Paul - 12 years old - orphan

Samwel - 11 years old - orphan

John - 12 years old - orphan

All at once the family at the Joseph Waweru Home school grew! First Paul arrived. Paul had left behind his younger brother. It was a tearful and fearful separation. As soon as we understood that a brother had been left behind, Samwel was brought to join his brother. The joy of the two brothers could not be contained. They were orphaned and left with a grandfather who was elderly and almost blind. Though he loves the boys, he was not able to feed, clothe, educate and care for two adolescent boys. We are happy to have them with us.

John is a 12 year old orphan. He never knew his father but was raised by a loving mother until her sudden death from meningitis. Left alone, he was brought to us to join the family.

Our current five boys have been wonderful big brothers, showing them the ropes and a few of the tricks. The first family home of the Joseph Waweru Home School is now full of laughter.

Catherine, Bev and Luke brought a jackfruit when they returned from Uganda. What a huge, ugly fruit! None of us knew anything about jackfruit, but we wielded the knife and dug in. The core of the fruit was full of a sticky, stretchy, stringy, not so tasty juice. Though it stuck like glue, it brought peals of laughter.

Then we tried to figure out which part we were to eat. The pith was hard and woody. The seeds were not so bad and the flesh was simply blah. Had we been led astray?

At that disappointing moment, Pastor Waweru's nephew entered and recognized the jackfruit. He showed us which part we were to eat and told us this one wasn't ripe yet. He assured us that when ripe the flesh around the seeds will smell and taste a bit like a pineapple.

So we didn't get to eat it, but it sure was fun to play with!

The boys play with the Jack Fruit

Progress at the Joseph Waweru Home School

Saturday is a busy work day at the Joseph Waweru Home School. The boys help Catherine with the creation of the raised beds. Here Kamau and Kiplangat work on the first dig of the double dig system to create the kitchen garden beds. In the back ground the men work on the preparation for the pouring of the slab.

The Commons is a large building and the foundation must be firm. First a foundation wall of 9 X 9 stone was laid last year. This year the topsoil between the foundation walls was removed and a soft pumice stone, called hardcore, was laid about 6" deep then broken into small pieces with sledgehammers. The hardcore is leveled filled then covered with the murram clay that was removed while digging the cistern. This murram was pounded until firm. Plastic sheeting was laid on top and wire mesh carefully spread and wired together. Finally the foundation was ready for the slab pour.

After waiting for a cement mixer for a day and a half, the decision was made to pour the slab the old fashioned way. A few more men were hired and they set to work mixing crushed rock, sand and cement. A water and whellbarrow relay to and from two mixing locations moved at a steady pace for two straight days!

Finally we reached our goal for this quarter! A 75 cubic meter water storage tank and a completed slab for the commons! Along with the completion of our goal we also added a bonus storage shed and car port and a second compost bin. A wonderful, successful quarter!

Now on to the next step - walls and roof for the kitchen, storage area and toilet.

Together the three have produced beautiful shrits, headscarfs, hats and aprons for our website, www.1stafricanclothing.com. Take a look sometime in May to see the new creatiions.

The recipients were very grateful. One Bible costs a weeks wages for a day laborer. Each church where the Bibles were distributed had a different need.

One small church had 12 people come forward for four Bibles! The congregation was asked to select those they felt should receive the Bibles. An overwhelming cheer went up for an elderly gentleman who had tears glistening in his eyes as he was presented with his Bible.

Peter Kariuki gratefully receives a donated Bible

Donated medical suplies were gratefully received at Evans Sunrise Hospital

The recipients are:

Pillar of Hope - an HIV testing and counseling center

Mangu Medical Clinic - a small village clinic

Nakuru Provincial Hospital - a large government hospital

Nakuru Valley Hospital - a small private hospital

Evans Sunrise Hospital - a small private hospital

After a long journey, we arrived in western Uganda to visit a STEMS loan recipient. Frances and Enid Mutatiina have built a small nursery school. The children receive such quality education, the schools are commenting on the readiness of Wisdom Day Nursery School children. When they enter Primary school they excel both academically and socially.

Frances and Enid also make room for children with special needs. One five year old special needs child could not walk when she arrived. With intensive attention, she is now able to walk and participate in school with the children.

Amina is an abondened child. He is only 1 1/2 years old.When the Mutatiinas heard of his plight, they rescued this child and hired a caretaker to remain at the school to care for him. Amina now has a home at Widom Day Nursery School .