Dear All,
This letter is based on emails received from Julius since September.
In mid-October Julius wrote
We are all doing fine as a family. The Riziki children are all well. We are happy they all performed well in their school opener exam. The three boys in standard 8 are working very hard in school; their school did a competition exam with another one in Subukia, on the way to Nyahururu, and we are happy with their performance.
The children‘s health problem is improving, but Grace will be hospitalized to have her leg operated on to check the bone and clean the wound. .
Work on the new security fence has started and it will take about a month to complete.
We have harvested maize and the yield was very good. We got 37 bags of 90kgs.
I learnt on Monday 19th September that Sofia lost one of her many sisters on Tuesday 13th and she was buried on Saturday the 17th. I met Sofia this Monday on her way back to school after the burial.
Please pass our greetings to friends and family. The Riziki children send their greetings to you all.
May God bless you for the good and hard work you are doing, we truly appreciate it.
PS. Benson will tell you more about the digital library when you come next time; I know nothing in that field. What I do know is that the std 1 pupils in public schools are getting small tablets to use in their learning.
In mid-November Julius wrote
The children continue to do well in school. They closed school on 28th November and their performance in the end of 3rd term exams are extremely encouraging. All had 400 and above marks out of 500 except Grace, Ann and Catherine who had over 350 marks. Four boys Antony, Benson and Richard sat for KCPE at the beginning of November. It is our prayer that God willing they will pass and join secondary school in 2017. Faith and Collins also performed well in their 3rd term exams.
There were a few cases of sickness among the children again but they were taken to hospital and have recovered well. Lucy was the most hit. She fell sick on 14th October, complaining of stomach pains. On 15th I took her to Valley hospital and after scan and blood test were done nothing was found but she was given medicines. On Monday 17th she went back to school and on 19th I was called by the principal, saying that Lucy was not well. Liz and I went for her and we took her to St. Mary's hospital seeking for a second opinion. Several tests were done. The scan revealed that her appendix had ruptured and was leaking; immediately she was rushed to theatre where she was operated on and the appendix removed. Liz and I stayed on waiting for her to come out of theatre. We left at 8.30pm after she was hospitalised. She stayed in hospital from 19th to 31st October. During this period, I visited her daily from 1 to 2 pm then stayed around to see her again from 4 to 6pm. She went back to school on 5th November and started her KCSE on 7th and every day in the afternoon she sits for 2 exam papers. I take her to hospital and back to school. She needs to be cleaned and dressed every day and this will continue until the wound is healed. She is also on medication. In school, they are carrying her on a chair upstairs to a hall where the exams are being held. We all pray that with God's help she will pass well, her last paper will be on 29th Nov. 2016. Yesterday her wound was reopened for better cleaning because it is still oozing. I took her again today for cleaning and dressing then took her back to school till Monday afternoon when she will go again to hospital.
On 3rd November, Dennis Kibet had his left leg big toe operated on again. He had the same problem as in 2013 when he was hospitalised and the toe is healing well; the stiches were removed on 10th and he was put on medication.
We took Grace to hospital again and another X-Ray was taken. The doctor said that there is no need for an operation now because the wound has healed and she was put on medication until 22nd December when she will go for review, we all thank God for that. Please remember her in your prayers.
The work on the security fence has been completed and we believe that all will be well. We are most grateful to the donor of this fence which should enhance the security of the children and reduce the thefts of crops.
The renovation of the two old houses needs KES. 170,000/- (£1500). (This is to provide suitable accommodation for our older children, separate from the younger ones.) The extension I mentioned (to the main house) will need KES.2.8milion (£24 000) for materials and labour but it is not urgent.
There are tomatoes in the greenhouse. The cow, Joy, gave birth in October to a male calf and Turi was served again after losing the first pregnancy.
Peter, our Masai friend, invites us with the children to visit Mara and stay at his camp for three days; he promised to give us one day free full board. (We have been promised a donation to cover this event as it should be a very worthwhile educational experience.)
On 20th October the pastor of AIC Kayanet, his wife and a few members of the church visited the Riziki children and they had good time together.
Sorry for being quiet for some time. This is because of Lucy's sickness which made me keep running up and down between Nakuru and St. Mary's hospital, not forgetting visiting the children and getting back to the house very tired Now it is between Lucy's school and St. Mary's hospital daily. Liz has not been feeling well for some time but now she is getting better.
At the end of November Julius wrote
Bwana Yesu Asifiwe, We trust that you are all well.
We are well and the Riziki children are too. They are enjoying their school holiday, looking forward to visiting Mara next month. Lucy continues to go to hospital everyday for cleaning and dressing and as of yesterday 19th November the wound is still oozing. She is still on medication and it is our prayer that she will get well. She does her exams in the morning and in the afternoon goes to hospital and back to school late evening. Dennis’s toe continues to heal but it has to be dressed after every one day. He goes to a private clinic at Menengai centre.
We have been asked by supporters here about the possibility of giving Christmas presents of donations to Riziki and have come up with the following gifts which would be much appreciated. Costs are given in Kenya shillings which for small amounts approximate to KES.100 = £1. The current exchange rate is KES.116 = £1, a major fall since the EU referendum.
The suggested gifts are:-
2Kgs of hybrid maize costs 500/-
2Kgs of hybrid beans costs 800/-
Native chicken medium size hen costs 500/-
Native chicken medium size cock costs 700/-
Cross breed chickens are more expensive costing almost double depending on the size.
Rabbits are between 500/- and 1000/- depending on the size.
We would like to start a native chicken project with 300 and crossbreed chicken project with 200 and about 100 rabbits. We would seriously like to get to this kind of business for profit making, these three are easy to keep and the rabbit urine is very expensive. It is sold in litres!
The children sent greetings.
Julius & Esther
If you would like to give a present of seeds, poultry or rabbits in this way then let us know and we will supply a suitable printed message to go to the recipient of the gift.
May God bless you,
Ian & Diana
We are very grateful to all our supporters for what they are able to give and would be delighted to supply relevant information to anyone else who wishes to donate regularly, or occasionally, to Riziki.
Gaggia Caffe Shop, based in Elland has a feature on Riziki on their website. This can be accessed on www.gaggiacaffe.tv. Our own Riziki website is accessed on http://www.riziki.org.uk.