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The Volunteer Services committee presents an
opportunity for members to share their skills, time and
positive energy in the community. The places listed here
are not exclusive.
If anyone
knows of places that would welcome our members as volunteers,
please contact the chair and be willing to put your name as
the contact person. If you feel like you
want to do something but are having a hard time getting out by
yourself, call or send an email! There is usually someone
else who would be delighted to go with you and see what the
experience might be like. Consider joining the
committee and being in the forefront of volunteer
opportunities!
Women's Prison
Project
The women in Remand are awaiting a hearing/trial.
Many have no resources
or family to help them.
Some of the women also have their babies with them.
We have established an
ongoing collection of the items below which will be hand
delivered by our members directly to the women. We are continuing to
develop opportunities
for volunteering within the
prison remand.
In November 2009, 10 AWA members went to
the Langata Woman's Prison Remand to distribute the donations
made by AWA members over the past few months. In
addition, they received a tour and orientation to the resource
center connected to the remand. The resource center is
administered by Faraja Trust, our liaison to the prison.
Christine Odero, from Faraja, is the facilitator at the
resource center. If anyone would like to volunteer at
the resource center, please contact the volunteer chair to set
up an orientation with Christine. What kinds of things
would a volunteer do at the resource center? there are
sewing machines, knitting machines, books, puzzles, etc.
If you have a special skill, like embroidery, new patterns for
sewing, crocheting, etc, they would be welcomed there.
If you are able to teach marketing skills, self-esteem, etc,
that would also be welcome. The commitment of time is up
to you; one day, once a week, once a
month.
Please bring ONE (or more!) of the items below to
any general meeting or coffee morning.
It
will be distributed by an AWA member directly to the women in the Remand
section of the prison:
- toiletries -
toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, toilet paper, sanitary products,
lotion, shampoo,
baby diapers, baby oil, baby
powder
- baby
clothes, baby formula
- books, magazines,
bibles
- old sweaters and jackets
for the cold weather in June and July
- flip flops, underwear, socks
THANK YOU to those who have generously donated
toiletries and sanitary products!
Euphrasia
Women’s Center
Volunteers
are needed on either Mondays or Wednesdays
1. teach English on
Wednesday mornings
2. cookery and baking
Monday mornings.
Those
interested in English should contact Lucy at
awaofkenya@gmail.com
Those interested in cooking – no
cooking experience or expertise required! - should contact Renate or
Randi.
Some
of our goals for the girls this year are:
table etiquette, food safety
awareness,
food handling awareness, basic cooking utensils and
techniques, exposure to a variety of recipes and, the best
one: cake making and decorating!
ANYONE
is welcome and we encourage you to come and observe and then
determine if you'd like to teach them one of your own favorite
recipes!
Our
wish list for equipment is the following:
3-4
outlet with 3-5 meter extension cord, knife sharpener,
pastry brush, measuring cup and spoon set, cutting boards,
digital scale (or non-digital scale!), dish towels and
sponges.
Orphanages
1.
Hope
House
Orphanage 39
Kaputei Gardens, off Othaya Rd, near Gatanga Rd. They are recipients of our
feeding program.Contact: Shirley Stone (AWA member) 0734 600
871
Volunteers must be interviewed and trained. They prefer
a set schedule but can discuss with each volunteer on a case
by case basic. They also welcome volunteers who want to share
their expertise to the staff, foster parents, adoptive
parents, etc.
Hold, feed, change, play with babies
2. New Life House Near Yaya Center off Lenana
Road
Volunteers are welcome ANYTIME, but are preferred
outside of 1-2 pm which is naptime. A set schedule is always
welcome but not required. Hold, feed, change play with babies,
but also can help around the facility if desired
3.
Halfway House
near Runda off Limuru Road
Volunteers
are welcome ANYTIME. They may also welcome volunteers who want
to share their expertise with the mothers who are
transitioning from prison to community life, now with their
babies.Contact: Randi at awaofkenya@gmail.com
Zana
Africa Girl’s project: Some of our members
have already begun to volunteer with this group after hearing
the director, Megan, present the needs and aspirations at our
March general meeting.
If you would like to know more, please either check out
their website or contact Randi for more
information.
We will begin to compile a list of volunteer
opportunities that welcome younger students. If you know of places
that are suitable for under 18’s, please send me the details
in an email or sms.
This is what I have for
now:
Halfway
house
is an infant orphanage so the kids should be old enough to
play with the babies (under 2’s)
RECYCLE YOUR PLASTIC BAGS IN THE MARKED BIN
OUTSIDE OF YOUR FAVORITE NAKUMATT
STORE
Yes, that is right! Your eyes are NOT
deceiving you.
One of our newest projects (with more news to come
later) involves the use of RECYCLED plastic bags. They have made it easy
for you by arranging with Nakumatt stores to allow them to
place a bin out front of every store in Nairobi! One of the project
members goes around to the stores once a week to empty the
bins. You will
see what they do with them by visiting their booth at the
Renaissance Fair.
ANY bag will work: grocery, dry cleaning, vegetable,
etc. Clean or
dirty, they wash them before preparing them for their
project. This is
the easiest way you can participate in cleaning up the
environment and help some very talented women with their
income generating project.
Volunteer Services End of Year Report
2009-2010
Volunteering in the community is a
fundamental activity for many of our members. This year
we have achieved access to the Langata Women's Prison Remand
Resource Center. AWA members have contributed over
300 toothbrushes, over 300 packs of sanitary pads,
undergarments, good quality used clothing and toiletries to
these women who enter remand with what is on their bodies,
often with no shoes or undergarments. AWA has
contributed soccer balls and children's books and toys to the
on-site preschool. We are in the process of scheduling
the Mitumba ladies from the recycled bag project in South C to
train interested remandees in how to make the bags, while
encouraging recycling and cleaning up the environment.
At the same time, women from Dorcas beads will come to teach
paper beading from recycled magazines to both the remandees
and Mitumba group!
We continue to list volunteer
opportunities in the Karibu. AWA members continue to
support Hope House Babies, Halfway House and New Life
orphanages, and other facilities, with their
time.
Euphrasia Women's Center has been a
recipient of many volunteer hours from AWA members. On
Mondays, volunteers help with teaching interested young
women about cooking and on Wednesdays volunteers teach some of
these same women English. The Euphrasia women are
learning about stitching and tailoring and have brought many
of their products to sell at some of our
functions.
Many of the women in these projects
would benefit from someone who could help them understand
how to market their products. If that is your interest,
please consider contributing some of your
time.
This year AWA initiated the Share the
Spirit activity - a collaborative effort with the US
Embassy and Kenyan Alumni who have lived in the US. The
first recipient of this initiative was Orbit Village who
got their classrooms painted. There were
over 100 volunteers who not only gave of their time, but
received back by knowing that the work they did that day
improved the spirit of over 600 school children!
Volunteers who are not usually able to get to a project
like Orbit village learned of the challenges of the children
and staff and their achievements despite these
challenges. Share the Spirit is biannual, so we will see
you in July 2010!
Respectfully,
Randi |
