Hello! everybody i am really happy to have this opportunity once again to give you the latest news as they happen here.For this month of october i have been visiting some of the programmes like bethel where the kids are very happy to have a new teacher.i would like to thank you all for your contribution towards this programme.The visit made by Amy and Rich was a good one. they really did something special to make the less fortunate and needy young kids have a simile and good voices as they attend school.This was possible because you joined hands together and contributed towards it.

Our sponsored students have been doing great in their studies.They did an exam where they performed well and hoping the new ones will register good results come next exam.You have motivated them a lot so they are working extra harder for now.The teacher at Bethel she has been doing greet and happy to work at Bethel.You have really extended the kids opportunity of having a brighter future ahead by employment of the teacher who is also qualified at her work.As for now life is full of beginning and many beginning are difficult without quality education.

May you all be blessed by almighty for such kind heart for needy kids.

Hi All, During the most recent trip to Kenya we have embarked on a very exciting new project which we are looking forward to telling you about.

Many of you may remember a project called Bethel Children's Care Centre from new blogs on this website. We have been working with them for some time now, using the centre as a base for handing out your clothes and shoes donations, as well as supporting them with some educational materials such as exercise books, pencils, sharpeners, rubbers etc.

The project is based in the residential area of Mtomondoni, in the home of the founder, Elizabeth and her husband, Bill and provides nursery level education to young children in the area. Schooling in Kenya is done in three stages; nursery, primary and secondary. Completion of each stage is necessary for progression to the next one, however primary level is the only level which is provided free of charge by the government. Bethel, therefore, provides a crucial service to aound 80 local families, educating more than 80 children aged 2-6 in kindergarten (nursery) level schooling such as basic maths and english in preparation for primary schooling at the local government school.All the children who attend are from very poor backgrounds, with many being from single parent families, orphans or affected by HIV/AIDS. Therefore the facility is extremely useful to local parents or carers, especially those from single parent households, or those caring for orphans, as it enables them to go out and work during the day to put food on the table, whilst the children are looked after at Bethel.

Bethel charges just 100/= per month (around 70pence) which is enough to cover basic facilities such as pencils and paper, exam papers, desks, benches etc, whilst still being affordable to the local community.

However, the small amount the children and their families contribute is not adequate to pay wages for a teacher; meaning that Bethel have had a succession of volunteer teachers all in temporary roles and many underqualified for the job.

During the trip this time, with the assistance of the friends of Milele group fundraising here in the UK we have managed to take on a nursery teacher named Janet Dawa who will work at Bethel on a trial basis until the end of the year. If the trial is sucessful and funding can be secured long term, there is the hope that we will extend it indefinitely.

We also gave out many of the school uniform clothes which had been donated to the project, so the children have something smart to wear to school!

Thank-you to everyone who has donated so far, it will make a huge difference to very many children.

We would like to create some links between Bethel and some schools in the UK to help fund the teaching project. If you are a teacher at a school and would like to help us or to find out more, please don't hesitate to get in touch with Amy on 07950329398

Thank-you!

Amy and Rich

Hello, We thought it was high time to introduce our third sponsored child of the trip; Josephine.

Josephine is currently in Standard 7 at Mtwapa Academy and is now the eldest girl on the programme at 14 years old.

Joesphine is a friendly and chatty girl who lives with her mum in a Swahili house in central Mtwapa. Josephine comes from a single parent family since her father abandoned them some years ago.

Swahili houses are concrete built constructions which comprise a long central corridor with rooms off it. Rooms can then be rented individually and toilet facilities are shared with other neighbours in the building. Josephine's mum is renting a room in this house for herself, Josephine and Josephine's little brother (currently in Kindergarten school).

Her mum works making tea and selling it by the cup to local shopkeepers throughout the day. One cup of tea can fetch ten shillings (around 7 pence) and she could perhaps sell a maximum of 20 cups in a day, giving the family a very small income to live on.

Sponsorship through Milele means Josephine will have all ther school requirements including fees, uniforms and textbooks as well as receiving a balanced diet at school and having hygiene equipment and healthcare provided for her, relieving a major financial burden from her mother.

Josephine is now concentrating on improving her school grades now that she has all the equipment she needs in preparation for her standard 8 examinations next year.

We are currently looking for sponsors for Josephine and the other new sponsored children. Sponsorship costs £75 a year and each child is allocated 4 sponsors who provide for them individually and have the opportunity to write letters, exchange photographs and build a really special relationship. If you would like any more information, or are interested in becoming a sponsor with Milele, please get in touch with Amy on 07950329398.

Thanks very much!

Amy and Rich

Hi All, A couple of days ago we took all of the sponsored children who attend Mtwapa Academy to Bamburi Nature Trail, this is like a cross between a mini safari park and a zoo. We thought it would be nice to let all the sponsored children get to know each other a bit better as well as having a bit of a treat. We gave them a disposable camera to take their own photos but we’ll put some of ours on here so you can see.

Everyone was very excited and we all got the chance to see lots of animals and learn all about them with the tour guide. The children wrote some sentences or paragraphs about their favourite animals, so we’ll include them below for you to enjoy! They are exactly as the children wrote them and they only did one draft so hopefully you will understand them!

Emmanuel (age 7) My favourite animal is monkey. I like monkey because good. The monkey is very small. The monkey is good at climbing the trees. The monkey is black in colour. The monkey eat pellets and eat bananas. The monkey likes to run.

Kaingu (aged 9) My favourite animal is giraffe. I like it because have long neck and like it because have long legs. Giraffe is colour brown and yellow and I like it because if you want to feed giraffe you put food in your hand and give to giraffe. I like giraffe because giraffe is bigger than all animals in the world and I like with his colour.

Pendo (aged 8 ) My favourite is giraffe. Why do you like? Because he has a long neck. He is feed on my hand. He looks like brown colour and black. I have see 6 giraffe and I have like so much and I have see most of them are boys and girls. They were have long legs and feed on trees. There food is in colour brown. Also I have seen some others. Most of them are snake and I have like them so much and I have see also hippos and trees.

Josephine (aged 14) My favourite animal is monkey. I like monkey because it is very funny. It acts like a human being. Monkey likes eating things like mangos, banana and other food. Its like climbing the trees. Its like playing with children. They like stealing food if they feel hungry. When you chase the monkeys they run towards the trees. When I see monkeys I feel very excited. I like spending time with the monkeys staring at them.

Tamira (aged 7) My favourite animal is a snake. I like the snake because is good. The snake is small and doesn’t have any legs. When I saw the snake I felt happy. There were many snakes it was black.

Safari (aged 10) My favourite animal is called giraffe. It is big and has long neck. He has a beautiful colour. His colour is brown, white. I like giraffe very much. Because its bigger than others, they eat good food. Giraffe is good than others because he has good colours. The giraffe is not dangerous than others.

Charo (aged 11) My favourite animal is crocodile. A crocodile is a dangerous animal. It’s live in water. Crocodile feeds different of foods. Crocodile eats fish, house fly, human being and rotting meat because he has no tongue to taste foods. In one month crocodile eat one time and has hard skin. In one year crocodile lays 60 eggs. I like crocodile.