Dear All,
We wish you a blessed time as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
On October 18th Julius wrote:-
Francis Chuman, aged five, has joined Riziki. He was given to us by the children’s department after being committed to Riziki by the court of Law in Eldama-Ravine. Francis' mother, who is a widow, was imprisoned for 3 years for neglecting her children. The child was being helped by neighbours before his story reached the children’s department. The boy seems not to have gone to school because he does not know abcd--. He was brought to Riziki by the Koibatek subcounty children’s officer and a lady who volunteered among the neighbours to be the boy's guardian. Francis will go to school next year, God willing.
A month later we read:- Francis is settling well although he is very abusive and arrogant. We hope with time he will change.
Hellen, our new social worker, proves to be the right person and she continues to work hard and is very friendly to the children.
Faith and Collins have completed secondary school and have now joined colleges. Faith is taking a short course in ICT in Nakuru and Collins is doing a 2 years catering course in Eldoret.
We have started planting more vegetables and later will plant other crops if the rain continues. We have a few tomato plants, onions and cowpeas in the greenhouse.
Due to the on-going homes re-registration, to comply with the new rules, we have been busy changing the corridor doors and the bedrooms doors to open outwards. Thank God we have managed although it was expensive.
The building of the barn has been done perfectly and is now ready for use.
On 12th September 2019 a group of 22 people from Egerton University visited Riziki and they had a good time with the children, they brought a big piece of goat meat which they roasted and shared with all the children; everybody enjoyed the day.
On September 20th, a group of 18 people by the name Touching Hearts, Kenya visited Riziki. They brought with them food stuff which they cooked for the children; they ate together and played games together - it was a wonderful day which all the children enjoyed.
On November 20th, Julius wrote again:-
All is well with us and the Riziki children are well too, still enjoying their long school holiday. (They will soon go for their annual ‘family visit’.)
We are very pleased to inform you that the KCPE results have been released. Our five candidates are to be congratulated. We are very happy and proud to tell you that Riziki produced the top student in the school in KCPE 2019 – Dominic, who deserves his success. We now wait for the secondary school’s selection to be done and then we will know the schools they will join.
More news. Hannah the cow gave birth to a female calf on Sunday 17th November at night. (We now have two female calves, at last! Praise God)
We have two new gardeners. We hope they will prove to be excellent. Please greet all.
One of our older boys, who is at secondary school in Nairobi, wrote about how Riziki has affected him. This is unedited.
Truly, Riziki has transformed my life from the least in society and now I can say that I have a vision. For the seven years that I have been in Riziki, my life has changed. Finding people who are always there for me was something that I thought would not have happened since my parent’s burial.
I came to Riziki in February 2014 and was shocked by the beautiful house and how people related to each other. It was going to be the best for me as I had thought. It was hard for me to cope with the good behaviour I found in Riziki where people and children talk sense and use polite words when communicating, unlike where I had been. Before coming to Riziki I used to say any word that came into my mind without thinking of its consequences.
The best thing I considered a blessing was finding a religion in Riziki. In fact, I came to know about Christianity and God’s divine power in Riziki. Finding a place where people have devotions on a daily basis and going to church regularly was something to be proud of. In Riziki I was made to understand that despite not having a biological father and mother, God was watching over me and He is the best dad.
Riziki has transformed me and changed my behaviour. This is where I, or we, relied on Christian virtues and discipline is compulsory. At least I found someone to call ‘dad’ and ‘mum’ and even ‘aunty’. I first experienced true love in Riziki and the goodness of being in a family. Riziki has helped me understand how human beings should relate and how a parent can show love to his child.
Back at home, where, after taking breakfast, we would meet the following day for breakfast or, by chance, meet at night for supper. I had no time to understand family matters. I remember well that after breakfast, everyone would part ways and go in different directions so as to find lunch and even supper. I would meet my brothers at around 10pm to sleep, after taking my own supper.
I thank God that I spoke both English and Kiswahili without learning French first at Riziki. Before coming to Riziki I knew only our local language. I got a better school and a better education at Riziki. Going to a private school was a great privilege that I will never waste. For now, I can say I have a dream because Riziki has enabled me to understand the importance of education. Going to school at home was a great problem for both my siblings and me.
In general, Riziki has come to be my best home where I find friends and siblings who are always helpful to me. To the friends in England, my God sees the work of your hands and to those who help us in Riziki, especially Julius (dad), may God be with you all the days. Riziki is nothing to me but a home where things are nothing but the best and morals are guided by the Bible.
It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of Yvonne Hunwicks in October. Her husband, John, was the inspiration for the start of Riziki. Yvonne always gave us constant support and encouragement and will be greatly missed. Please remember her family in prayer.
We are pleased to add that all five secondary school candidatrs have places for January. Dominic will be going to Mang’u School at Thika, one of the top schools in Kenya.
Please pray for regular weather patterns in Kenya, in recent years rains have been very unpredictable.
Thank you for reading this newsletter.
Ian & Diana Hogley