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Dani Wilde In Embu, Kenya: The Children of Kenya Foundation

Hi Guys, Thank you all for taking the time to read this:

I began fundraising for children in Embu, Kenya in 2007, whilst studying for my BA Hons Degree in Music. For my dissertation/final professional project, I decided to find a way of holding musical events in the south of England to raise money to provide a Kenyan School with Music Education.

During my initial research for my project I wrote to many established charities working in Kenya asking them if they could suggest a school which would benefit from ‘music education’. An Irish based charity called ‘Moving Mountians’ wrote back to me suggesting County Primary School in Embu. County Primary has a great music teacher called Felix who has a great understanding of music and is passionate and great with the children. The school however had no musical equipment/instruments/facilities. The classes were oversized due to a lack of teachers and also a lack of classrooms… some of the classrooms were in such a dilapidated state that they were not in use. There are 900 children attending the school. The youngest are about 5 years and the eldest are 16.

My Kenyan fundraising project soon became a team effort with the help of my family; my parents and my brother Will. Also, I had the full support of Moving Mountains who provided me with a work-team of ex-street children, who Moving Mountains had trained with manual labour skills so that they could make a good future for themselves assisting in charity projects. Each year that we are in Embu, we find a project for the work-team to work on. The first and second years this was renovating the classrooms and this year they fitted working toilets and taps at the school which will greatly improve sanitation.

I have recently got back from my second year of teaching Art and Music at County Primary School. All of the children who attend the school reside in Embu’s slums. I was given a tour of the slums and was able to see first hand the appalling living conditions and poverty that these children endure every day. Most of the homes have no electricity. The children drink dirty drinking water. Some of the children walk for hours each day to get to the school because they have no transport. Their school uniforms are often ripped and falling to pieces and they often have to go hungry and are orphans or from one parent families where the mother can barely afford to feed and cloth them.

Education is really important to the children. Going to school is the highlight of their week and their enthusiasm for learning is unbelievable. That’s why it is so important to make there time at school as worthwhile and enjoyable as possible.

Having just got back from our September 2009 trip to Kenya, I am already looking forward to next years visit.

Plans for next year are as follows:

• Take the 12 children residing at Toto Love Orphanage for children with HIV on Safari. The trip will involve seeing and learning about Kenyan wildlife and we will stay overnight for 1 night camping in tents and singing songs around the campfire. Giving them a wider view of their country will expand their minds and it should be such a fun exciting trip for them; we intend for it to be something so special they will be proud to have been a part of it and always remember it.

• Holding another ‘Fun-day’ at County Primary School where the children can perform plays, dances and musical pieces. Also, as in previous years they will be given a free nutritious meal and drink; and entertainment such as a DJ, Acrobats, and Bouncy Castles will be provided.

• Renovating the older children’s classrooms. New desks are needed for the children who are studying for exams. By painting and brightening up these classrooms they will be in a much more stimulating learning environment.

• Providing the school with basic equipment such as pens, paper, reading books, exercise books, and stationary: We do this every year but of course supplies need to be stocked up on an annual basis.

To make the above projects possible we really do need and appreciate the help of kind and generous people like you! Your donations mean the world to these children. These children all reside in the slums and just being given their own pencil that they can take home makes them feel so proud. If we can give these children a sense of pride to be in school, and give them opportunity for the future, then they will be less likely to drop out of school and turn to drugs, as so many children in Embu do.

Projects in previous years are as follows:

Embu 2009

• We organised County Primary Schools second ‘Fun-day’. Acrobats, Magicians and a DJ were hired to come to the school to entertain the children. Also, the children all had the opportunity to play on trampolines and bouncy castles. Funds were also spent on giving the children a nutritious meal and a drink. On this day we also made a ‘stage’ area where the children performed dances, plays, and music performances utilising the instruments that had been donated in previous years. The children had obviously been practicing hard and were very grateful for the opportunity of music education.

• We brought to the school an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar and two amplifiers that people had generously donated. We intend to fund guitar lessons for some of the most keen music students at the school.

• We stocked up the school with pens, paper, reading and writing materials and stationary such as rulers, maths sets, and pencil sharpeners.

• The children were treated to biscuits and sweets in class throughout the week and every child was given a pen or pencil to keep and take home with them.

• Working toilets with wash basins were fitted at the school to replace the previous ‘hole in the ground’. This will greatly improve sanitation and will eradicate the smell of the old toilets that could often be smelt from inside the classrooms; thus creating a better working environment for the children.

• We donated toys, arts materials and books to the local HIV Children’s Orphanage. We also took the 11 children on a day trip to a lovely outdoor swimming pool next to a restaurant and park, where they played, swam and ate a healthy lunch. For them this was a ‘once in a life time’ trip… however we of course intend to take them on another trip in 2010! The children had never been taken anywhere so nice before. Those of them who had swum had only done so in rivers. Considering these children’s lives will be short, it’s important to make sure their lives have happy moments that they can remember and feel proud to have been a part of.

• We were introduced to three children who attend County Primary School who were from very desperate family circumstances. My Dad provided them with new shoes and we bought them some food shopping. When we took the shopping back to their ‘home’ we were appalled at the squalor and danger the girls had to endure living in. We reported the case to Moving Mountains who were as appalled as we were by the living conditions and they have assured us they will help to find the family some acceptable accommodation where the girls ages 5,8, and 13 will be safe.

Embu 2008

Projects in 2008 included:

• Funding the installation of two water tanks: one with water from the mains, and one that collects rainwater from the roofs and gutters that can be used to wash hands after the children have used the toilets; greatly improving hygiene.

• Donating a trumpet and some treble and bass recorders as requested by the schools music teacher Felix who knew how they could be put to great use. We also provided recorder and trumpet sheet music and some African hand-drums.

• Donated sports equipment including footballs, rugby balls and basket balls. We also erected two basket ball post and nets to make a basketball court on the playground.

• We stocked up the school with pens, paper, reading and writing materials and stationary such as rulers, maths sets, and pencil sharpeners.

• The children were treated to biscuits and sweets in class throughout the week and every child was given a pen or pencil to keep and take home with them.

• We organised the first ever ‘Fun-day’ at the school. Acrobats, Magicians and a DJ were hired to come to the school to entertain the children. Also, the children all had the opportunity to play on trampolines and bouncy castles. Funds were also spent on giving the children a nutritious meal and a drink. On this day we also made a ‘stage’ area where the children performed dances, plays, and music performances utilising the instruments that had been donated in previous years.

• We hired the Moving Mountains work team to refurbish some more classrooms. They put in new windows, layed concrete floors to replace the dust and mud floors, and painted protective paint on the roofs which prevents rust from contaminating the water in the water tank.

Embu 2007

• Delivered 80 descant recorders to the school

• Renovated 4 classrooms. This included fitting them with windows and laying floors. The nursery class for the very young children was also painted to brighten up the inside and they were provided with small colourful chairs and mattresses to sleep on at nap-time.

• We also donated a lap-top to the school that the elder students could have the opportunity to use.

Thanks again for reading this. The children, my family and I really appreciate your on-going support.

Please click the link below to make a donation to our fundraising account with Just Giving/Moving Mountains. All of the money will be put to very good use at projects helping children in Embu, Kenya.

If you would like to hold a fundraising event on behalf of the school that would also be greatly appreciated. You could play a gig, hold a local coffee morning, set up a bring and buy sale, or organize a raffle. Anything you could do to help would be greatly appreciated and will make a huge difference to the school and the children. Some of the children at the school would benefit from being sponsored so they could afford to go to secondary school instead of having to finish their education and get a job. These kids have so much enthusiasm, talent and potential but they are greatly let down by the poor and corrupt society that they live in. If you’re interested in helping, please let me know!

Again, the school and I really appreciate your help. Please have a good look at my pictures and videos! I hope to see you at a gig soon! I will be organizing a few special ‘Playing the Blues for Africa’ fundraising gigs in England so keep an eye out!

Lots of love always!

Dani Wilde xxxxx