RFFA Orphan Rescue Kenya

ORPHAN RESCUE DONATIONS MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN KENYA

The Anchor and Kenya Kids program in Kenya was very pleased to receive Kenya shillings 208,730 which was credited to the Orphan Rescue account. Six families with over 20 children had been identified as the pioneer beneficiaries of this fund in Kenya. The selected families have various material needs but it was decided that assistance with tuition fee would be of greatest immediate help to them all. The recipients of the funds will be able to attend uninterrupted schooling for at least one full year. The care givers with the assistance of the programs will be able to work out how to meet the other needs which are not as financially demanding. The tuition fees, meals and uniform needs total Kenya shillings 222,000.

The details of the selected orphans follow one by one:

IRENE

Irene is a robust 17 year old who is actively involved in drama, music, Girl Guides, and was recently diagnosed with diabetes. Irene lost her mother who was a single parent 6 years ago after a long illness. She has since then relied on well wishing families within the Nairobi Christian church for accommodation and up keep during the school holidays. She is currently housed in a family of four. Irene is in her third year of high school in a boarding school located in Mukuru kwa Njenga. The rescue funds have lightened the load on her “foster” family at this time.

Letter of Support from RFFA.

Marion Bunch Chair RFFA

Rotarians For Fighting AIDS a Rotarians Action Group.

Marion Bunch above helping with orphans in Nairobi Kenya.

Marion Bunch Chair RFFA sent us this letter of support for Kili 28/8.

The funds from Orphan Rescue are distributed to one of six different ANCHOR countries to the orphans, managed by the local RFFA/ANCHOR Representative and the HOPE worldwide Country Manager. The six countries that get these funds are : Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Kenya, Botswana, Zambia and South Africa. They all are in desperate need of funds, as you know, to get the children "out of crisis" (in other words, food or medicine) but most importantly, the funds are used to get them back into school!

We must get these children educated, or they will never get out of their dire circumstances. The spending of these funds is monitored by the HOPE worldwide Country manager, and it is made certain that they are used appropriately, Oversight is done as well by the RFFA ANCHOR Rep. That is why we disburse them to these particular countries because we have the local community ability to know which orphans need it the most and we have the ability to monitor the expenditure. After the funds are used, we get a written report telling about how the community there helped which orphans, how many, etc.

I would never have created Orphan Rescue without a very specific process for applying for the funds, monitoring the use of the funds, and specific feedback reports. I will attach for you a feedback report that came in last year from Nairobi, Kenya, just for your information. (This will be published on this web site asap.)

So when you get funding and wish to give it to RFFA Orphan Rescue, it will be disbursed to one of these particular ANCHOR sites, managed by HOPE ww and the local RFFA ANCHOR Rep.

Thought you ought to know that.

Marion Bunch.

Craigs Story

Craig and Stephanie Corrigan the TRIKERS.

My name is Craig Corrigan I have been a member of the Rotary Club of Coolamon now for about 11 years. When John first mentioned the idea of climbing Killi I thought yer that sounds like a good way to raise money for a great project but had no intention of going along. So what changed my mind?

Early last year my twin brother was diagnosed with cancer and subsequently past away 4 days after our 46th birthday.

After that I made my mind up that life is just way to short, and if you are given an opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and do something that will not only be good for you but you can help someone along the way then go and do it.

So hear I am training with John & raising money.

I have been lucky enough to secure some corporate sponsorship from " NRMA Motoring & Services". & "NRMA Batteries ." Thank You to both organizations.

Good on You Craig.

The Motivator and the "Governor" Sharon

Sharon Daishe and her family.

Jake and his Mum.

I share sponsorship of Mathayo Laanyuni at the School of St Jude with Forbes Rotary Ipomoea

Grandmother and Grandaughter Dakota and Mum Valarie



Sharon and her "boys" Keith, Jake and Samuel.

Meet Sharon Daishe from Forbes:

Sharon keeps us all in line and motivated at the same time and is our joint leader. Here is her story a brief bio and why Sharon has become so passionate about Kili 28/8.

"Kenya is my heritage and the birthplace of my family. My beloved maternal grandmother, aged 19, left England to marry a coffee plantation owner at Makuyu near Thika. My Scottish paternal grandparents, respectively nurse and railway worker, met, married and died in Africa. My sister and brother were born in Kenya before my family migrated in 1961 to safety in Australia, where I was born in 1964 in Melbourne.

My father’s reel to reel movies of family safaris in Africa were a feature of my childhood along with tales of the people, the wildlife and the effect of the Mau Mau on the country my family loved. I have always dreamt of visiting Africa but accepted that it would probably only ever be a dream. How beautiful the path that life reveals! Firstly I met John Glassford when he was raising funds for Road Maps to Africa in 2005/06. Then I discovered the incredible School of St Jude and harassed Gemma Sisia with a million questions at Rotary District Conference 2006 in Orange. At the same conference, John announced his plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for AIDS and eduction including the School. So…. here I am, excited and passionate about uniting a very personal journey with the precious cause of helping African children to break the cycle of poverty and disease.

I have three wonderful sons (two enjoying their university years), one granddaughter and a grandson on the way. I hope that my small contribution is like the grain of sand that becomes part of a brick that becomes part of a house – for future generations of African children to one day know the same living conditions as my children and grandchildren expect in Australia."

We would be lost without you Sharon!

The Egg Man Cape Town

You may wonder what the Egg Man is doing here on our Kili Climb web site but the Egg Man is a Cape Town institution and Susan and I met him in Green Square one day. This time he is promoting the Design Indaba 10 event in Cape Town this year, where some of the world's most revolutionary and discerning creative minds assembled to share insights.

The Egg Man.

One of the designs which appears at the end of the web site above certainly has a lot to do with what we are raising funds for by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in August. If you do not follow my cryptic clue or if you get the message great, if not drop me a line:

johnatglassford.com.au

New Climber from Dubbo Michael

We would like to welcome Michael Dorrian from Dubbo to the Kili 28/8 Team.

Michaels brief bio and reason for joining the team:

"Hi everyone, I’m Michael Dorrian. I moved to Dubbo 3 years ago from Sydney with my beautiful wife Robyn and my son Ben. Our daughter Lisa flew the coop 4 years ago and lives in Brisbane with her partner Matt. I’ve been an ambulance officer for the past 20 years and currently work in our Operations Centre here as assistant manager. We live on 6 acres just out of Dubbo which keeps us all very busy.

I believe there is a growing imbalance in the world today. This project will be an amazing opportunity for personal fulfillment and also to help address some of the imbalance by raising both money and awareness for our fellow brothers and sisters in Africa. I look forward to meeting everyone and sharing this adventure with you."

Michael.

Good on you Michael and we look forward to climbing with you.

Rotary International Interactive Web Site

The following story is about a group of Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars who walked from Johannesburg to Cape Town to raise money for RFFA or Rotarians For Fighting AIDS. It is an interactive site.

Trek of a Lifetime.

New Photos Mount Kilimanjaro

Some new photos of Mount Kilimanjaro taken by Prue Hodgson simply stunning.

Prue was one of the three peaks in three weeks ladies who climbed Mount Kenya, Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro in three weeks.

Thanks for the photos Prue and we will see you in Wagga Wagga soon.

NIAID Director Fauci Discusses Effect of HIV/AIDS on Women, Microbicide Research

NIAID* Director Fauci Discusses Effect of HIV/AIDS on Women, Microbicide Research


Interesting article from the Kaiser report with the following conclusion:

Fauci said. "Women have difficulty getting access to health care and therefore are diagnosed at later stages of HIV/AIDS than men," Fauci said, adding, "Therefore, we need to expand and support educational and employment opportunities for women and girls to address the harmful effects of inequality"

*National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Kathryn's Reasons for climbing Kilimanjaro

Kathryn Gettingby from Perth Western Australia.

Here is the reason why Kathryn is going to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro in August.

"I have always wanted to climb Kilimanjaro so when a friend told me about this trip and raising money for those affected by the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa it seemed like the perfect opportunity to achieve something incredibly useful. I can't wait to climb with such a committed group and I hope that others in the community get behind this idea with the enthusiasm that has been demonstrated by the group so far."

Good on you Kathryn.

Bob Brown's Support

Senator Bob Brown

We received the above letter of support from Senator Bob Brown.
(Just click on the letter for a larger image).

The Rock near Wagga Wagga

The Rock New South Wales.

PP Bill Innes PHF from our club, ( founding member) wants to conduct a walk-a-thon to raise funds for Kili 28/8. In fact Bill wants to call it the Hilimanjaro Walk up The Rock. If you have any ideas on how we run it let me know.

I feel that it would be a great day with music, food and may be entertainment for the supporters of the Hillimanjaro Rock-a-thon. The Rock is close to Wagga Wagga and I am sure the people of Wagga Wagga and Coolamon would get behind it.

Thanks Bill.

Any ideas?

First Official Gear Sponsor

Sherpa Outdoor Equipment

Narelle has received a letter from Steve Rawnsley of Sherpa regarding sponsorship for our climb. We are so excited by their generous offer to supply thermals and socks for up to 20 climbers.

Note that Sherpa are going to provide one pair of thermal long johns, top and trekking socks for each climber! At a guess that will save each of us $120 to $150.

Sherpa is located at Dural, Sydney. They have committed to supplying up to 20 sets of polypropylene thermals (long sleeved tops and long johns) plus mountaineering socks. We supply required sizes and they will supply a range of colours. How excellent is that?!!

The owner of the business, Steve Rawnsley, has written to us, and was attracted not only by the cause, but by the endeavour, as he used to climb a lot and has done Kili by the Heim Glacier route.

Thank you very much Sherpa and Steve!

Sherpa
PO Box 6004
Dural DC NSW 2158
Australia
Ph: (61) 02 9651 7822
Fax: (61) 02 9651 7833
Email: [email protected]

Link to the School of St Jude Tanzania.

Dinner for 700!

This photo is on the website for St Jude and they have also linked Kili 28/8 on their front page:

KILI 28/8

Mandy Watson Currumbin Kili 28/8 Climber

Mandy Watson from Currumbin on the Gold Coast, Queensland

Mandy's Number 1 Supporter Husband Trevor.

With her other two supporters of her Kili 28/8 Climb, Brittany and Ben Watson.

"My name is Mandy Watson, and I live on 5 acres in the gorgeous Currumbin Valley which is nestled in the Gold Coast Hinterland. I'm currently entrenched in building a house here with my husband Trevor, and 2 kids, Brittany 10, and Ben 7.

When I do get away from my horde of animals and farm duties...I'm a makeup artist for film and T.V. I love working in a creative field, and I find doing different jobs with different people in new locations very stimulating. I have dreamt of climbing Kili for 20 yrs now, since a friend of mine many years ago attempted the climb but unfortunately couldn't complete it, so in my heart I'd like to take a part of him to the summit. I am looking forward to turning this mission of mine from a personal effort into a group effort in raising money for the school of St Judes, as well as orphaned AIDS children. I truly believe this will be a life changing experience for all of us involved, and after raising as much money and awareness as I can.

I'll certainly be looking forward to touching down in Africa to commence this wonderful adventure. As I'll be doing some fund raising through my children's school, I'll look forward to sharing my experiences with the children upon my return and I hope to encourage a permanent interaction between the two schools."

Good on you Mandy, welcome to the team!

New Climber from Wagga Wagga

Darryl Gardiner and his sons William and Tyson.

It looks like Darryl Gardiner a local Wiradjuri man from Wagga Wagga is going to join the Kili 28/8 Climb. Darryl's ambitions are to forge a long term, successful career in the field of Indigenous Affairs. To be instrumental in the processes of Indigenous empowerment and self determination.

Darryl says; "I am currently employed as a Personal Trainer at Flex-It Gymnasium in Wagga Wagga. In this capacity I meet with clients as a first point of contact and train and mentor them to achieve their personal goals. I am proficient in the use of the ‘Maltron / Bioscan’ methods of fitness testing and the ‘VO2 MAX’ testing procedures.

I am also confident in writing programs and dispersing nutrition and dietary advice. This is very rewarding as I am passionate about seeing my clients develop fitness; self esteem and achieve their goals. I also coordinate an Indigenous Health Program aimed at diabetes prevention through cardio-vascular fitness and a healthy life style.

I am a proud Wiradjuri man and am a founding member of The Black Suns Inc. where I have twice been in the position of secretary.

I believe the Mt Kili climb would be an awesome experience and is something I am 100% committed to."

Darryl has a partner Danielle and two beautiful sons - William (4) and Tyson (9weeks).

We all welcome Darryl to the team.

We feel that Darryl will have a lot to offer the team and the goal of creating awareness in Australia of the situation in Africa regarding the HIV/AIDS orphans that are overwhelming their relevant country's capacity to house educate and feed these vulnerable children of Africa.