To Kakamega

Today Kay and I depart for Kenya to spend a week at the Kakamega Orphans' Care Centre, particularly to help with arts & crafts activities for their summer (actually winter, in the Southern Hemisphere) camp.

We were introduced to these children back in 2006, before most of the facilities existed.

Sukie Rice with photo of founder Dorothy Salebwa

Sukie Rice from Portland Maine, the founder of Friends of Kakamega, made a poignant presentation to our North Shore Friends Meeting showing how Kenyan Quaker women had salvaged the lives of children in their town who had lost their families to the AIDS epidemic. We saw hope restored to the children's faces by a daily communal meal, a little shelter and a lot of love.


Augustan

Since that time our family has been supporting a boy and paying his school tuition. Augustan is now a young man whom we are going to meet.


Rachel Williamson reporting

This plan took hold of us unexpectedly when we attended a program at Amesbury Friends Meetinghouse last April. High school student Rachel Williamson described her experiences from three service trips to Kakamega.

Pastor Nelson Ida spoke charismatically as the welfare administrator of the orphanage. His brotherly spirit moved every heart in the room. Kay said, "Let's go."

After leaving Kakamega we will enjoy a short stay in Istanbul and ten days in France. We'll have much to share when "Notes from Halibut Point" resumes in a few weeks. 

To learn more about the Care Centre or to donate to its work, see the website Friends of Kakamega.