Meridian 101 in CGH |
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Thanks to arrangement by Sonal, Alvin conducted the second Meridian 101 acupressure workshop in Nairobi. The first was in Sep 2011. And this time we held in CGH. Participants were from the Art of Living, Kenya. |
The workshop was a good reason for many of the AOL members to visit the children at CGH, most for the very first time. They all enjoyed the experiential workshop and contributed Ksh11,000 to CGH. |
Little Fingy's Business Planning |
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Little Fingy's was launched last Oct for the children to run self-sustainability projects like the chicken farm, dairy farm, tomato farm, etc. Alvin conducted a Business 101 seminar to help the children as well as members of the board to create viable business plan for each project.
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The outcome was a set of simple business plans, with clear objectives, expense and revenue items, co-created with the children and board members. Each project has a surplus target that would be used to help finance CGH expenses such as water, electricity, medical bills, etc.
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Little Fingy's Kuku (Chicken) Farm |
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Alvan is a member of the Kuku Farm student committee. He loves the chicken and know each like a good friend. I learnt from him that roosters do lay eggs, and they do so when they are old and near to their time of dying. Rooster's egg is tiny compared to the normal hen's egg. |
We called our eggs "Happy Eggs" because the chicken are always happily cared for by the children, listen to their laughter and songs day and night. We also implemented a capital loan system to teach business financing and to grow the chicken population from the current 26 to 50 for self-sustainability. |
Little Fingy's Dairy Farm |
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On 12 Oct, we went shopping for a new cow, sponsored by Mei Yin and her group of friends, who also named it Sesame. |
Now the 3-room cow shed, Singa-Moo-Lah, houses 3 cows and a baby calf. The 3rd cow will help the dairy farm to become self-sustaining. |
The kids really love and take great care of the cows. Victor even sings love songs to the cow!
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And the younger children love to play with the calf, mothered by the second cow that we funded last year.
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The plan is for Sesame to produce milk exclusively for sale. If we could sell 8-10 litres of Joyful Milk everyday, the revenue would cover the cost of feed, salt, medicine and an attendant. That is a simple plan for self-sustainability. |
 The children now enjoy nourishment from fresh cow milk on a daily basis. While there is not sufficient for each child to have a sip, the milk is mixed into their breakfast porridge so everyday gets some milk in their diet.
It is also a saving for Moses as he no longer needs to spend cash to purchase milk. |
Little Fingy's BEADwear Project |
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 Thanks to Anne's help, we managed to break last year's record in orders. For this year, we got over 77 sets of bead necklace order and the surplus provided for one and a half months' worth of salary for staff and teachers.
The children were extremely motivated and they really worked very hard to hand make every necklace. |
Silvia managed the project very well - from inventory sourcing, quality assurance, labelling and teamwork by the girls, from as young as 9 to 19. Well done!
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Visit to Children's Homes in the Slums |
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Moses took us to the homes of a few children who grew up in the Kibera and Kawangware slums.
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Joel lives in a tiny shanty in the crowded Kibera slum. There was hardly any living space in the home.
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The houses in Kibera slum are made of mud with zinc roof. There is no water or power supply, and no sanitation of any sort. Life is very hard and many are hopelessly trapped in deep poverty. |
We visited another child's home in the Kawangware slum. We met the child's grandmother who was sick and had no food for herself, her children and grandchildren. |
Angels from Near and Far... |
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Anne Choo, my angel-in-arm for Seva 2012, and sponsor/mama for 6 children at CGH. Her commitment is infectious as her family, relatives and friends have extended their kindness in child sponsorship! |
Monika Fauth, the ex-chairperson of Art of Living Kenya, was the person who connected us to CGH. Monika continues to support CGH and Moses closely despite being physically away in Lamu and Holland. |
Sonal Nagda has been instrumental in the setting up of the Community Cooker at CGH. She is a board member of both the Art of Living Kenya and CGH. |
Throughout my stay in CGH, I witnessed the construction of the Community Cooker, a self-sustainability project funded by Art of Living Kenya. |
Alice, Bilha and Elaine from NGO Service For Peace are pooling their power to help secure funding to erect the urgently needed secondary school block in CGH. |
Visualization of the new CGH Secondary School Block... The foundation has been laid earlier thanks to a German sponsor. Wanna help? Get in touch with CGH! |
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On 26 Oct, Alvin returned home to Singapore. It was a record transit for him at Mumbai airport for 20 hours!
Moses came with Keziah and Sharon to fetch Alvin at Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi. The two girls were obviously disappointed that Robyn did not travel with me.
