Graduates of CoS addressing the current crop

While American youngsters might opt for a tantrum throwing to slim their chances of heading to school on a Saturday, the hundreds of Children of Strength sponsees appeared in droves and spent their Saturday February 20 participating in songs, dance, commemoration and a meal.

As the Kenyan sun passed by the shaded sundial indicating it was indeed 3 p.m. in the Eastern sky, the father and son pair of traveling mzungus headed for their home. But not without a final cultural offering; shoes!

This DIY method for charting a child’s foot for future pairs of shoes was equally effective as it was quite stunning.

The Community of Hope is a home to 35 children living with HIV/AIDS. Built nine years ago by a German donator, Community of Hope is operated by Sister Celine and two other nuns. Children of Strength sponsors a few of the children and initiated the malnutrition program.

Receiving gifts of knitted blankets, scarves and caps

Grace Nduku was squatting on Del Monte land with her sister and grandmother when they returned to their home one day to find it bulldozed. Through her sponsorship, she and her family were provided with a 3/4 acre land and began developing in 2009. Today it looks like this:

The Nduku family invited us visitors into their home which houses the 18-year-old Grace, her grandmother, her sister, her two nieces and her 2-year-old son Gottfried:

Usher: a gift from her uncle

Gottfried is a millennial in training

Grace attended Ndula Primary School before the birth of her son in October 2014 and she has ambitions of returning to school to become a teacher. She enjoys reading stories and hopes to install electricity in her home along with a water tank.

Three times a day Grace must visit a nearby water hole to obtain water for her family:

Grace has a share in a local plantation and will begin growing corn. When the Nduku family arrived on their land there were no other developments nearby yet today there are over four homes within sight.

Grace and Gottfried Nduku

*UPDATE*
February 29, 2016 

Following our visit with Grace and her family a motivation was set to provide the Ndukus with energy and last week it came to fruition:

Mr. Leiro installing solar panels

Children of Strength’s premier college graduate, Joseph Wanyoro, returned to Kilimambogo three years ago to make a home for his mother. There’s a flourishing farm with various animals: chickens, two goats and one tiny kitten.

Since early 2011, Kusitawi Village has had an in-house tailor who provides the children with their class uniforms and is responsible for crafting the tote bags which are sold internationally for funding.

The hand that threads the needle is Ms. Agnes Thuku who originally applied to be a house mother for Children of Strength but upon learning of her expertise behind the spinning wheel (per se), was repositioned as the program’s tailor.

Masterfully skilled and properly trained (she studied fashion and design at Mwangaza College in Nakuru, Kenya), Agnes works weekdays from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and averages ten tote bags or between four to eight uniforms a day – depending on the measurements.

Agnes Thuku: kickin’ pedals and stitching names

The tailor shop is a cozy room situated across the parking area from the administration building. There are currently five sewing machines and one overlock that sews over the edge of two pieces of cloth for edging:

The overlock

Tote bag cloth. Soon countless Safeway trips will be bejeweled by their tote-y-ness

Music of choice: Gospel

The blog post is respectfully dedicated to The Beatles’ 1965 classic ‘HELP’

A short walk from Kusitawi Village is Matathia Primary School offering classes from kindergarten to Grade 7 – with Grade 8 to be offered next year. Children of Strength provides Matathia with desks, books and its daily feeding program. Currently there are 285 primary and 43 ABC (kindergarten) students that receive a lunch consisting of ground corn (ugali, a tradition Kenyan cuisine), beans, onions and various vegetables. Children of Strength has been working with Matathia for the past year and it’s one of the nine feeding programs currently administered.

A total of eight classrooms comprise Matathia (Some up to 60 students!) with four currently in construction:

At 12:40 p.m. a hand-held bell is rung and lunch commences. Situated behind the main classrooms is the kitchen, or jiko:

The children first wash their bowls and tupperware and then begin lining up with the youngest first. As the line starts to snake, a communal prayer is said and then food is served:

Five years separate the last News update and now which begs the inquiry: what’s been happenin’ with Children of Strength and its colorful cast of characters? For the next few days an update a day will appear each morning (or night; depending on which side of the globe you’re spinning) with updates and stories from the program.  All photos are credited to Silas Valentino.

The gate leading into Kusitawi Village

The administration building

Christened after remodeling on June 26, 2015, Kusitawi Village is the main operating grounds for Children of Strength – or in its native tongue of Swahili: Watoto Wenye Nguvu). Madame Elizabeth Gitau has been in charge since the organization’s conception and her office – along with the offices for the program’s various other social worker staff – is located in the administration building. (Pictured above.)

The 9-acre land is home to both the girl’s safe house (with 80 girls expected to be housed within the next three months) and the boy’s (currently at 61 boys). Also on the premises is the tailor – stitching uniforms and tote bags – and future developments include a nursery.

Kale

Banana trees

Growing alongside the ridges of the property are various vegetables and fruits including kale, bananas (pictured above), spinach, mango, avocados and oranges. This farm (or shamba) produces food for the inhabitants of Kusitawi. In the past, the children of Kusitawi  would participate in the harvesting and growing of such food yet the Kenyan government has since deemed this “child labor.” This was found to be most curious as it’s currently Girl Scout Cookies season in the States and Thin Mint cookies have made their way into the luggage and mouths of certain current travelers.

The River Thika nearby

Kusitawi’s water tanks

One kilometer from Kusitawi is the River Thika which provides 5,000 liters/hour. Activated at the start of each day, this flow not only supplies Kusitawi with fresh and farming water but it also is sold to the neighborhood.