BIG RHINO CHILDERN’S COMMUNITY - Geoffrey Kiiru

Through the support of Barbara DouganFoundation, we have been able to achieve so much and I will stipulate just a few of them over the period of May – July this year.

At our centre we were hosting 81 students (Primary, Secondary, College & Universities) but now an additional 20 have been able to benefit from the support from Big Rhino Childrens Community. They will be able to have access to good shelter, nutritious food, secure place to stay and above all a chance to chase their dreams through education.

All the students have enjoy the pleasure to have meals at the right time, access to clean water, shelter and secure living places. I have been visiting the college and university students and they have good accommodation and have enough food and all their expenses which they made need while studies are covered leaving them with just learning as the only responsibility bestowed on them.

Operating expenses at our centre have been paid for which includes salaries to matrons, security personnel, food and utilities.

We have fully functional urinals – both indoors and outdoors – including outdoor latrine. It was during the construction of the urinals the dining hall and both dormitories were fitted with tiles making it easier to clean and increasing the levels of hygiene at our centre which will go a long way in ensuring we are protected against dirt related infections.

We are now reaping the fruits of internet connection and the additional computers we received. Our students at St. Anointed Girls were part of the group from their school who participated in Choral Verse during the National Music Festivals came second nationally and we feel the computer have a positive impact in their school lives. Again, with the internet connection, we stand a chance to benefit from big free learning resources available in digital form which will give our students an edge when it comes to research or class work or creating thinking. In short, it will increase the view of our students of things and the world.

Agriculture being the backbone of our economy, we are proud to be part of the Kenyans working towards to seeing Kenya being self-sufficient in regards to food. We have grown crops at both of our gardens and the crops are growing very well. In one garden we have vegetables which have been helping us cut food costs. The gardens act as a learning area for our students interested in agriculture professionally. We have Brady Dougan to thank for the second piece of land. We appreciate so much.

We practicing zero grazing and poultry keep with view of producing enough milk and eggs for us with excess being taken to the market and bring us income.

We want to nurture all the talents and we are grateful to have uniform for girls and boys which mean they can be able to participate in co-curricular activities like soccer with BRCC branding to show identity.

We have been celebrating birthday parties in groups for all students which ensure they all feel accepted and loved. They raise their morale and feel equal with other in their schools when narrating how they celebrated their birthdays.

A POEM FROM THE GIRLS AT ST. ANREWS

A Walking Miracle

There was darkness, no moon, no light,

A starless sky,

A daily 7KM trek from the dusty slum,

A look on the hill of hope just for some,

The beautiful winds carried you to me,

An ocean full of unfailing love without limits,

A face of calmness, rare to see,

Soft spoken Barbara Dougan.

You are like no other,

From you angel, there rises a beam that reaches straight to heaven,

A kindness that the deaf can hear and the blind see,

You give silently without hope of praise or reward

A sacrifice not many can make,

Look at the home, the light, only you made possible,

Kindly accept the title, ‘Mama’ and we you adopted babies.

We are writing to you this letter,

Just to make ourselves feel better,

Yet no words feel good enough,

None seem adequate,

You saved us all countless tears,

You placed no limits on my dreams, her dreams and now, his dreams,

With you our dreams are valid.

Mom, I look at you and see a walking miracle,

I want to hold you tight and hug you,

I just want to say thank you,

So thank you,

Thank you very much,

Thank you mama.

“The Dougan Valley”

“I must say that I really did struggle to give this story an appropriate heading. This is because of the unquantifiable, immense and inexpressible (Can we even use these words together!!!!!) encounter I had the other day during a field visit. This was at Kakima SHG a group in Makueni County which has been working with ASDF for the last two years. I vividly remember the first day I visited the group during collection of baseline data. One thing that I can remember was the desperate, wrinkled, tired old faces of a group of people who had given up on life due to the challenges of water insecurity.

During the interview I remember one old lady who shed tears as she narrated her daily routine of walking 8 km each day for a period of 6 hours to fetch drinking water from river Athi, which is heavily polluted with industrial and sewerage waste from the capital city Nairobi. This is the only source of water for a community village of over 800 households. Each day under the scorching heat of Kenya women with small children on their backs made this journey in order to have water for drinking and domestic use. Due to the high pollution of this water source many fell sick from amoeba and typhoid and were forced to spend their already strained budgets on medical bills. This story resonated well with all the members of the community. The community also highlighted how they had approached diverse leaders and even the government to be supported to tackle the water problem, but to no avail.

On the day of my visit the story has changed. The smiles are as beautiful as ever, there is even singing, the birds all flock around the trees singing awesome music. In the background you can feel insects buzzing with activities, and to my awe the river is flowing again!!!!! Clearly this is a different place than the one I was at two years ago. I come across a few women working nearby to seek their story.

“I am really grateful to the three women who came to our support. By the way that was the first time we saw an aircraft land in our area. Because of their contribution we now have a valley of hope which we call the ‘Dougan Valley'”, remarks the chairlady of the Kakima SHG. (That’s how they can clearly remember Barbara and her daughters)

“Ever since we constructed the two sand dams and a shallow well our lives have completely changed. We have been able to save on time we used to spend in fetching water. I spend less than 15 minutes to fetch water. The water is clean and we no longer suffer from diseases. With the additional time we now have saved from fetching water we have been trained to plant vegetables which we are selling to get income and eat a balanced diet at the end of the day’s activities. Clearly if this is not development then I don’t know what development is!” exclaims the over jovial chairlady.

“If we had a way to all fly to where Barbara and family are we would all give her hugs and kisses because they have changed the lives of the village and villages to come have completely being positively changed, no more water diseases and long walks to fetch water.”

Such stories and testimonials give us the motivation and courage to wake up another day to support more lives as much as we can. But without sacrificial support from well-wishers like Barbara through The water Project such stories remain a mirage. Its moments like this that you really applaud and celebrate partners because in one way or the other the foot prints of their support will always remain engrained in the lives of communities across the area of our work.

Tess Crick, Director of Development, The Water Project

"Hi,  Mrs Dougan , I kindly take this opportunity  to let you know that am so humbled by your support towards my studies. Together  with Mum Debs  family, your family and everyone who was involved, it  really makes me lack words but just saying  thanks. Thank you  so much for paying my school fees  for the last semester and also for provision of food allowances. Surely i  don't take it for granted  bt with allot of humility. May God who see from heaven just bless you in abundance  .May i  let you know that  i  already    did my Knec exam  for the end of semester one .Without  God and your support, I really know that i  could not make it. Maybe i could have given up long time ago due to challenges of school  fees and many other needs ,But through you and mum Debsnell who have been very hardworking  ,God has shown His faithfulness. May i  also let you know that since our next semester will be starting on January  , the school  has looked for attachment areas for everyone of us. We are just waiting for the confirmation  dates from Hotels then we will start anytime. Thank you so much for everything.Mine is just praying for you   and working harder. May God bless your families and fulfill the desires of your hearts. My gratitude." 

Recent Scholarship Recipient