Phase 2 - Asante Sana

I'm an advocator of one of Mother Teresa's sayings, "Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway". This saying epitomizes all the ESTC hosts and donors, without you many communities would not have benefited. As we say in Kenya, Asante Sana (thank you very much).

Phase 2 of the distribution was completed at the end of July which supported 9 projects. It took 2 weeks for logistics of the distribution, as the needs for each project varied. The basic need across all projects is food; this is an ongoing battle for many project directors. They usually source food from well wishers, friends and donors. ESTC 2009 focus has been meeting basic needs as well as encouraging sustainability projects. By being sustainable, projects are able to provide for the children or vulnerable. This is an ideal situation however it takes time before they gain any revenue.

One of the projects trains youth in dressmaking and carpentry. Through these projects they are able to sell school uniforms to local schools and furniture to churches. One of their needs was for proper tools for carpentry which ESTC provided. The words that resonate from these projects are "This has come at the right time". This means that this is a right time when their resources are about to be depleted. They would have to try and source resources from somewhere or go without.

Besides the continuous need for food many children's home are faced with increased number of children yet limited resources. One of the children's home that was supported requested beds for both male and female dormitories. They had 6 bunks beds which slept about 18 children; ideally it should sleep 6 children. Something as little as a new bed can put smiles on these children's faces maybe even give a hope.

On a lighter note, being involved with distributions may involve a few challenges or in my case a few drama's. We headed north of Kenya to a place called Naromoro to source goats for a boys rehabilitation centre. This is part of a sustainability project for the centre. However en-route our van broke down and the only option was taking a matatu. Now for those who do not know what a matatu is, it is a 9 seat van however in some cases it can seat a minimum of 15 people. With a dash of blaring doof doof music it can make for an enjoyable ride.

Two matatu's later; we source a car to take us into the different farms. Naromoro is located near Mount Kenya; it has amazing views and cooler temperatures. In pelting rain we bargain with a group of goat farmers for a fair price. About 3 hours later, all 9 of us are crammed into a pickup with about 5 goats visiting other farmers to purchase 5 more goats. Happy with our purchase we set off in another matatu to the project. Steering goats in the dark to a shed on stilts is just as funny as taking out photos of the goats in the shed in pitch black darkness and finding a goat rammed next to you trying to get out.

All in all the boys and supervisor was thankful for the donation. The goats will provide milk as well as breeding to support this project. It took 18 hours of the day to achieve this goal and it was worth it. For those who have not been involved in Eat so they Can, I urge you today to make a difference by being involved. Please view the website: http://www.eatsotheycan.org/

Food for thought: Asante Yesu kwa Matatus! (Thank you God for Matatus)

Baraka (blessings) Tracy Pillay, Kenya