2020 was a particularly difficult year, which is why we also had to adapt our projects to the collateral damage caused by the pandemic.
Here is an overview of our current projects:
Emergency aid – Feeding Program
As many children in Cambodia and Kenya were and are unable to go to school due to the pandemix, we have launched an emergency aid program to prevent the worst from happening, at least for a few children.
Kenya
The lockdown in Kenya has had a devastating impact, particularly on the population in slum areas. We have therefore supported an emergency aid program.
Cambodia
The situation in Cambodia was similar and we therefore launched an emergency aid program for 30 families together with the local ngo avec. These families received aid packages consisting of mosquito nets, rice, noodles, fish and soy sauce, soap and raffia mats. We had met some of these families in person during our last visit to Cambodia in February 2020 and were shocked by the circumstances in which these people have to live.
Kitengela slums – school and women’s education
School
The WeCare-Association has been supporting and promoting Masai communities in the Rift Valley, south-east of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, for over ten years. The focus is on helping people to help themselves and strengthening their self-confidence. In times of corona, this is more necessary than ever!
In 2020, we started supporting two projects run by a great mother-daughter team in Kitengela (Kenya). The mother Jane Gitonga has been running a school in Kitengela since 2014. The students come from the slums of Noonkopir (Kitengela). These children are confronted with abuse, domestic violence, HIV and a permanent lack of money on a daily basis. Currently, 180 children are being cared for there and the operation of the entire system is financed exclusively by donations. It is often not enough to pay the teachers’ salaries and the rent. The school urgently needs school furniture, teachers, textbooks, electricity, computers and food.Head teacher Jane Gitonga was very worried when her school was closed in March 2020 due to the pandemix. All of a sudden, 180 children lost their fixed daily routine, their education and, above all, their only safe meal of the day. Unfortunately, this has even more dramatic consequences: We heard of young girls who were willing to sell their bodies for a meal. Consequently, the number of teenage pregnancies increased, which always leads to girls dropping out of school. Unfortunately, the lockdown in Kenya has also led to more cases of female genital mutilation, as there is no corrective measure provided by the school.
The daughter, Agnes Gitonga, runs a training center for young women with the aim of not only giving them practical training but also boosting their self-esteem. To date, a total of 100 women have been trained as tailors and 40 young women as hairdressers. This project is also financed exclusively from donations.
Femmes des rizières
Helping people to help themselves
Project which aims to give young tailors the opportunity to achieve financial independence through the joint development of products and help and support with marketing and sales. Find out more at www.femmes-des-rizieres.com.
