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AVIF is an innovative online charity, assisting with sustainable development via online & onsite volunteering in rural Kenya, East Africa. Being virtual means negligible administration costs for worldwide impact. We believe in efficiency, honesty and transparency. We don't charge fees.

[Panorama shot above by Simon Gardner, a volunteer, taken minutes before the storm hit him while cycling through Kenya on the Tour d'Afrique. His full journal and pictures are here].

The Invisible Madeleines

Written by Alison | 16 May 2007

THE INVISIBLE MADELEINES

13 days ago four year old Madeleine McCann from Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared from the holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal in which she was sleeping with her siblings whilst her parents had dinner less than 50 meters away.

Since then we have seen endless footage of two young individuals whose pain, sadness and fear for their daughter’s safety can not be described nor imagined. One only has to see Gerry and Kate McCann’s faces to know that every moment since that night has been a living nightmare for them.

11 days after the incident the reward offered to anyone with information leading to Madeleine’s safe return reached £2.5 million. The generosity of the individuals who have contributed to this fund and every other that has taken time to help in some way is a display of human kindness at its finest. Once again we have united as a nation to show our support, courage and strength. We did this after little Jamie Bulger’s brutal murder, the 2004 Tsunami and 07/07 and we will continue to do this as future tragedies take their place in history.

Yet there is something very uncomfortable and disconcerting about the media’s reaction to Madeleine McCann. As each day passes, it is becoming harder to ignore the imbalance of their reporting. Why has precedence been given to one child and her family over the countless others in this world who are locked in endless slavery, abuse, torture and poverty?

The media say they report News. Surely it is the media that has driven the news over the past 13 days. The momentum of this front page 24/7 reporting has created a void which is not backfilled by any measured reporting of an issue that affects thousands of children every day of every year. Once again the media have failed to give voice to the poor.

In a report by Human Rights Watch published in January 2004, the report details child abductions in Northern Uganda as one of the most flagrant examples. ‘The Lord’s Resistance Army has abducted an estimated 10,000 children since mid 2002. These children are forced to fight against the Ugandan People’s Defense Forces, raid villages for food, slaughter civilians, and abduct other children. Children who try to escape are killed, typically by other children who are forced to beat or hack the victim or be killed themselves’.

Around Easter this year the plight of children slaving on Cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast so that we can effortlessly eat Easter eggs was given some media attention albeit very minimal. A survey in 2002 by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture found that 284 000 children were working in hazardous conditions on cocoa farms in West Africa. Many of these children were trafficked. Imagine Wembley Stadium filled three times over. This is how many children’s lives are at stake.

Why has this not been drummed, hammered and stamped into our conscience by the media with daily headlines and graphic accounts of these children? Their names, their age, their smiles, their tears. We hear nothing. We see nothing. Why are we not reminded every day that bonded labour, warfare and child prostitution is an everyday reality for so many of the world’s children?

There is no doubt that there is a lot of money being given to aid children whose human rights have and are being violated. There are many selfless and generous people in our world and every bit counts. And there is no question of the validity of the reward to bring Madeleine home. Everyone wants this beautiful little girl to be safe and back in her parents’ arms again.

It is unfortunate that the media has isolated this heart wrenching story and have failed to frame it within a global context. Every child is priceless and most importantly every child is equal. As human beings we have a moral duty to remember the thousands of invisible children who we will never ever hear about every time we think, hope and pray for Madeleine McCann.

(Brami Jegan)

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Helen H ~ March 07 visit to Rianna's Furaha Children's Home, Yala near Kisumu

Written by Alison | 15 April 2007

            We've just come back from spending 2 weeks in quite a rural area of Kenya, 45 minutes drive from Kisumu. We stayed in the orphanage compound the whole time we were there it was a very safe environment, it's also good to be close to the children all the time. I think we were really lucky with what they gave us whilst we were there, we had our own bedroom, with mosquito nets, we had a shower and normal toilet, as well as a living area and electricity. We were also given a cook/cleaner, who was very helpful, at our own cost, but it was still very cheap!
            Don't expect that there will be lots to do in the evening, even though there is electricity there's still a limit to what you can do, from what I noticed Yala had no bars, and it was just safer for you to stay within the orphanage compound once it was dark anyway. Yala has a few shops and a market twice a week, where you can buy fruit and veg, pop, and phone credit, along with a few other things. Although we found we didn't need to buy much whilst we were there as you give the orphanage enough money for food and drink and they will buy it all for you. Yala also has an internet café, which we found very useful, it was only down the road and we were able to go there by ourselves, which gave you back a little bit of that freedom your used to at home. The computers were really nice, they had broadband internet, but it was still very slow to what we're used too, even though they claim it to be high speed. It's also very cheap, but I guess it needs to be if the connection is slow!
            Although the orphanage has running water, whilst we were there the water did run out for a few days. We were still able to get water to put down the toilet and to wash, but it's handy to take lots of baby wipes and antibacterial gel to make sure you can clean yourself whenever you need to.
            As I said before during the first few days whilst you are there, or even before you arrive, it is essential that you organize with them how much money you will need for food and drink during your stay, they will then buy everything you need. You may wish to visit the supermarket in Kisumu when you arrive to buy anything you may have forgotten, or any food such as crisps, biscuits or sweets to keep you going, as the food you will be getting is mainly carbohydrates!
            If there's anything you really don't like or can't eat I'd advise telling them in advance and they will cater around your needs. The food we were given whilst we were there wasn't much different from home, the only thing is it's all very plain. The one night we had shepherds pie so they must have looked into the types of food we like. Also we were never given ugali (made from maize and is eaten by lots of people in Kenya as it's very cheap), they'd really put some thought into the types of food we may like.
            We suggest flying to Kisumu and then organizing to be picked up at the airport. We privately hired a matatu (public minibus/bus) which cost 3000ksh (about £21) to take us from the airport to Yala, via the supermarket. We advise flying, even though you will have a weight limit, because the road from Nairobi to Kisumu is very bad and will take about 7 hours, also it's not much more money to fly.
Everyone at the orphanage is so nice and really easy to get on with; they will even go out of their way to help you. We felt that we were treated like royalty whilst we were there and they really do make a big deal out of you being there. One thing you need to be aware of is they expect you to go to church with them, as they are all very Christian. I must say that their church services can be quite a shock as they are very long and very different to those in England.
            The types of things we taught the children we're mainly arts and crafts and sports/games, as its things they never have the opportunity to do. All the children are at school or nursery in the mornings so you have this time to yourself, we often found this time useful to organise what we were doing that day. Then in the afternoon most of the children are about except a few of the older ones who go back to school until around 5pm. There is a language barrier and sometimes it is hard to explain how you're supposed to be doing something, but arts and crafts were fairly easy to explain as you can show them visually. By the end of our stay there you could really tell that the children were a lot more confident with their English and were talking a lot more to you.
Before we went to Kenya we did some fundraising which was a great help to us. We then used this money to buy lots of sport equipment, books and arts and crafts stuff to use with the children. They especially loved the glitter and couldn't resist covering themselves with it; we had to take it away in the end as they were getting a bit carried away! It's very important that you think about the types of donations your going to give to the orphanage. They already get quite a lot of funding so I really advise buying lots of teaching and sport equipment like we did as it's something the children will never see otherwise.
On the last day we had a big party, they even decorated the hall with all the Christmas decorations and there was even a tree! We all had a big meal in the hall, and we ate with the children, as it's something you don't normally do. We then gave out certificates, and they even gave us them too! We also bought a few treats for the children such as crisps, biscuits, sweets and lollies, something they very rarely get chance to have.
All I have left to say is you will really enjoy it. It was very hard work and the heat really adds to this, also they can't understand how the sun affects us so much and limits what you do, as they are just so used to it. But it was also a lot of fun; I have so many memories that I will cherish forever from this experience. It really is such an eye opener, even though these children do have quite a lot for Kenyans, they still lack a lot of things that we all take for granted. Just make the most of it; what you get from the experience is what you make of it.

Thanks
Helen

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Solar Cooking in Kenya

Written by Alison | 04 April 2007

Please read the following article re. solar cooking; a case study recently in Kenya by SCI.

The current volunteer programme near Kisumu, Western Kenya has been extremely successful. The 4 girls are currently in the Mara in safari, returning home next week (attached photo). Along with lessons you may already planned we are trying yto help spread the word about solar cooking during our volunteer programs so would appreciate your cooperation.

I would also refer you to the Blog and the Food & Money posting, a situation I felt needed more debate.

Kindest regards

Alison

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Coral holds record of Kenya's past

Written by Alison | 03 April 2007

http://environment.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg19325945.300&feedId=life_rss20

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Food and money

Written by Alison | 01 April 2007

Every different host / orphanage / school will have a different existing arrangement for food.

Unfortunately, not every volunteer is going to enjoy Kenyan food, or the food normally cooked for the children. Therefore we cannot make a rule that every volunteer pays a certain amount of $$$ a month for food, because many will prefer to choose their own food.

What volunteers on the short summer program are told (on the website and in the handbook) is that it will be cheaper for them to buy food themselves, with their hosts. They should discuss meal arrangements according to the specific existing arrangements.

This means if they have to pay to take their hosts with them to the town to buy food then that is their cost. (It will be cheaper if your hosts literally go through the checkout for you as locals are charged much less than "richer visitors").

If they wish to pay their hosts to prepare meals like the children have and anything else they may prefer then that is also their cost. A volunteer must pay for the priviledge of having the food prepared for them. If they want to cook their own meals (in a solar cooker or over a fire) then the price would be cheaper.

The problem is that individuality means a general rule cannot be placed.

For longer term volunteers, it is acceptable to pay a fixed amount to cover meals and accommodation, bearing in mind they will probably not always eat the same as the children, may go out to eat, may be invited to a locals house to eat, etc. I believe USD$ 200 per month per volunteer is acceptable (including an extra amount to help with anything the orphanage may need).

Shorter volunteering including the Summer Program, accommodation is free at your host.

AVIF are aware that volunteers have spent a massive amount of money simply travelling to Kenya. It was their choice to come, but it is still a large amount of time and money they have committed to help the children.

AVIF are also aware volunteers will no doubt bring many donated gifts and classroom materials, and will very probably buy more gifts for the children or spend more money on their hosts during the visit.

The point being made here, which may differ from a poor, rural Kenyans view, is that people are always more open to help, if they do not feel obliged. Money has a negative effect on people this way.

Volunteering by its pure nature, is a person offering their help. Unfortunately, where financial donations are involved it is very easy to offend someone by asking for too much.

Volunteers (assuming hosts have bought the food with them and you are not charged "visitor prices"

should only spend around USD25 a week on food.

This is NOT a fixed amount and emphasis must be made on making clear arrangements at the beginning of your volunteering with YOUR host, according to existing arrangements and your own preferences.

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The Invisible Madeleines

Helen H ~ March 07 visit to Rianna's Furaha Children's Home, Yala near Kisumu

Solar Cooking in Kenya

Coral holds record of Kenya's past

Food and money

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