For our non-polish speaking friends we present the translation of fundrising website where we gather money to build a dormitory for girls in Kenya.
https://wspieram.oaza.pl/campaigns/chce-zostac-w-domu/
We have time only until September to build a new building for the school-orphanage SHALOM HOME in Kenya. Only then, 237 girls will be allowed to stay there after the change in regulations, according to which boys and girls cannot live in the same building. For many of them, SHALOM HOME is the only safe space that they can call home, because they suffered a lot in their family homes and they had to escape. Help us build the dormitory so that they can continue their education and grow up in dignified conditions and friendly atmosphere. To build the St Faustina’s Dormitory we need 550 000zł.
MEET SOME OF OUR GIRLS
My name is Mary, I’m 6 years old. I don’t remember much from my family home, because I have been living in Shalom HOME for two years now. Me and my brother, we come from the Samburu tribe, but a priest found us when we were wandering through the savannah… Now this is our home.
I’m Faith Ann, but everyone calls me by my tribal name – Mumbi. I’m in class 5. I am in SHALOM HOME with my brother and sister. We come from a nearby town Mitunguu, but our mum hasn’t come to visit us for a long time. I can’t imagine going back to her home. Very often strange men came to her… In SHALOM HOME I feel safe.
My name is Pauline and I’m in the third year of high school. I have some distant family, but they do not want to support me financially. Since my mother abandoned me I had to rely on myself. After a lot of troubles on the road I finally settled with my godfather in Mitunguu, but when he started to beat me I had to run away. I knew that the local priest helps people like me. I asked him to let me attend the school. Since then, SHALOM HOME is really a home to me. I want to stay here…
LEARN ABOUT OUR HOME
SHALOM HOME is a school-orphanage in a town called Mitunguu in Kenya. The Light-Life Movement has known this place for a couple of years – we invite students for oasis retreats and we take care of the youngest ones through “Distance Adoptions”. One of the Light-Life Movement leaders, Ewa, stays with them permanently, but during the oasis retreats in Kenya many others from Poland visit them.
‘My first visit to SHALOM HOME was in 2018 when we conducted a short oasis retreat for children. It lasted only 5 days, but I was leaving with tears in my eyes and already missing the children. In 2020 I managed to come for a longer period of time- I have already been here for over a year and every day I get to know these kids- their stories, their favourite songs, their sense of humour. I know that many of the girls have troubled pasts and that is why we want to ensure their safe present and even better future. I can’t imagine them leaving…’ – says Ewa Korbut
There are over 500 students between the ages 3 and 20 in the SHALOM HOME. There are kindergarten, primary school and high school students. Apart from Mary, Pauline and Mumbi, there are a lot more girls that have taken refuge from their troubled lives… They suffered too much… At this point in time, there are 237 girl students.
HELP THE GIRLS STAY IN SCHOOL
As if the pandemic wasn’t enough of a problem, the Kenyan Ministry of Education tightened the rules concerning boarding schools. In our school, boys live on the ground floor of the building, girls reside on the first floor and they have a separate entrance and sanitary facilities. Starting from the next September, boys and girls are required to have separate dormitories, or the school will not be allowed to administer the state examinations at the end of high school, the 8th and 4th grade…
As the headmaster of the school, father Francis Gaciata says, there are two ways to solve the problem:
– Either we send all the girls back from where they came
– Or we build a new dormitory for them.
We must remember that the situation of children, especially girls in the African countries very often is not easy. Kenya, of which we are speaking, is not the worst in this matter, but the situation still depends on the region and the culture of the tribe. More than a half of kids under the age of 5 do not have access to proper sanitary facilities. The actual average of time spent enrolled actively in education in Kenya in 2020 is 6,6 years (in Poland it’s 12,5!). Girls encounter more problems than boys. Apart from poverty and pathological families, because of their gender, girls are sexually abused and leave education early because of teen pregnancies. Sometimes, the problem is the lack of finances for hygiene products during the menstrual cycle, so girls decide not to leave their houses. It also often happens that parents choose their son over their daughter if they do not have enough money for education of both children.
Our girls had luck in life- they found their way here, where thanks to the headmaster priest and international help, they have a school and a home. But is it forever? If we don’t build the new dormitory, all of the girls will have to leave. Some of them will return to their abusive families, others will end up on the street…
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?
Plans and projects are already drafted, and the cost is estimated. See some of the expenses:
Preparation of the ground- 278 200 kenyan shillings KSH – 10 012,2 zł
1155 bags of concrete, 700 KSH each- 64 065 KSH- 2306,34 zł
58 windows 150×150 cm, 8000 KSH each- 464 000 KSH – 16 704 zł
1250 sheets of metal for the roof, 700 KSH each- 875 000 KSH- 31 500 zł
The whole cost of the construction:
14 553 284 KSH, around 523 900 zł or 150 000$
We also need to add costs of money transfer etc.
Let’s build a new dormitory for 237 girls. We can’t let the lives of 237 people be neglected, written off. Let’s give those 237 girls the opportunity to finish their education in a safe environment…