Dear All, We are due to fly to Kenya tomorrow and Liz has been unable to send her usual regular contribution to the newsletter so this one will be very short. We will try to do a longer letter while we are at Riziki in just over a week, if internet allows. We still have great concern over Julius’ health. He is now on Kidney dialysis twice a week and undergoing investigations for other underlying problems. This is naturally giving Liz much concern as well as taking time to support her mum and dad. We are blessed that the Riziki staff have been very loyal and committed to the care of the children at this time. It has also been very busy in the home with children coming and going from school with half-term, elections and the end of term coming in quick succession. Our second big concern is for Grace, one of our older girls who is eighteen. She is suffering debilitating pain in her legs and there is the possibility of infection in the bones. The specialist has recommended bone scans (which are costly). We would value prayers for Liz, Julius and all the Riziki staff, and also for all the children, especially Grace. Please remember us in your prayers as we travel to and around Kenya. Many blessings, Ian & Diana.
Riziki News – September 2022
Dear All, We are due to fly to Kenya tomorrow and Liz has been unable to send her usual regular contribution to the newsletter so this one will be very short. We will try to do a longer letter while we are at Riziki in just over a week, if internet allows. We still have great concern over Julius’ health. He is now on Kidney dialysis twice a week and undergoing investigations for other underlying problems. This is naturally giving Liz much concern as well as taking time to support her mum and dad. We are blessed that the Riziki staff have been very loyal and committed to the care of the children at this time. It has also been very busy in the home with children coming and going from school with half-term, elections and the end of term coming in quick succession. Our second big concern is for Grace, one of our older girls who is eighteen. She is suffering debilitating pain in her legs and there is the possibility of infection in the bones. The specialist has recommended bone scans (which are costly). We would value prayers for Liz, Julius and all the Riziki staff, and also for all the children, especially Grace. Please remember us in your prayers as we travel to and around Kenya. Many blessings, Ian & Diana. Riziki News – July 2022
Dear All, Latest news from Riziki. On July 21st, Liz wrote: Dear Ian and Diana, Greetings from a cold Nakuru, this morning. It's been a few busy weeks, and I am taking a few minutes to write before I start the day. We are just coming off a week break from school, where we had all the children at home. It was a nice quiet break, everyone happy to be home. I was particularly impressed to see the interaction between them after being away from each other for so long. Many times, I walked into the house and found them helping each other with their studies (they come with assignments despite the break, and also some are in the final years of high school) seeing them studying together like that gave me so much joy. One afternoon I saw Dominic, with so much patience, helping Alex, who is on a lower grade, and I couldn't be happier. The high schoolers got along well with the young ones also, helping with mealtime, snacks and even bath time. It was precious to see this interaction. On the farm, rain has been scarce. we had two days of rain, last Friday and Saturday, none so far this week. The dam is helping. We are grateful though as we were able to top up all our three storages (Dam and two water tanks) sufficiently as well as the maize in the farm getting water at this important stage. We are hopeful that we will get a good maize harvest. As you will see from the pictures I have sent, beans will be needing harvesting soon and we thank God they have done so well. We are currently propagating seed for millet and wheat, possibly to plant next season. It will be the first time we plant wheat at Riziki on a large scale, but if all goes well, with the grinder already available, we can have our own flour, and other possibilities from that are endless. All staff are doing well. Evans, who had a leg injury, has come back to work, but is taking a lighter load of work. Slowly by slowly his leg is getting stronger. The ladies in the house have been very good with the new additions, always very attentive and accommodating of them, which has really helped them settle down. We managed to change beddings for the boys after about 6 years - could be more. The boys enjoyed that surprise when they came home back from school. We also changed net curtains in the dining/lounge area that had started having holes in them. I am glad we are able to do this every few years, the environment where children grow up is also very important. (This is part of our plan for maintenance to keep our facilities in excellent condition. Children’s Services do inspect from time to time) Internet is also up at Riziki now. We are finally connected to the world! 😄 Thank you to all supporters of Riziki for their prayers, love and contribution. All these would not be possible without your sacrifice. Asante. Baraka, Liz We give thanks to our many supporters who came to our ‘open day‘ on July 9th. We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day with plenty of guests. It was a very happy occasion. Prayer concerns We continue to pray for Julius who has undergone medical tests last week and is waiting for one more. We pray that he will soon be restored to full health and strength. We continue to pray for peace throughout Kenya during the coming elections – August 9th; Current needs and plans We hope to build a new chicken house. The original one was built from assorted waste materials and has survived for over ten years but has now been demolished. The new one will be bigger and provide the opportunity to have more hens and therefore more eggs for the children to eat and for sale. We would also like to increase our water storage facilities by digging a second dam. Weather patterns have changed drastically since Riziki started. We originally thought our initial underground water tank would store all the rain water we would need but our greatly increased storage is still not large enough to cope with the much longer periods of dry weather. Many blessings, Ian & Diana. Riziki News – June 2022
Dear All, Latest news from Riziki. On May 25th, Liz wrote: We have just had all the children back home for a short half term holiday and they have now returned to school. Most left today. Kibet got in an accident with a bike, needed stitches, so he leaves on Friday or Monday after stitches are removed. Susan (10) and Grace (4) are well settled now, “Little Grace is breathing life into Riziki with her excitement of being there. She is so happy about everything. You should hear her tell people how she has her own bed. She got a school bag yesterday; you have never seen such excitement in your lifeˮ. Susan is still a bit shy. Twin boys have arrived. Dennis and Derek are about eight years old. The children’s department ask us to look after these children but offer no financial assistance to do so – nothing towards food etc, health care nor education! The long-awaited rains have continued, not as heavily as usual but crops are now thriving and the dam is almost filled. We pray that rain will last and crops continue to thrive. We are delighted that Collins (mentioned in May’s newsletter) has started the short pastry chef course, thanks to the necessary funding being provided. He is truly grateful for the support he has received. Last Tuesday, May 31st, Philippa was able to make her parachute jump. If you would like to support her fund-raising feat for Riziki the appropriate web site is https://www.stewardship.org.uk/pages/Pippaskydiveforriziki, or gifts can be sent via The Aenon Trust as below. We are hoping to have an update on Julius' health soon. We will let you know how he is as soon as possible. We are holding our ̔ annual ̓ open day (after a two-year break) on Saturday, 9th July, 10am to 12 noon and 1:30pm to 4pm, at our home, as below, with donations for needy children in Kenya invited. Everyone is welcome. Free tickets are available. Many blessings, Ian & Diana. Riziki News Extra – May 2022
Dear All, We have received several important items of news from Riziki for which we ask for your prayers and thoughts. We are therefore sending this short newsletter to let you know immediately. 1. Julius has been to hospital in Nakuru several times in the last few days and has been diagnosed with fluid around his heart. This is serious! The doctors are conducting further tests to see what treatment should be given. We pray that Julius will get the treatment he needs and that he will soon be well again. 2. Francis Chuman was rushed into hospital with malaria - not something normally seen at Riziki. Liz was very concerned that he might not survive. The hospital did not have the appropriate medicine required to treat him on the day he was admitted but, thankfully, it was acquired for the next day. After being really ill he has recovered and he is now home and is back to school. We give thanks for his recovery and pray that he will continue to be well and that malaria will not recur. 3. This week, Liz received an urgent appeal from the children’s department to take in two sisters immediately. They had been neglected and abandoned by their mother who has been arrested. Their names are Susan and Grace, aged ten and four respectively. We have always found the Riziki family eager to welcome new children and help them to settle in. Grace has already started a friendship with our youngest boy Max. 4. Liz needs our prayers to help her cope with the extra pressures she is under and the increased demands on her time. 5. We give thanks that there has been rain at Riziki – not the heavy rains that have been expected for a couple of months, but enough to turn the ground from brown to green. Planting has been done so we pray that rain will continue and lead to good harvests of maize and beans and the other vegetables we grow. 6. A message just in from our sky-diving Philippa - I’m really sorry to have to report that yet again I have to reschedule the skydive. This time it is Covid 😩😩😩. Albert and myself have got it at the moment, not too bad but definitely not well enough to skydive and I certainly don’t want to infect other people. - We wait patiently! Many blessings, Ian & Diana. Riziki News – May 2022
Dear All, We have just returned from a visit to Riziki! In March, travel rules for Covid were relaxed here and then in Kenya. Two weeks later we landed in Nairobi. We had a short visit to the coast, a few days in Eldoret and five nights in Nakuru, visiting Riziki. It was clear on arrival in Nairobi that Kenya is suffering from drought – everywhere the grass was brown and trees looked very stressed. Tourism has been hit very badly through Covid and the war in Ukraine has led to many increased costs - cooking oil has risen in price five-fold and petrol prices rose by ten shillings a litre while we were there. Riziki is not spared these problems. Our water tanks, which collect rainwater, have run dry and water has to be bought, delivered by tanker at high cost - £100 a week. The irrigation dam (gathering dirty water that runs down the adjacent road) can hold 800 m³ but it is also dry. Harvests in 2020 and 2021 were poor and we are now relying on our reserves from 2019 (a good harvest). We have been very blessed to have donors covering education costs but these continue to rise as more children have reached secondary and college education. Remote learning has led to extra costs too and we are pleased to report that the internet should soon be available at Riziki, thanks to another specific donation. The children did not know we were in Kenya until we arrived at Riziki. Liz had assembled them in the lounge and our welcome was amazing. It was a very happy time. We are pleased to see the increase in our small herd of cows; we now have five adult cows and two young calves with another on the way. Our flock of local chickens has grown considerably and we need to build a new chicken house to hold them. The sewing machine is now in use. Precious has learned how to sew at school and showed considerable skill with the machine, mending clothes! Hellen, our social worker, has also started using it and Precious is in demand to teach other children, both boys and girls! In the holidays the girls enjoy doing each other’s hair with elaborate extensions. These will be removed before returning to school. The boys prefer to develop their football and basketball skills. The children are happy to help with the chores needed in a large family and spent a morning planting maize. We are praying and trusting that sufficient rain will fall for the plants to grow and thrive. We were delighted that Collins, our first boy to complete his college course (in catering), was able to join us at Riziki for a few days. He made himself very useful in the kitchen and Elizabeth, our cook, was delighted to have him there. He hopes to be able to do a short course to be a pastry chef, if funding is available. He is sure this would open the door to getting a job, probably in a supermarket. Faith, now at university, called to visit too. The local community is pleased to visit Riziki to have their maize ground, often by one of our young people in holidays. The school holidays (for the end of the academic year 2021) were coming to an end, making life very busy as the secondary students were preparing to return to their boarding schools. A lot of work is involved to get so many students kitted out. The 2022 school year will have very short holidays between terms to complete it before Christmas. We are pleased to confirm Liz as Director of Riziki with full responsibility for the day-to-day running of Riziki and we commend Julius for becoming Retired Director, maintaining his roles as accountant and mentor to the children. We have every confidence that Liz will lead Riziki with enthusiasm. We thank and commend Julius for the years he has spent creating, developing and guiding the growth of Riziki. He has been inspirational throughout these years and through his leadership has instilled high moral values in the children. They have always been at the heart of what he has done. We pray that he will have many years to enjoy Riziki without the pressures of being Director. Prayer concerns We pray for Julius & Liz in their new roles at Riziki We give thanks for the continued support for Riziki from so many people both locally and internationally and pray that it will meet the needs of the children; We pray for regular and reliable rains for the whole of Kenya; We pray for peace throughout Kenya during the coming elections – August 8th; We pray for our growing number of secondary pupils and university students that they may be able achieve their goals in life. Current needs and plans The completion of the new Director’s house; Collins‘ desire to take the short course as a route to employment; An extra dam to receive the surplus water when it does rain; A new chicken shed to house the flock satisfactorily. Many blessings, Ian & Diana. Riziki News – March 2022
Dear All, Greetings to you all on a sunny day in Holmfirth. Philippa’s parachute jump, scheduled for December 2021, had to be postponed because of heavy cloud. It is now due to happen in May, weather permitting. We have just received news from Liz which I pass on to you below. Dear Ian and Diana, Greetings from a very hot Nakuru. We have had such hot weather the last couple of days with some odd light showers here and there. Our weatherman says heavy rains are expected and so we have been preparing the shamba for planting. All the children have closed school and are at home with us for about 7 weeks. It is good to have everyone at home and it has been busy. They have come back with a lot of assignments which we are trying to help them get out of the way, so they can enjoy more restful days ahead. It has been good to see them happily take on chores around the house and really put it in effort to help. I had mentioned that we are now grinding maize, at a fee, for our neighbours and it's been very pleasing to see Emmanuel voluntarily take responsibility for that. Alex, Tony, Tabitha help him as they learn. The grinding project is growing slowly but steadily and we are happy to hear good feedback from our customers on the good quality of the flour. We are hoping with proper growth of the project it can help us offset some of our costs. We are very grateful for the contribution towards the maize grinder; projects like these give us hope of long-term continuing to carry on with our task of providing care and protection to children that are desperate for it. We have four national exam candidates this year, all in secondary school. How time flies. Neema, Emmanuel, Precious, and Ann finish their high school this year and what a journey. It seems like just the other day - it was 2012 - that Julius got a call to go pick up a child at the Central police station - that was Neema. I remember joining them halfway through the journey to Riziki and being completely fascinated by Neema. At that time, she was 6 years old and had a very good grasp of events and she narrated them well and I kept thinking how brave she was, because we were strangers to her and it was painful story. But that is Neema; she has always had a confidence about her and has always been brave, sometimes has struggled, but ended up being brave again. She has grown to be loved by the younger ones particularly Sharon who has said to Neema once she wants to be just like her. Neema reads stories to the younger ones and gives kind guidance. She is joyful, reads a lot, explores a lot and enjoys almost everything. I am glad we got to watch and contribute to the beautiful, and thoughtful young lady she has become. Whether author, pastor or lawyer, which have all been her dreams at different times of her life, she has a chance at them now. They all have a beautiful story, of struggle and hope, and the hope, we have all contributed to it in our different ways. Money, prayers, encouragement - all of it has brought light to what had started very dark. As I end, I must talk about our small team that is now the busiest they will be this year and my full confidence in their care and concern for our children. Keep them in your prayers. Evans had an accident with his bicycle on his way home two weeks ago and got a cast, so he joins us towards the end of March. All the rest are fine. I will end it here, Ian and Diana, for today. Thank you for going out of your way to video call me, I am so glad I can receive your encouragement and support in this way. Asante Sana and God bless. To all that contribute to Riziki in prayers, thoughts and /or finances a big ‘God bless you’. Baraka, Liz. At the latest count we have 25 children at Riziki, plus five who have completed their secondary or college education, or are close to doing so, and no longer live in the home. Eight are in primary school, with four more expected soon. Thirteen are in secondary school and two at university. Collins, our oldest boy, has just started work in a simple restaurant. He hopes this will be the start of a career in catering. We want to take in four young girls in the near future – at present we have more young boys than girls. Stop press from Liz. We have three high school children needing to do zoom classes this holiday. Looks like we need to invest in some affordable tablets to allow this. As far as the net is concerned, I think Safaricom is the way to go. I will send details tomorrow. Let me know what your thoughts are on the gadgets, maybe I should have put it in the newsletter. Blessings, Ian & Diana Hogley Dear All,
Tomorrow, December 18th. Philippa intends to jump out of an aeroplane, raising money for Riziki. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We bring Christmas greetings to you all from Riziki and from ourselves, Diana & Ian, at present in southern Germany with our son John. Other news from Riziki. On December 15th Liz wrote: Dear Ian and Diana, Am so glad to finally find some time to sit and write to you before the year ends. We have had a very tumultuous couple of months with all the school unrest and children being sent home. Currently we have Precious at home, just after returning Alex back to school on Friday! (Children in Kenya have had a very difficult year, trying to learn remotely, often with very poor or non-existent technology. In addition, after months with no school at all, the school year has been compressed to complete it by Christmas with very short holidays. Children everywhere have been under great stress, often leading to mental issues. It is not surprising that there has been unrest among the students leading to protests and fires. Parents have had to pay for the damage caused!) We are grateful though that this is the only bit of bad news. The rest of the year has been great and we are happy and grateful for everyone who partnered with us in prayer and finances and allowed to provide the care the children needed. Our highlights this year: Thanks to the generous support we receive we were able to take in two boys this year Shawn and Brian who were victims of abuse. They joined school and have counselling sessions every week, and it is great to see them settled in and enjoying being part of the Riziki. We pray that with more support we can be able to take in more children next year. We are happy about how well our children have done this year. A good number of them have been trusted with leadership roles in school. Emmanuel Rotich is House Captain Alex Mwaniki (joined high school this year) is class representative Grace Wanjiku - Class representative Evans Lokol - School President Glen Kimani - Hygiene Prefect Ruth, Sharon, Brian - Class representatives of their respective classes. All this position are elected positions so they were voted in. We are so very proud of them. The farm has also done well this year too. We just had one poor crop -maize, otherwise we have enjoyed bananas, avocados, butternut, all sorts of vegetable, eggs, milk, we currently have lemons and looking forward to mangoes soon. This week we had a new addition to our cows a female calf. We have not named her yet. We have a crop of beans in the shamba that is looking good and we are hopeful for a good harvest. Schools are closing next week according to the new academic calendar. It's going to be a short break just for Christmas and then right back to school. We hope we are able to provide a special lunch for Christmas. I would like to give a special mention to our staff. Who have worked tirelessly this year and evidently given their best. Their attentiveness and care for the children can be seen by how the children are flourishing. May God bless them! I will end here Ian and Diana. Words are not enough for the support and love you have shown us this year. May God truly bless you! To everyone else that has supported Riziki in anyway, a big God bless you and thank you very much for your sacrifice. Merry Christmas to everyone and Happy 2022. Let's all keep safe. Let's all keep healthy! Baraka Liz Our comments and prayer concerns. We ask for your prayers for all the Riziki staff who have been so loyal, supportive, and hard-working throughout these difficult months, giving thanks for them. We give thanks for funds to provide clothing and pray that Riziki will continue to be able to source all that is necessary for all the children. We ask for your prayers for Julius and Liz, for strength and wisdom to support the whole Riziki Organization. Many blessings, Ian & Diana. Riziki News – October 2021
Dear All, News from Riziki. On October 15th Liz wrote: Greetings from Nakuru! We have been enjoying good rain every day and how thankful we are for it, because it means our tanks and dam will be well replenished and our crops properly watered. It's such a blessing and joy to see crops coming up well in this weather. The other side is cold weather and it's been a bit of a struggle trying to keep everyone warm as our clothes donations have gone down significantly due to no visits because of covid. We are currently running out of most things from inner wear to jackets and shoes and we are making do with what we have. The kids are home for a short break, they have one last one before the end of the year that starts two days before Christmas. They are glad to be back home even if for just for a few days and are enjoying the break from school. They are always sharing stories of their encounters in their different schools, and the new ones to high school talk of their new experience. Hellen and I had a few hours one afternoon to sit with them and touch base and we were pleasantly surprised at how ambitious and visibly determined the majority of them were. They talked of their dreams to join university not only to make Riziki proud, but also to have that sense of accomplishment for themselves, seeing where they have come from. Dominic spoke about how he is sure that being in Riziki is God's plan for his life and he is curious about what more God has in store for him (as you know Dominic is the more spiritual one of the bunch 😃) Dominic has consistently, and I mean consistently, been doing well in school. He pushes himself a lot and at times I find myself telling him to get a bit more sleep 😁. He wants to be a pilot and has worked hard towards it, so much so, that he landed himself in one of the top schools in the country, that offers aviation courses at high school level, that is how determined he is. He takes guidance very well and it's such a joy to be part of his journey whatever it is, even in a small way. I could go on and on as every child is unique in their dreams and determination and sitting with them like we did the other day, reminds us of how important we all are in the shaping of who they will be in their community, in the country, in the world - and it's humbling. While they were here, they helped us plant beans. Precious is taking a home science course in school and she had a go at a jiko baked cake, part it of it was edible! 😁. (A jiko is a portable, lightweight and charcoal burning cookstove.) She also can use the sewing machine so she should be able to help us with repairs very soon, maybe even do her own designs, I will keep you posted. Good news is the vaccine finally came to the center close to Riziki on Monday and Elizabeth, Evans, and Mark got their first shots. Emmanuel got his later at a different center. I have also got mine, am the only fully vaccinated and ready to accept Christmas invitations 😁, hahahaha. My brother also got his first shot last week. Julius and Esther get the second in November. We are happy that we can now have the vaccine close to us. It's not consistent and you have to wait to hear where it's being administered and when, but at least progress. I want to take time to say a special thank you this time to all our supporters. As I said earlier, our talk with the kids reminded me of what we are all doing together and it's incredible. I want to thank everyone for their contribution, sacrifice and commitment to changed lives. Asante Sana. I will leave it here Ian and Diana. As always, I am ever so grateful for your consistent support and encouragement. Baraka! Love Liz Our comments and prayer concerns. The future of Riziki, financially. From the start of Riziki, we have received very generous financial support from The Kirkby Foundation. This has grown as the children have grown. Kirkby has covered all secondary education and college fees and has supported other development projects. For this we are very grateful and thank God. The Kirkby Foundation may not be in a position to continue supporting Riziki and hence alternative sources of funding may be required. Costs per child range from about £250 to £400 per term, depending on the level they have reached and the status of the school. College fees are higher. At present we have two at college, three waiting to go to college and fourteen in various levels at different secondary schools. We therefore ask for your prayers that support will come so that the education of these older children can continue. We ask for your prayers for all the Riziki staff who have been so loyal, supportive, and hard-working throughout these difficult months, giving thanks for them. We pray that Riziki will be able to source necessary clothing for all the children. We ask for your prayers for Julius and Liz, for strength and wisdom to support the whole Riziki Organization. Many blessings, Ian & Diana. Riziki News – August 2021
Dear All, Further news from Riziki. On August 17th Liz wrote It is good to finally have a minute to write a short email to you. We are now settling down and finding a rhythm to our days after two weeks of getting all children to school. The primary kids were joining a new local school while Tabitha, Emma, Tony Alex and Catherine joined high school. Tabitha, Emma and Catherine, joined local schools while Tony and Alex are two hours away in Solai and Baringo respectively. We now have ten children left in the house, eight boys and two girls. The first couple of nights were particularly tough for the girls having to sleep alone in the big room; they have since adjusted to the ‘new normal’. Beans drying on the water tank We harvested beans; the crop did not do too well but we did get 2 bags (180kg) which is better than nothing. We have enjoyed butternut, carrots and potatoes that did very well. We are looking forward to some millet and sorghum that is very useful for morning porridge. All staff are well and deeply appreciated their increased salary. Thank you so much. I believe our care for them translates back to the children. Those that took leave in July are back to work. Hellen is currently down with Malaria, but doing OK. I will write again soon. A big God Bless to all that support the children at Riziki. They are growing up well and we are proud every day of the people they are becoming and the things they are overcoming and it is all because of your support that allows the children to grow in a safe environment. Asante Sana! Latest news on August 24th Good to hear from you. Let me start with some good news. Julius and Esther finally got their first shot of Astrazeneca this morning! Hellen and Rachel have also received their first jabs and we are encouraging other staff to go as well as the delta variant continues to spread. I feel very grateful this morning for God has kept all of us well protected in Kenya and the UK. The three older boys are well. We have all spoken to them separately (Hellen, Julius and I) on several occasions, and they seem not to have a concrete way forward yet; we are guiding them and once we land on an agreeable direction, we will let you know. I hope a way opens up for you to come back to Kenya, when travel becomes easier again. With God all things are possible. It would be nice to sit on the verandah again and have tea and cake as we deliberate all things Riziki. Thank you for all you do and your kind support through the years. Regards Liz Our comments and prayer concerns. In spite of school closures, education has continued as far as possible with schools doing their best. Riziki, staff and children alike, have coped remarkably well and with dedication to whatever they had to do – and still have to do. Education has been attempted on-line but Riziki does not have internet reception available in spite of trying whatever avenues might have provided it. There is no way that sufficient computers could ever have been acquired, nor the means to power them. Limited mobile phone reception can be found close to our irrigation water tanks and this is what has had to be used to provide the best education possible! Children returned to physical school earlier this year. Three of the older boys have completed their secondary education and five completed primary education this year. The ministry of education decides which children go to which secondary schools depending on their end of primary exam results. All the Riziki children were given places at boarding schools. We have already started to take in new young children as the children’s department ask us to. The youngest we feel we can take are five years old but many older ones are in need and will probably never have started school. They, therefore, will almost certainly start in year one no matter what their age. In spite of the government policy to do away with children’s homes there is no reduction in the need and the county children’s department have a large task finding suitable homes for many deprived children! We continue to be thankful to all who contribute to Riziki, and have in the past, within Kenya and from overseas, in any way – prayer, finance and encouragement. We pray for the health and safety of all the staff and give thanks for their continued dedication, especially in these challenging times of the pandemic. We give thanks that the children are all settling into school, remembering those who have started into new schools or are attending school for the first time. Many blessings, Ian & Diana. Riziki News – July 2021
Dear All, Greetings from the Riziki team. Liz and Julius have both written. Liz says: It's very cold days here as we wait to receive all the children next week for a 10 day break from school. (The school year 2020 has just ended and year 2021 is about to begin. The intention is to be back in line with the school year being January to December in 2022!) It has been busy days of school and assignments in the evening, to some garden and housework for those at home. The 5 children waiting to join high school have had a very long break that ends this month. They have been spending time in the afternoons with Hellen talking about the challenges of being in high school, picking friends, peer pressure etc and we are glad to have the opportunity to have this discussion with them and address some of their concerns. It's the unfamiliar for them and it is good to be able to guide them through it. Hellen held a small party for her son who turned 3. She shared her son's day with all the children and they enjoyed it. It is very encouraging for us that she is happy and okay with her child growing up in the Riziki environment and being part of the children. He joins the rest for everything, including devotion where he is there with his Bible though he can’t read yet 😁 We have in the last two weeks received two boys. Let me introduce you to: Morgan Njuguna and Brian Loton Morgan is Glen Kimani’s younger brother. When Glen and his siblings were placed with us, Morgan, at the time 2 yrs old, was left with the mother. In 2020, Morgan was rescued from the mother and temporarily placed in another home with the hope that he could be placed with Riziki so he can be with his siblings. Finally, this year he was able to be reunited with the brothers and sisters and it was a very, very emotional first meeting. Ruth who is usually very reserved and not much into hugs ran and hugged the brother. Tabitha, the older sister, says it's because she spent the most time with him (baby-sitting) when they were together. Brian joined us last week as an immediate rescue case. Considering what he has gone through he is in good spirit. He has settled in okay and joins the evening football. We pray Riziki is a place of hope and comfort for him. The staff are all well, Hellen and Emmanuel took leave this month. So, it's all hands on deck this month. I will write again soon. Thank you for all your love and support, through WhatsApp messages and video. Thank you too to all that give to the children. Asante Sana, Baraka Liz Julius wrote in early June Dear Ian and Diana, We hope that you are well and that you are doing fine. Thanks for your emails. We are all doing well despite the Covid-19 challenges but we are trying hard to keep safe as of today the positive cases are 172 639 and 118 226 recoveries and 3308 deaths. (These figures, today, are 189 000; 180 000 and 3723.) The irrigation system and greenhouse materials were purchased; the irrigation work is going on as you can see in the pictures. The greenhouse work will start after the irrigation system is completed because it is the same person who is doing both jobs. (These are now completed) The water purifier was purchased - it is waiting to be installed. The expert will come from the company. The primary school children will move to a more convenient, but equally good school at the beginning of 1st term 2021 which will start on 26/7/2021. The 3rd term 2020 will come to an end on 16/7/2021. (It is a good time to move as the older primary children have completed their primary years and there are no primary children nearing national exams.) About secondary schools for those joining in July; the posting is being done by the Ministry of Education, so we have no say over where they go; we only wait to know the schools they will join. (All have been allocated boarding schools.) Staff salaries have been increased. (All the staff have worked with real dedication throughout the last eighteen months and have not had a salary increase for a long time. We feel the rise was well deserved.) May God bless you all. Julius Our comments and prayer concerns. We are very grateful to the friends of Jack Frodsham (whose death was mentioned in the last newsletter). They undertook a sponsored walk of the Yorkshire Three Peaks in his memory and have given the proceeds to Riziki. We continue to be thankful to all who contribute to Riziki, and have in the past, within Kenya and from overseas, in any way – prayer, finance (especially for school fees which are our major expense) and medical costs. We thank the dedicated team who look after the children directly, especially Julius and Liz who have worked so hard to maintain the high standards Riziki has achieved for eleven years. During the pandemic, many children’s homes in Kenya have closed. Times have been hard for all at Riziki but we give thanks for the wonderful support that has enabled Riziki to continue to care for our children. We pray for those young people experiencing major changes in the coming days - those who have completed schooling, those who are changing schools and for Brian and Morgan as they start school. Many blessings, Ian & Diana. |
Ian HogleyClick here to donate!
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