The little baby girl in this picture, born April 17th, is alive today because of the West Seattle Rotary. Last June the Rotary donated a vehicle to the EAC in Kenya which was used to transport this baby’s mother, in dire need of an emergency c-section, to a nearby hospital.

The family alerted us to the crisis at 11 am, when the umbilical cord was presenting first. Within 20 minutes the mother was at the hospital, and a c-section was immediately ordered. Had there been no vehicle, the mother would have had to get onto the back of a bicycle, be ridden for almost 4 miles, then board a mini-bus (whenever one came), and then ride with 12 or more other passengers to the bus stage in Kilifi town, where she would either have to walk a quarter of a mile, or pay the bus extra fare to bring her directly to the hospital. On behalf of the family, and all of us with the EAC, thank you Rotary for saving yet another life.

The big day came, a dentist visited Vutakaka School! One of our visitors in the last school term was a dentist from Holland, Atienne Gerritse. He brought with him a lot of toothbrushes and a real set of false teeth.

We started the day off by going to each of the classrooms and introducing Atienne our dentist to all the students and teachers. You could see the children’s faces turn white with fear. Our dentist reassured the students that he was not going to pull any teeth, but rather wanted to just teach them about tooth brushing. We then invited the teachers of each of the classes to do a short course with the dentist, using our small library as a mini classroom. After the teachers underwent the lesson, it was time for the students to learn how to use their toothbrushes. Because there are still a lot of children in this area who use a stick to brush their teeth, the dentist also gave a lesson on how to do this effectively. When the children finished their course, they could pick a toothbrush in their favourite colour. So at the end, nobody was scared of the dentist anymore and they loved their new brushes. Off course they wanted to see the set of false teeth over and over again. So lesson learned, brushing your teeth is fun. Jane Sijl, Program Supervisor

Our Vutakaka Clinic is coming along well. We are just finishing up the paint, putting in the sinks, and acquiring the furniture!

Katrien Adriaenssens is a final-year medical student from Belgium who came to Takaungu for the first time, in July 2006, to run a month-long medical camp out of the Vutakaka Center. Katrien returned to Takaungu for the month of April, running yet another medical camp, but this time out of our new medical clinic. Katrien worked amidst the dust of construction to offer pre-natal services to between 8-10 patients per day. Thank you Katrien for coming to Takaungu and giving us a helping hand. Your help was much appreciated. We welcome you back any time.

“Cultivating possibilities” is the first sentence I read when I entered the Vutakaka Center. I asked myself how can I, in just three months, offer something that will help this Center for years to come? What talents and skills do I have to share that will stimulate and enlighten the work of the sewing group well into the future?

The most important person for direct communication in the sewing department is Rukia (pictured on the right), she is in charge of the manufacturing group that includes overseeing all of the orders. She speaks good English and is very enthusiastic. And that’s important! On a daily basis she manages all of the manufacturers who produce the sewing orders, and she helps the head sewing teacher, Esther (pictured on the left) who teaches up-and-coming manufacturers every day from 12 to 2 pm. Esther is an excellent tailor who makes perfect clothes and bags. Both women are immensely creative and hardworking.

My first impression of the department was very positive. Despite the temperature of the room, the women work very hard and inside the sewing room there is a cosy, relaxing atmosphere. They have a good sense of humor and I enjoyed being playful with them! The products are made with Singer truddle machines and every item is ironed with a charcoal iron. I tried to work on one of those truddle machines, but for me it was quite difficult to learn. ‘It’s like riding a bicycle’ they said, but normally that suits me better.

In the Netherlands I’m very at home figuring out creative solutions and making unique products. When I’m busy with product development I like to work with themes and target groups. These themes can be used for the communication and marketing of the collection. For EAC I prepared some themes in Holland. I tried to make a mix from western trends and Kenyan fabrics. Giving an example.. a theme that’s called ‘Pastels’ contains products for baby’s and their mothers in soft ice cream colors. From my trip last year to Kenya I remembered that kikoys (a woven coton fabric used often in this area) really suit this theme. I spoke with Rukia about every theme and after that we searched for matching fabrics. It was quite a difficult start in the beginning, creating product lines from themes rather than just random fabric colors and patterns, but after a few weeks things really came together.

What they really like are all the new products we worked together to design. And, also the possibility, with changing some fabrics, of creating a new look for existing products. Things are sometimes very surprising, like the little dolls from fabric which you can hang on your bag as decoration or give to your child to play with. New things or combinations give them new energy. When Rukia gets completely comfortable with guiding the group on using the current themes, I will start sending her some new themes and color combinations. She can take care of them on her own and the EAC collection will be following the trends in the US and Europe. That will certainly be good for producing more and more lovely items. Babette VanBracht, Product Designer.

The EAC is a remarkable grassroots development organization offering real opportunities for positive change in the lives of hundreds of people, each and every day. In order to keep the organization continually running in good order, we are in need of ongoing volunteer support, both in and out of Kenya.

If you are interested in volunteering in Kenya, visit www.comekuona.org (Come Kuona has a brand new website - complete with a photogallery with more than 50 pictures of Vutakaka, Takaungu, and the volunteer compound). Come Kuona is a separate organization, based in Kenya, that recruits and guides volunteers through the entire volunteer experience of working with us at Vutakaka Center in Takaungu, Kenya. We always need more volunteers to help us run the Center. If you have any questions about the program, please email volunteer@comekuona.org.

Moreover, if you have a passion for international development, and/or skills in non-profit / NGO management, and can't get to Kenya but would still like to volunteer, please contact Theresa Wilson at twilson@eastafricancenter.org. We would be happy to list you as one of our "on-call" volunteers in the US. (This means we would contact you if we need extra assistance for specific events or special tasks)