efficiency?

Our friend Isaiah who runs the Virtues Project now phoned me last night. He had received a message from the Registrar of Societies that he wanted to meet Isaiah urgently in Nairobi. Does the man even know that Isaiah is a day's journey away? How urgent can anything be?
My first reaction was to suggest a phone call, at least to find out the problem, but the Registrar ‘might not like that.’ Fairly typical of the arrogant attitude of most civil servants.
So Isaiah left on the 4 a.m bus today. Although Nairobi is only 500 km away, the roads are so bad that it is likely to take twelve hours. He may have to stay over night. Have these people never heard of phones and email?
A friend (a Rotarian) was complaining last week that for the past year or so everything seems to have to go to Nairobi and anyone wanting any kind of government service has to go for a face to face meeting. Is there a security reason behind this? if so, it's hard to see.
We have to go personally to Nairobi for our work pemits although our identitiy cards are issued in Kisumu. But they are only good for two years and out permits for three. So we seem to be visiting government offices every few months.
We have spent most of the day loading software for the computers to go to a school tomorrow. This is a village where I also have a micro credit group, so I will be taking Magdalene with me to talk to the mamas, encourage them, take in loan repayments and hopefully give more loans.
At supper time we heard a fusillade down in the town. Our first thought, conditioned as we are by the violence earlier this year, was a gun battle. But then we remembered it is Diwali–the Hindu festival of Lights and we were hearing fireworks. A celebration of love and joy which is very welcome.

new website

Thank you for visiting this temporary blog. KEEF Canada now has a complete web site with pictures, stories, background and donation information. Please go to www.kenyaeducation.org
We hope to see you there!
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Margadalene has been top of her class (all A’s)all through school although she has had no text books and her family cannot afford to buy kerosene for her to study at night. She would have dropped out and been married off immediately if we had not been able to pay

her fees

Johnstone and Kevin are a year apart. They were top of the same primary school but had no hope of going to high school. Johnstone has an elderly, illiterate father who has no means of support.
Johnstone is now in his final year, and wants to be a doctor. Kevin is in third year and has ambitions to be a lawyer

You can help...

The organization and its current members are based in British Columbia, Canada. There is a Kenyan Management Board which assists with student selection and payment of fees. We have over thirty students in secondary schools and post secondary institutions, supported by individual donors. At the moment there are five executive members with three members at large in Canada and four on the Kenyan Board. We invite you to be involved purely by donation, or perhaps by receiving news and updates of current projects and initiatives. The cost of a full scholarship and subsequent membership in KEEF is $500 per year. This will keep a boy or girl in boarding school or college from January to December. Donations for transport, personal items, uniform and medical care are also gratefully received.
KEEF is a registered charity in Canada and is therefore able to provide you with a charitable receipt for income tax purposes if you choose to make a donation. KEEF does not raise funds to send volunteers to Africa. Those of us who go pay for our travel and accommodation ourselves. 98% of our donations are guaranteed to go to students.

The value of education

We believe in the power of education which enables young people to learn to participate in the political process, understanding the value of 'promises' and what is right.
-They learn to be assertive, protecting themselves against traditional and cultural pressures.
-They know how to get help and advice outside their immediate community
-They are more likely to choose a worthwhile partner (emphasis on choice, especially for girls)
-They look after their own health better, knowing how to protect themselves from water borne diseases, malaria, STD's and HIV
- As studies have shown, the children of educated parents are healthier and usually go to school, With education and confidence these young people tend to become leaders in their communities.