[Kwg-list] Update from our project area

[Julie Hard]

Hello Everyone,

I received the following message from Mr. Okidi (our programme
coordinator in Kenya) as a request for our group to respond to the
immediate need in his community.  The request will be discussed at the
next KWG meeting January 29th.  People have been emailing me, asking
how they may be able to assist.  This is one area where you can make a
huge impact.

dear julie & mike
thanks alot for your continued effort to ring and email to enquire
about our status and the progress being made on the political issues
since we had our election on the 27th of december 2007. as you
realized from our talk we still live in a situation where you cannot
tell about tommorow. the most significant thing here is scarsity of
food staff to most people  even those people who are not displaced
due to frozen means of transport in most parts of the country
especially western kenya. this has been worsened by unrealistic price
increases on on food-staffs and transportation cost. in this region
,there are no camps for the displaced around here but mainly in
nairobi, nakuru, eldoret, kericho, few in kisii, kakamega and busia.
mombasa also has camps for the displaced and the red cross are mainly
currently working in camps but not with people in the communities whom
some of them are badly affected  and  nobody so far are giving any
attention to because of the magnitude of problems being encountered in
the camps that requires alot of resources in terms of beddings, food
,drugs, mosquito nets, transport, temporary shelters etc has kept the
charitable organizations too busy in the  camps to know what is
happening in the communities.

now because the priorities of most families is food,dsp being a
community programme working with exceptional members of the community
should be seen in their normal provision of services to be with  the
rest of kenyans in alleviating suffering among their target groups by
extending some support to severely affected families we come across in
our normal day today work. for us to start this we came up with an
estimate of ksh3000 per family as a kit and that would include maize,
beans, rice, cooking fats, salt, sugar and paraffin for lighting. that
would be possible to last an average african family for one month. we
finally suggested that we start with fifty families between now and
april 2008 and that gives us a budget of ksh150,000[one hundred and
fifty thousand only] approximately can@ 2500 only,i hope you would
look at the suggestion and let us know your view over it as kwg. this
email would serve as a request to the kwg to fund the project. the
issue of students and professional as we discussed over phone,and that
final decision by mid or end of february. thanks carilus a okidi.

Please consider this request and let me know if you are able to
provide assistance or suggestions.  I am keen to hear from you.

Regards,

Julie