The Value of Partners

It is in our name.  It is how we work.  We partner.  With the help of our partners we are able to have a much greater impact.  Partnering with PeacePassers www.peacepassers.org means we can bring soccer balls, soccer shoes, shin guards and other pieces of sports equipment to the Partners for Care team on the ground who use the equipment to put youth in organized teams.  From northeastern Kenya to the Rift Valley and places in between PFC staff are using sports to change the lives of the youth of Kenya.

Partnering with ITT Technical Institute www.itt-tech.edu means we can provide computers and open computer schools for children, youth and adults who want to learn the computer skills that will help them gain employment.

We partner with SANA Mobile www.sana.mit.edu and Global HEED www.globalheed.org to implement mhealth - a revolutionary way of extending the reach of health care practitioners helping to improve access to health care for hundreds of people.

We partner with HEART in Kenya to buy the bed nets we distribute.  These bed nets are made by women in their WEEP program.  Women who are infected by HIV/AIDS sew the nets providing them gainful employment to feed their families and send their children to school.  Putting a bed net over a child can prevent the child from dying from malaria.

Partnering with MEDSHARE www.medshare.org means we can receive hundreds of boxes of medical equipment and supplies for health care providers in Kenya, including our own medical clinic.  These clinics help save the lives of the sick.

We partner with Greif, PackH20 and Habitat for Humanity to bring to Kenya a solution for transporting and storing water that can be kept safe for drinking - preventing waterborne illnesses.

And, our newest partner is my church - St. James United Methodist Church.  They are sending a team to Kenya in October to help the PFC staff.  I am very excited to have my church partner with us to promote our work on the ground in northeastern Kenya.

We partner to equip our Partners for Care team on the ground.  We partner to save lives.  We partner because it works.  We thank our current partners and our future partners.  Together we are more effective.

Connie

Transforming the 2nd Chance classroom

When Bridgette, PFC board member, went on her last trip to Kenya she helped transform the classroom of the 2nd Chance program. We are told to use all our gifts and talents when we serve....Bridgette is a designer so she used her gifts and talents to transform the room where many students come seeking a 2nd chance. Bridgette consulted Sam, 2nd Chance teacher, asking him what colors he wanted the walls, what should the desks be like, where did he want the white board. It was a highlight when she went with Sam to select the learning material for the walls of the school.

The pictures show the transformation! What you can't see in the photos though is the reaction of the students. These are young people who because of the costs of high school were not able to complete their studies. They are now getting a 2nd chance as Sam prepares them to take the National Exams that will give them a high school certificate. They said their new classroom felt more like a college classroom and was so much more conducive for learning.

Sam also teaches students who are seeking an elementary degree. And, between sessions Sam teaches a group of women who want to learn to read and write. With 7.1 million illiterate adults in Kenya, PFC staff are doing their part to help ensure every mom can read and write. Learning to read and write helps a mom to care for her children and leads the way for them to be educated. More than a room is being transformed by the work of the PFC team in Kenya.

Thank you Bridgette for caring enough to help so many in Kenya, Connie

Every little girl deserves a pretty dress

When Dano Lister, Greif Corporation, came to Kenya he met the little girls of Parkishon. When he returned home to his family he told his daughter Kennedy about the little girls. He told her how they didn't have enough clothes. Kennedy decided to do something to help. She started a project called Upendo. Upendo is Swahilli for love. She began making pillow dresses. She recruited others to help her including her Grandmother.

When Dano returned to Kenya, he brought the dresses for the little girls of Parkishon. Pastor Hirbo gave them the dresses for Christmas. You can see on the smiles of the girls how happy they are that Kennedy cared enough to make a difference in the lives of these little girls.

On her flyer Kennedy wrote:

Many small people, who in many small places do many small things can alter the face of the earth. (Transcribed on the Berlin Wall).

Thanks Kennedy for helping the little girls of Parkishon have pretty dresses.

Connie

Partners for Care team continues to distribute the packH20

One of the blessings last year was our partnership with Greif Corporation who makes the packH20. These water packs carry as much water as the jerry cans. But, the packs keep safe drinking water safe and are much easier to carry. The team has distributed the packs to far northern Kenya, in Nairobi and in MaiMahui. Each person who receives a pack completes a survey answering questions about their water source, how they sanitize the water, and if they or their family experience signs and symptoms of water borne illnesses.

The Partners for Care staff follow-up weekly to ensure proper use of the pack. In three months the recipients will be asked to complete a follow-up survey. It is hopeful they they and their family will no longer experience signs and symptoms of water borne illnesses.

Most of the world's health problems relate to a lack of safe drinking water. Partners for Care is privileged to partner with Greif as they work to help so many in the world.

Grateful for Greif who desires to good in the world,

Connie