Dear All,
A happy new year to all our Riziki friends. This will be a short newsletter before we go to Kenya later this month. We hope to include new pictures etc when we return. The children have spent time with whatever family or guardians they have and on returning to Riziki they have been preparing to return to school for the new school year – a mammoth task for a very large family!
On 28th January, Liz wrote
Good to hear from you. We have just settled down after a period of trying to get the five extra children to high school. We managed to get them all in on time, but everyone had to get involved, including Elizabeth (cook), in order to make the school deadlines.
The girls went to nearby schools, Grace to Kirobon girls, while Mary and Phyllis joined Ann at Mama Ngina Kenyatta. The boys joined schools outside Nairobi, Dennis to Kijabe Boys and Dominic to Mangu High School, Thika.
Our youngest, Francis Chuman, joined school for the first time, and you could not contain his excitement, he doing well. I and am just glad we haven't been called to school for any problems. 😁 (This is a testimony to the love and care he has received at Riziki)
We are currently storing vegetables; the rains have continued into January so we have a lot of green in the Shamba. We are storing as much as we can in case of a dry period in February and March. Thank God, locusts haven't reached us, as the damage would be significant.
Construction of the stand to hold the high-level water tanks starts this week. This is very exciting. I can't wait to see how well they work.
Two pieces of bad news. We found one silo with the maize completely damaged. This is from 2016 harvest. We suspect moisture, as we had no proper way of measuring moisture at the time. (It is remarkable to me that we have managed to store maize satisfactorily for four years with only this one disaster so far. Last year we had the donation of a grain moisture meter so the problem should not arise again.)
The other piece of sad news is that Catherine, the cleaner, left Riziki due to health reasons. After a period of trying her best she decided to leave as the job was not doing her health any good. She was quickly replaced by Rachel, who lives not too far from Riziki. She is good at her job and cares for the children. (Catherine worked very well for a long time and we are sorry she has had to leave.)
The following item was written by one of our secondary school girls.
The seven years I have lived in Riziki I have learnt a lot. If I was not brought here, I don’t know where I would have been. My life has really changed. When I compare the life in Riziki and that of those outside there is a lot of difference. I have been given this chance and I will utilise it. Many have been denied the chance but I have been given it so why should I waste this opportunity since I know opportunity may only come once. I have learnt how to make my future bright. We are taught many tips of success. Many people have talked to us about life there outside and from what they are saying, all you all you need to have is success, which is what I am working to get. I am determined to achieve the best. Life in Riziki is the best. I don’t think if I will ever get a nice life like this in Riziki. We are provided with everything starting from head.
We have never been sent home for school fees since it is always available and has already been paid. We have never slept hungry because of lack of food. I am really working hard to achieve the best. There is no reason why I should give up working hard and getting good grades. There is no time I should waste since we are given every time to study. If I want to get something in future, I should work for it now. If my goal is to fly with eagles, I should not waste time with chickens. I know success comes after hard work. I will never dream of big things, but I will always dream of great things. I won’t work hard but I will work smart to chase my goals till I achieve them, since success needs determination, attitude and hard work..
It has been suggested to us that we should offer our supporters the opportunity for child sponsorship. This would involve the commitment to give regularly, preferably monthly, whatever amount you choose, small or large, to Riziki. Although you would have a named child to link with, the funds would go to the upkeep of all the children. It would not be appropriate for any one child to have preferential benefits compared to another! We would like your named child to write to you directly from time to time. If you would like to do this then let us know (our address and email are on the contact us page) and we will make the appropriate arrangements.
Thank you for reading this newsletter.
Ian & Diana Hogley