All in all, the walk was a great success from the point of view of promoting our prayers for a Peaceful Election Year.  We visited the offices of six Governors.  We were also on national television giving our message.  We raised a total of just over £1,000 which has been used to support the urgent medical needs of several children within our community.  We are still ‘Open’ for donations.

As we travelled around Mt. Kenya, many people were curious and supportive.  We were also truly blessed by the encouragement of many to keep going.  We are indebted to 75 year old Isaac Gacugo, for being inspired to do the walk. Also to his young companion; Isaac Richard who was his escort and monitor.
Thank you everybody for your support and prayers. Christine.

As part of Links International's development, with whom we are partners, they are becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) – Registered Charity No: 1168872.

This means that all our friends and supporters who are giving regularly through Standing Order or intermittent gifts, are kindly asked to fill in a new Gift Aid Declaration form under this new Charity Number. Please click on this link to print off a form. Everything else continues the same!

As we grow and take steps of faith into the future, we would ask you to consider whether this may also be an opportunity to increase your giving, or just give a regular small amount for the maintenance and upkeep of the Resource Centre. Donation forms are here! Thank you so much for your investment into Peacemakers; we really appreciate your faithful support as we confront poverty and create potential. Donation form link for printing.

Tom Beak is wanting to return to Kenya later on this year and Liz Darlington is wanting to be involved in the starting of a pre-school class. Again later on this year, maybe you would like to join them on the trip! We have always encouraged young & old people to come to Kenya, and give of themselves and serve the local community. To Students and anybody that has been to Kenya in the past and taken training sessions, we invite you to come and see the Resource Centre and help us in the transition period and also in the future. In a sense, to become voluntary guardians to the project.
Students usually have to pay charities large amounts of money to volunteer in Africa, but with us its free! You only have to pay your own expenses to have a ‘hands on‘ experience from day one which will be life changing!

We are so thankful to all our friends and supporters, who’ve helped us to achieve wonderful results in financially difficult times. Helping the Kenyans to work their way out of poverty with these great facilities for their health and education, not to mention fostering a great community spirit! Let’s thank God for his blessings and allowing us to continue being part of the answer to people’s needs.
Brenda, Chrissie & the team.

We are pleased to announce…
THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF OUR MT KENYA SPONSORED WALK !!!

 

 

 

ISAAC GACUGO a 75 year old man walked 515 km all round Mt Kenya, visiting 6 counties.He was flagged off with great ceremony by H.E Governor Martin Wambora on 23rd January 2017 from Embu.

 

 

 

 

 

Joan Rushden and Chrissie completing the last day of the walk with sponsorship from supporters back in the UK. Well done ladies, best foot forward!

 

 

 

The walk promoted the need to help the vulnerable and the banner was promoting a Peaceful General Election campaign in 2017, for which our resource centre is a focal point for such gatherings. A short News Report Video can be seen here, and If you would like to read Chrissie's report on the walk, please click on this link.

 

 

 

 

Here is our new Incubator for hatching chicks, sponsored by the Irish Embassy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is our new Piggery, almost completed. This too was sponsored by the Irish Embassy (notice the green paint!!). We still have a greenhouse to build as our part of the sponsorship deal  and we hope this will be finished in the very near future.

 

 

Here is a link to a report from Helen Maguire, who recently visited the resource centre with Andrew & Molly! I would just like to add that Molly suffers with Leukaemia and is on medication and a special diet so doesn't eat or sleep well. But Chrissie reports that Molly was eating and sleeping well whilst there. It's amazing the blessing you can receive when giving to others!

Meanwhile, back in the UK, Grace, a trustee from Kenya, was visiting her daughter in Chorleywood and spent a week with Brenda to discuss the way forward for the resource centre. Brenda held an "At home with Grace" day for people to come and have tea with Grace and ask questions about life in Kenya. It was a great time and Peacemakers was given a donation by Watton-at Stone Tuesday community group (photo right). Grace was very blessed by the warm welcome she was given.

We still have outstanding needs to furnish our restaurant ( a focal point for community gatherings and raising funds for self maintenance of the centre), for the proposed opening on the 25th March. This is the time when we have invited sponsors of the walk to bring what they've raised and join the celebrations. It will promote the wonderful facilities that Peacemakers have developed for the community's future. People have been trained & jobs provided, now we have skilled professional Kenyans to continue the work. If you feel you would like to help where there is a need, please see the list of items by clicking the link below and contact Brenda.

List of Needs to complete the restaurant

Thank you, Brenda & the team.

It was another sunny morning as we excitedly set off from Nairobi for the drive to Denis Marshall Foundation, Kathageri on Monday 20th February.
I was so pleased to see Christine again and renew friendships with those living and working there, that I had met in 2010 and 2012, and we were given a wonderful welcome.

 

 

 

Meeting Isaac, the sponsored walker!

 

 

 

 

 

It was Molly’s first trip to Kenya and she was really amazed at the beautiful bourgainvillea, gardens and centre that has been built there over the past 9 years. I could not believe all that had been achieved by Christine and her team over the past 5 years since I last visited and we were all especially impressed by the new restaurant that is about to be opened. We admired the woodwork and other carpentry done by Boniface and the Makuti roof made so beautifully by Rooney and a tutor from Mombasa for the restaurant. It is so clever how the craft room and other rooms are integral to the building underneath it.
Not only that, but the Shamba has grown with the new animals and the slightly larger area and we watched as the new Pigsty was nearly completed by Boniface and the others in the week we were there. The goats and piglets were real characters and should provide some much needed income. It is lovely that the Irish Embassy has given the award to Peacemakers’ for this. Also the chicken house is well stocked too! We saw the incubator awaiting eggs to start the cycle again!

The building attached to Kisimani  House is truly amazing with the computer suite, library and Reception area attached thanks to some funding from the French Embassy in Nairobi. What a mighty work Christine has achieved with Peacemakers’ friends fundraising and the support from the Embassies.

We were very comfortable in Kisimani house with the lovely rooms and luxury of a shower or bath in two places, and of course food a plenty on the table thanks to Christine, Fred, Wawi, Josephine and others. Andrew and I had withdrawal symptoms from the Mangoes and Pineapple and Passion fruit we were given and Molly especially liked the passion fruit.

One of the many highlights of the week was to visit the Kivuria small Home and Primary school just up the road and present the jumpers, exercise books, varied pencils and other items to the jovial and very friendly Head teacher Madam Lilian Ireri. The new Deputy Head had given us a tour of the grounds and three classrooms. Between the two of them, I think that the school will go from strength to strength, if the three teachers who were promoted are replaced, and the Government delivers on the books and new Curriculum promised. In addition, there is the underlying and wonderful support of Peacemakers International for the small Home and other children in the main school.

Money we raised was spent in Embu on a decoder (to change the analogue to a digital signal) and an aerial for the television in the small Home for disabled children. It may also help with the electrical work to get the solar panel working for electricity. Isaac, a new recruit to Peacemakers who has experience in all kinds of work (he was most welcome on our trips) had put the aerial up that morning before we visited school!

There were many other highlights including the visit to Chuka for drugs for the health needs of ladies on site and it was lovely to see a quick recovery for them. There was also a heartrending visit later in the day to give John his epilepsy drugs and before meeting his family, looking into to the muddy space he calls home. There are holes in the walls stuffed with plastic bags and it is not water or weather proof. His half-brother was given his own jersey on our visit to the school later in the week. We were shocked to see Patrick remove Jiggers from under the toenails of Eric although it was Andrew who gave them support all afternoon whilst Molly and I didn’t like to watch!! It is great that there is a campaign on ‘Jiggers’ at present.

 

 

Krispie cakes, tea loaf, chocolate tiffin and buns anyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the Friday afternoon, Molly and I showed Fred, Stella and Wawira how to make Krispie cakes, tea loaf, chocolate tiffin and buns which was great fun. The next afternoon they taught us how to make chapatti dough. This was all for the guests we were expecting for the great visit from the famous Kenyan Gospel Singer ‘Daddy Owen’. In fact, he eventually arrived Sunday morning when we were at service in Chuka town Methodist Church, but he was still there when we returned. He is a very impressive young man with an increasing knowledge of the needs and the places supporting children and adults with disabilities. He was visibly moved by the wonderful work being done on the Peacemakers site. It was so lovely to see him give Christine the wonderful Malaika Foundation award.

 

 

 

 

Chrissie receiving the Malaika Foundation's

Good Samaritan award.

 

 

 

There I much more we could say but suffice to say that Molly said when we had been that she could live there and we are all saving hard for a further trip!
I will always remember Josephine’s wonderful singing of ‘Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee, How great thou art how great thou art! as we left feeling quite sad but with God’s Peace and Joy in our hearts.

Thank you so much to Christine and all her team for giving us a wonderful week at Denis Marshall Foundation. It was such a privilege to share Kenyan life there for a week.

May God Bless all whom we met in Kenya and may His Blessing be upon the wonderful work being done there by Peacemakers International.

Helen Maguire