my office until some of them calm down. What
they don't know is
that being responsible for 21 children between four and
six years of age
terrifies me, too. Thank heaven for the much-
experienced instructor (Madame
Mercy) who is holding the scene together. I already see
that 2004 is going
to be full of fun.
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What's Happening in Takaungu? |
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"What's not happening in Takaungu?" should be the
question. The Vutakaka Community Resource Center is
full of activity. From 8
am til noon, Monday through Friday, we are operating a
nursery school. From 2
pm until 4 pm, we are running
an adult education
program, which incorporates a weekly public health
message. Between 4-6 pm, we are offering after school
tutoring to primary
school students. And lastly, between noon to 2 pm,
depending on the day of
the week, we have either a farmer's field training school
(training local
farmers on organic agricultural techniques) or a sewing
club. People are also
visiting the Center's public health library throughout the
day.
I'm proud to be at this point, not only because our
programs are many, and are
directly addressing the goals of our mission and the
needs of the people we serve, but
because I am seeing some
remarkable things taking place. For instance, a man in
our adult education
class learned how to write his name today. A middle-
aged
woman in our sewing club
learned how to use scissors, and a little girl in our
nursery school learned
the letter "D". The local residents who are skillfully
conducting the
classes are now employed by the Center.
Our sewing
club sent to America a
box full of its products, which will be sold at an event in
Ohio this month.
Proceeds from the sale of these products will make a
significant difference
in their lives. For instance, one of the women needs
300 Ksh ($4.00) to
start her own small business. Once she receives her
portion of the sewing
club sales, she will be self-reliant through her own small
business. These achievements capture the spirit of the
EAC. It was to
accomplish these goals that the EAC was originally
founded. I look forward
to sharing these successes and more with you
throughout the coming year.
Visit our website! »
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Volunteers in Takaungu |
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Happy New Year from Takaungu! I've been here about a
month now and I can
easily say it's the most beautiful, fascinating place I've
ever seen. The
lush landscape, full of coconut and baobab trees, sisal
plants, and humble
but stately homes is breathtaking. The people are warm
and curious about
outsiders. Unlike much of the Kenyan coast, Takaungu
is relatively untouched
by tourism or much other outside influence. Getting
to know the people will
likely be one of the richest rewards of my time here.
I will be here for two years as a U.S. Peace Corps
volunteer, helping to get
the Center up and running, with a particular focus on
income-generating
projects. Based on my limited experiences in Takaungu,
it seems that people
have skills and motivation to improve their own lives,
but need some
education and support in pooling their resources and
expertise, creating
business plans, and bringing their products to market.
In addition to the
sewing club, the community has identified some areas
where they can focus
their energies, including making and selling thatch
roof "tiles"
(makuti) and
brooms. We have also begun to set up a Farmer Field
School, with a
demonstration area on the plot right next to the
Center, where a
representative from Kenya's Department of Agriculture
will come and teach
farmers new and different techniques. In a similar
school nearby, farmers
reported doubled crop yields as a result. I have also
talked to some in the
community about setting up a fishermen's cooperative
to help pool resources
and improve the profits the struggling local fishermen
make from their
catch.
Anyway, my time in Takaungu is just beginning and I'm
really just starting
to settle into life here. My house is directly behind the
Center and I'll be
moving in any day (I've been bunking up in Suzanne's
house
in the meantime).
Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions or
comments:
KenyaDigIt2003@yahoo.com.
Read letters from past volunteers »
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The EAC Appreciates..... |
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A huge thank you goes out to the former EAC-
Takaungu Volunteer, Sarah
Kaufmann-Fink for all that you and your mother, Nancy,
are
doing to organize an
event this month for which the EAC is a beneficiary.
Thank you to McKenzie Winters for purchasing for us a
new sewing machine for
our sewing club.
Thank you to all of you who have donated funds this
past month!
More about the EAC »
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Wish List |
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We built furniture for the Center in December, and it is
wonderful. However,
it is now just raw wood and we have to varnish it
before the bugs start
eating it (a big problem here). We need $200.00 in
order to completely
finish the furniture. If you are interested in assisting
with all or even
part of this wish list need, please send a tax-deductible
donation to the
EAC at PO Box 95703 Seattle, WA 98145-2703.
We need toys, books, paints, etc. for our nursery.
Though shipping
these items from the US is possible, purchasing them
here can be more
practical. We are asking for donations in any amount to
help us create a
rich learning environment for our nursery children. A
donation of just
$20.00 can buy five balls (similar to soccer balls), ten
jump ropes, one
hundred blank art journals and ten plastic boxes for
storing items collected
from nature. If you are interested in assisting with all or
even part of
this wish list need, please send a tax-deductible
donation to the EAC at PO
Box 95703 Seattle, WA 98145-2703.
We need sponsors for some of our nursery school
children. It costs $25.00
per year for school fees for a child to attend nursery.
Moreover, uniforms
and other school supplies increase this figure to around
$50.00 per year. We
are fearing some of the children will be forced to drop
from the school due
to lack of funds. We need money to set up a fund to
assist the students most
in need. A tax deductible donation toward the
establishment of a nursery
school funds can be sent to the EAC at PO Box 95703
Seattle, WA 98145-2703.
Make a donation »
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Address Change |
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Please update your address books. The East African
Center has a new mailing address. All our other
contact information is the same, though.
East African Center, PO Box 95703,
Seattle, WA 98145-2703
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