Greetings from Meru! We’ve had such a busy and wonderful time since the last update, and we’re happy to be reporting to you again!
There has been lots of work going on at Brenda Boone Hope (Tumaini) Centre, and, we can’t lie, lots of fun too! Your visit was such a highlight for us all – girls and staff alike. Having our Mum really brought excitement and joy to the centre. Thank you, Meg and Becky for making the time to come over to celebrate the 1st Anniversary of your Centre with us. Your presence was so important to us all. The day, as you know, went so well – everyone had a great time celebrating, dancing and watching the presentations of the girls! Not even the rain could dampen the spirits, but it sure did dampen your new outfits! Thank you again for being part of our work and taking time to share our celebrations with us. Our rescue girls all went on and on about their sleep over with you, and at the last After Care session, we noticed more than one of them in their new hoodies!!
Our work is still going strong, with new rescues since we have last been in contact. Our newest girls are both different and touching stories. Faith, a young girl from Meru North, was raped by a neighbor in her community. The family was unsure of how to proceed, and thankfully were referred to our centre. They arrived and we were able to facilitate medical and counselling care for her. She remained at our centre to have her treatment and medication, and was recently discharged back to the community. We were so pleased to see her healing and progress, and know she was happy to return back to her family.
Florence is a girl who has been admitted to the community support program. She was raped in June, and though the family followed the right procedures, they have had challenges arresting the perpetrator. Florence is being assisted through our training and After Care sessions, and also is having counselling sessions individually to assist her through her healing.
We were proud to show our newest addition to the Tumaini family to you. Our baby boy Kithinji, who was born at the end of September! Winfred and her son have been discharged back to the community, and she is planning to care for the child in the community. Her mother is a very proud grandmother, and has agreed to support him and her daughter, as Winfred continues with schooling, supported through another Ripples International grant.
Our After Care programme is going great. We seem to have a full house rain or shine, and it makes us happy that the girls are all so excited to come to the centre and fellowship together. Their counselor, Monica, says that the sessions are all going so well, and the girls are continuing to be open with each other and share about their challenges and experiences. As we continue to help girls, our sessions are growing, and we are so happy that each new girl who joins is welcomed with smiles and laughter by the others.
We are continuing in our pursuit of justice for abused girls within Meru. Our court cases are continuing to proceed, with more girls being represented by lawyers. We are hoping to inspire community support through the media in order to provide more girls with legal support in their cases. The cases we are currently representing are still continuing to be challenging, and we are fighting against corruption within the system in order to have fair and just rulings over our cases. We are hoping that with more awareness of the importance of justice in cases of defilement and rape, we will help create understanding within the community of the importance of honest verdicts over cases such as these.
Our Vocational Training School students are doing very well, with excitement increasing the closer we come to the close of school. The girls are registered for their national trade exams at the end of the month, and are preparing diligently for their practical exams. Our home management and computer classes will be wrapping up as well, and so our girls have lots to study for before they finish their year! Our very first graduation of the Vocational Training School will be held on December 7, 2007, and we are excited to have our first class graduate from the school.
Our income generation project – chicken egg sales – is still doing well. We have a high demand in Meru for our eggs, and are happy to have a place to sell them to. We are hoping, with the new land, to be able to start new income generating activities, including raising chickens and eggs!
Please pass our love and a warm hello to your family and friends overseas. We were happy to meet more of your family, and truly feel so blessed we were able to spend time together again. We will continue to pray for you, your family and friends and your work abroad.
