Dear All,
As we have not been in Kenya since our last newsletter, this newsletter is compiled from emails received from Julius in July. 
The current weather pattern in Kenya continues to cause great problems.  In the past people could rely on significant rainfall over several weeks twice a year, starting reliably at the same time each year.  Now the pattern has changed and inconsistent rain at any time seems to be the norm.  For subsistence farmers this is a disaster as crops wither and die when there is not enough rain to bring them to maturity.  Julius has planted a quick growing maize which produces a smaller crop than the standard maize but does so in a shorter time.  This has led to Riziki being the only place in the area with mature maize.  Without maize available all the year round there is little to eat and people and animals go hungry.  In addition people face a long walk to get to a stream that is still flowing or have to buy water (as we do at Riziki when our rain-water tanks run dry).  When it does rain it takes weeks or months for new crops to grow and mature.
On July 4th Julius told us that:-
With the shortage of food we have had problems with dogs eating maize at night but we are taking measures to prevent destruction. There is also a porcupine eating sweet potatoes at night.  Daniel the gardener is trying to trap it.
However, at the time of writing all crops are doing well in the field because there is enough rain. There are tomatoes and green capsicum in the greenhouse.  We expect to have a good harvest this year God willing.  All the cows are expecting calves in September and October 2016.
Peter the builder is doing a quotation for renovating the two old houses to be used by the older children, starting with Lucy after she completes her secondary education this year.  This follows a government ruling that 18 yr olds should not be in children’s homes.  The renovated houses will become student hostels for the young adults who may be able to be temporary employees at Riziki while they are away from school or college.
We have been wanting to put a wall or fence around the entire Riziki compound for some time.   On 25th June I (Julius) had a meeting with Benson (Board Chairman) and we discussed quite a number of issues including the fence and we resolved that a double twist chain link is more durable than the offcutts, a quotation for this will follow as soon as possible. We also discussed about a digital library system for the children, I will write more about this later.
On 18th June a group of young people from Nakuru town visited the Riziki children, they brought food with them which they cooked and ate with the children and staff.  Liz welcomed them.  They all enjoyed playing together with children.
On 26th June another group from AIC Kayanet visited the children in the afternoon, they brought sacks and drinks which they all enjoyed together after playing together,  Esther and I found them playing with kids and we welcomed them.
In May 2016 Charles and Peter (gardener & driver) left without giving any reason.  Catherine Kemunto joined Riziki staff in June as a cleaner to take over Veronica's place.  Veronica had been with us a long time but left to have a baby.  Daniel Kariuki came in the same month as a driver, also a former employee Daniel Lotele came back as a gardener.
Moses has now also left.
On July 11th Julius told us that:-
We are all well as a family and the Riziki children are all well and doing fine. They continue to do well in school; they were on mid-term but they resumed today.  Faith also had come for her mid-term and she is doing well and enjoying her new school.  She performed well in her school opener exam - she was second in her class with a B+.  Lucy and Collins came a bit earlier for their mid-term breaks and are also doing well.
In the last email I mentioned that the maize in the field is ready and we had problems with stray dogs and porcupines.  We managed to get rid of the dogs using traditional means(!!!) and one of the porcupines was caught by the trap see a picture attached.
The biggest problem we have now is people have started stealing the maize because there is no other ready maize in the area.  On 4th July, around 10.30 am, a young man was found stealing.  He ran away leaving behind the maize and his bicycle. The staff member who found him took the bicycle to the house.  We informed the area chief who told us to take the bicycle to the police station where we recorded a statement. On 5th July in the morning it was discovered that some maize were stolen the previous night.  This day we increased security and around 10 pm the watchmen saw somebody inside the maize field.  Before they reached him he ran away.  On 7th around 7.30 pm another person got inside the maize field.  The watchmen tried to catch him but he ran away  They chased him, going through the wire.  He left his cap behind from which we are trying to trace the owner with help of the community members.
Before we engaged the watchman a watering can disappeared from the greenhouse at night and the same night a cooking pan which was left outside also disappeared. There have been signs of fire wood disappearing at night. So to be able to solve these problems permanently we need a fence as soon as possible, if the funds are available (This is now being dealt with following a very generous donation specifically for this purpose - Ian)
On July 22nd Julius told us that:-
We praise God for keeping us all well as a family.  The Riziki children are all well and they continue to work very hard in school. The eye continues to heal well but I am on medication eye drops and tablets which I will use for six months then go back for check up on 17th February 2017 God willing.
You remember I mentioned that maize was being stolen, Since the time the maize thief was chased leaving behind his cap on the fence no maize has been stolen; it looks like he was the one doing the stealing.  We are still trying to identify the owner of the cap with the help of members of the community.  The problem of dogs is no more.  Another porcupine was caught by the trap on 13th July but it was stolen, together with the trap, very early in the morning by our neighbours below the newest field,  When asked, he confessed that they had taken the animal for meat; I told our gardeners to forget about it. The K. P. & L. Company (Kenya Power and Lighting) transformer at the corner was stolen at night on 11th and since then the whole area has been in darkness.  Thank God we have the solar lighting.  We have even helped some members of the community to charge their cell phones.  The children send greetings to you all.  May the good Lord bless you all for the good work you are doing.                                              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. 

​Dear All,
We have recently returned from a month in Kenya where we spent eleven days at Riziki.  What made it extra special this time was that the children were on school holidays so we spent a lot of time with them.

After a long period of drought and high temperatures the rains arrived shortly before we did.  It was great to watch crops growing again – a real blessing after months of having to buy vegetables AND water.

Julius has had further laser surgery on his eye and can now drive short distances – the outlook seems positive.  We took him north to Marigat one day to buy grafted mango trees to add to our orchard.  Our oldest boy, Collins, is passionate about the gardens and is inspiring the younger boys to take an interest.  They love to show us what they are doing in the garden.  They have had the first crop of peanuts and the cassava was amazingly tasty.  Cassava tends to be grown as an emergency drought crop but it was very good to eat after being lightly boiled.

Another day we went into Nakuru with Julius to purchase the agricultural chopper, courtesy of Franciscan Aid.  This took most of the day with protracted discussions over price and the fitting of improved wheels – very different from purchasing on-line!  The owner of the business came out to Riziki to demonstrate the machine. Moses’ face was sheer wonderment and his thanks was very effusive.  The machine will save a lot of time and considerable physical labour as it prepares cattle food.

Liz, with support from friends at two of the Nakuru churches, runs a day of children’s church three times a year to which around 200 children from the surrounding area come to Riziki.  It was good to be present for this and see so many young people having a very special day– we feel that outreach is an important part of Riziki’s ministry to the local community.

A Riziki friend had noticed our wood store was very low and arranged for a donation.  We were very surprised when a large lorry loaded with offcuts of timber arrived, with enough firewood to last a year.  Several bags of good used clothing were also donated.

There has been encouraging evidence of local support for Riziki through Liz’s church friends – A lot of new school books were donated, without being requested.  Schools expect you to buy new editions of books each year, even to the extent of the latest edition of logarithm tables.

We had taken colouring books with us and on a very wet afternoon the children produced some amazing pictures and a banner.  They seem to love art work of all kinds. 
On the Sunday we were at Riziki the children of the local church were leading the morning service.  Not only that but they were expected to clean the church two days beforehand – done happily and willingly.

One of our boys, Dominic, read the lesson and 11yr old Neema preached in Swahili on Proverbs 6 v 16-29.  From the reaction of the congregation it was clear she did extremely well without any prior adult help.  Later, over lunch she preached to us in English!  Neema also told us of her hopes for the future:-  she wants to go to Bible College, open her own Christian music and dance business and hopes to build a church!  After the service there was an auction of gifts brought by the congregation as their offerings.  Diana started by bidding successfully for a chicken.  This was followed by eggs, seed potatoes and butter beans which were soon planted in the shamba.

On alternate Sunday afternoons Liz counsels the children dealing with the problems they encounter, for example, peer pressure at school.

We were happy to meet Benson, the chairman of the board, over coffee in Nakuru.  He assured us of his support and respect for Riziki and he visits whenever he can.

The children regularly say ‘thank you’ for the opportunities they have.  They are happy, care for each other and are hopeful for the future.                                 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.
 
               rizikihome@riziki.org.uk

In May, one of our children wrote:­

Dear All,

I thought you might like to know something about school life in Kenya, direct from one who experiences it.

This is how our school is. We wake up at 3:45am, take a shower and then go to class for the morning preps. At 6am the bell is rung and we all go to the dining hall for breakfast. At 6:20 everybody is suppopsed to be ready to start the school duties like cleaning the school. The student leaders – I am one – are supposed to make sure that all the students have done their duties.

Student leaders have the authority to punish those who fail to do, or complete, their duties at the right time. If they fail to change after the punishment they can also be forwarded to the administration. In most cases I face a lot of challenges. If I fail to supervise the students doing their duties at the right time I may have to do the cleaning myself as a punishment from the matron.

Sometimes the punishments have to be done during class time and the teacher cannot wait for a pupil to arrive so by the end of the day a lot of study time has been lost. My work is to supervise pupils who are my age mates and I have come to learn that my fellow pupils can be very stubborn. Because of this I prefer being a normal student rather than a student leader. 

After all the morning duties have been done the bell is rung and we all go to our respective classes.

In our school we have forms one to four. We have only three breaks during the school day. One is for relaxing for ten minutes after we have been in class for two hours. The second is for thirty minutes when we take porridge.

The third break of an hour is when we take our lunch. The only time we are free is from 6:00 to 6:55pm and during this time we take our evening meal and wash our clothes. Then it is back to class until 10pm when we break and go to sleep.
Anyway, life is not that easy and we have to persevere a lot. If one is caught sleeping in class the punishment is to stand for the 45 minutes that the teacher is teaching. If you go to sleep during study time (which may not be intentional) the next day you will be forced to sleep behind the administration block where everybody can see you. I thank God I have never been a victim of this! The worst thing is when one fails to perform academically. One is punished by all the teachers, including the principal. Again I am fortunate never to have been punished for failing exams.

I also have my best days. On Fridays we have games like football and all students are allowed to participate in any of the games. On Saturday there is entertainment through watching television and on Sunday there is a church service which takes place in the school dining hall.
This is how life is in secondary school.