NewFoundation

A DREAM COME TRUE

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 08:55:32 +0000

My name is Anne Wambui, I did my Kenya Certificate of Primary exams last year and I managed to get 286/500 marks thanks to Johari Foundation which has been supporting me. The foundation had been paying for my school fees for the last three years, provision of books, food and clothing. I was top 5 in my school and teachers were very proud of me. I have been admitted in Ng’araria Girls High school, which is a provincial school in central part of Kenya and I’m very happy. My fear was how to raise the school fees. My aunt is a peasant farmer and cannot manage to raise the school fees. I am so glad that I can now go to school like other children. Johari Foundation has paid my school fees. What a gift! The social worker bought for me all the school requirements including school uniform, textbooks, boarding materials and shopping for the whole term. My dream of becoming a doctor has now begun. All thanks to Johari foundation. Thank you very much David and Catriona. I promise to work very hard in school.

Generous Donation from Martin Currie Charitable Foundation

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:11:20 +0000

In January 2012 Johari Foundation received a fantastic donation from Martin Currie Charitable Foundation of £19,000. This donation was from funds raised as a result of the Martin Currie Rob Roy Challenge www.robroychallenge.com an exciting fundraising event which takes place along the spectacular Rob Roy Way. The 2011 event raised an amazing £352,000; 75% was distributed between the principle Rob Roy Challenge partners and the remaining 25% was distributed to a select group of junior partners of which Johari Foundation is one. We welcome the ongoing support from Martin Currie Charitable Foundation. The support and financial assistance helps Johari Foundation deliver long-term commitment to the children on our Miale Programmes.

SPOKEN WORDS BY PETER ODHIAMBO

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:49:41 +0000

SPOKEN WORDS BY PETER ODHIAMBO FROM CSP I start by thanking God for being chosen to be part of the Miale Programmes! I think there are people with great vision in this organisation. I feel like I now have the chance to be a great Kenyan citizen. The support we get can help us make choices to change the world to be a better place. We have the opportunity to study hard and work towards our chosen profession enabling us to become positive individuals. How wonderful it is to be inspired by David Sibbald and Tom Cromar who visit us regularly and James and Regina who we see on a daily basis. They want us to have opportunity and choice like other young adults. How wonderful it is to have cheerful ladies like Maureen and Faith from CSP. They are helping us organise our future. And how wonderful it is to have such blessed mothers! They always want the best for us. I conclude by thanking members of Johari Foundation For making each and every person feel special.

NEW INTAKE!

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:32:16 +0000

Time to recruit new kids and integration into Miale Child support program and outreach is here with us again. Quite exciting but tough! Recruitment is done once a year to ensure that there is continuity of the programs. It’s a vigorous exercise with different stages to ascertain that a child is in great need of support with an aim of breaking the poverty cycle and ensuring that all kids in our program are self reliant in future. The exercise begins by applications from our partnering schools and approval by the head teachers of those schools. The school teachers then identifies the Orphans and vulnerable within their school and they fill in recommendation forms. The guardian too fills an application form ascertaining that the child is a genuine orphan or vulnerable. The Social worker conducts a home visit and fills a home visitation form. She/then interviews the child and the guardian on specific matters to ascertain the level of vulnerability. Some of the questions that may be asked are-:  How big is your piece of land  How old is the guardian  How many times do you eat per day  What did you have for breakfast  Where do you sleep  Do you keep any animals Answers to these questions helps the Social worker understand the magnitude of the gaps that he need to bridge to make the life of this specific child different in a positive way. The social team then conducts thorough interviews of all the guardians and kids after a couple of days and enrolls only the most needy and vulnerable children in the program depending on the required numbers. Guardian whose kids have qualified to join the program signs a guardian agreement form with very clear understanding of the guidelines and content of the agreement form. All the kids and guardians are placed on probation for three months for purposes of observation and proper adaptation to the program policy and guidelines. After three months all the kids who qualify will be continue being in the program. This has seen our programs grow hence we are able to support more kids. Thanks to all those who support us.

December After School Activities

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:07:19 +0000

December ASA has always been fantastic because the kids have so much time at the centre. They have more time to develop their talents, be creative and enjoy themselves. They have different activities to do and the new kids are very glad to be part of the wonderful team. The kids choose the club they like and feel comfortable in. During the activities, the kids also develop high self esteem and confidence.

Schools support Johari Seedlings

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:38:42 +0000

The lovely new Johari Seedlings collection has been making it's debut at school Christmas Fayre's throughout the country. The printed t-shirts, bags and beautiul Halima Doll with Baby have all been proving popular! Thank you to Bo'ness Public, Craigclowan and Kinghorn Primary for show-casing the products hand-made by Johari Designs in Kenya. The profit made from the sale of Johari products will help to fund the Johari Foundations Miale Programmes. Check out the Johari website!

Support from Kinghorn Primary, Fife

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:43:41 +0000

Pupils at Kinghorn Primary in Fife recently handed over a very genourous donation to Johari Foundation. The money was raised as a result of their sponsored walk in June. The cheque was given to the Foundation by the Pupil Council who helped to organise the walk and promote it to other pupils in the school. Africa is a key theme for the pupils this year and they are participating in a number of projects, onw of which involves them learning to play the Djembe drums! Whilst visiting the school we took in scrap books and craft work that children on the Foundation's Miale Programmes made during their time at the Miale CSP After School Club. The children were really inspired by this craft work which included neckalces made out of the Acacia tree seed and cards designed with Masai prints. Staff and Pupils at Kinghorn Primary are now working on a whole school project which will be about life in Scotland. This will be shared with their friends on the Miale Programmes early next year. A BIG THANK YOU to Kinghorn Primary for the support they have given Johari Foundation in 2011. We look forward to working with you next year.

ARROWROOTS IN A KITCHEN GARDEN

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:47:02 +0000

Kitchen gardening is a great idea where our guardians utilise the locally available materials. It has proved to be greatly rewarding. People always think that arrow roots can only be grown in a wetland where there is water but our guardians’ kitchen gardens have proved otherwise. Use of correct readily available materials has made it possible to grow arrow roots during this short season. This involves digging a hole in a rectangular shape of about two feet deep and wide as desired and then spreading a nylon sheet at the base of the hole to hold water after irrigation. The top soil that was dug from the hole is then mixed with compost and returned to the same hole where arrow roots are planted. Mulching is done to conserve the little available water found and the guardian is required to irrigate the arrow roots with the domestic used water in the house. The water is traditionally treated using wood ash. The treatment is very simple and every guardian does it on her /his own. This is amazing for the guardians and for all of us. Looks great!

IMPACT OF THE EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 07:08:52 +0000

Guardian’s empowerment program continues to flourish with most guardians now happy about their good work. “I have learnt that farming is not about going to the garden, it’s about application of skills and knowledge on proper farming methods for better yields.” Mary, one of the guardians commented during one of the trainings. Very encouraging! Rains are here with us and guardians are very busy weeding and off course using the new techniques they have acquired. Things will be different this time! High yields are expected hence bridging the dependency gap. What makes the program unique is the use of locally available materials and the introduction of indigenous drought resistant crop which have been long forgotten such as cassava, yams and millet. Our road map towards achieving our main goal has been emphasized on the following:-  Have continuous trainings on the better methods of farming including:- • Matters of land preparation with better tillage techniques • Early land preparations • Proper planting methods • Better choosing of seeds which fits specific areas • Proper use of compost and ensuring that every farmer uses compost • Have continuous follow ups for the farmers to ensure that they have better methods of farming as well as advising them. • Have one to one touch with each and every farmer to ensure that cases are solved according to the individual problems. • Acquire more information from the ministry of agriculture to make sure that the farmers are fully helped. • Continue putting more emphasis on the drought resistant crops and kitchen gardening With this in mind we believe that very soon all our guardians will be in a position to feed themselves and their own households.

TRACING OUR PRODUCTS

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:40:56 +0000

Kids joy sports center has been in existence for the last 8 years and what a journey it has been from the time we took up the challenge to make a difference in the lives of young promising Kenyans. We have achieved a lot since we set up the program despite the many challenges that we face in our area of operation. Identifying a talent and developing it especially in a child is something to be happy about. Our trainings will definitely make a difference in the talented children and change their lives to the best- that’s our aim. Johari foundation who is the major supporter of the program has been very supportive and has stood by in every task that we have under taken and it is for this reason that we have decided to take stock of our achievements. For the next two months, we shall trace some of our former players/members to see how they are fairing in their lives and how kids joy impacted their lives. This will involve stating their profile and carrying out personal interviews on their lives and reporting on one player every week in our blog. So join me starting next few weeks as we trace our former players and find out what they are up to.

Christmas comes early to Johari Designs

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:33:42 +0000

At Johari Designs we have already been getting in to the Christmas spirit whilst creating some fantastic gifts for the festive season. We have stunning tablewear which includes; a table runner, napkins and napkin rings. For those of you who like to look stylish in the kitchen we also have some handmade Johari aprons.

Our aprons which have the johari tree line trademark

Table Napkins with a tree line too…

All of these products can be purchase on the Johari online store, through some of our retailers and at the Johari studio in Nairobi. Look out for the new addition to our Seedlings range which is a sweet doll called Halima. She comes complete with change of clothes and baby. A wonderful stocking filler for the younger ones in the house.

TRADITIONAL VEGETABLES!

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 11:05:35 +0000

Growing of indigenous vegetable is the current trend in Kenya in most rural areas. Our guardians are not left out either. Interesting to note that most of them are drought resistant and require very little water to grow. Indigenous vegetables have several advantages over the exotic /imported ones as they adapt to the local environment and are drought resistant, pest and disease resistant. Seeds are locally available and the vegetables are economical to grow and require minimal attention and care compared to the exotic ones. They are highly nutritious and grow anywhere like wild fruits as long as they have been planted. Our guardians are now growing many types of these vegetables and depending on them a source of nutrients. The indigenous vegetables can be cooked just by boiling without necessarily frying. That means that the guardians will cost save on cooking fat and have increased nutrients contents in their food. This is quite encouraging as it minimizes cost for all the guardians.

PRIZE GIVING DAY!

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:44:17 +0000

PRIZE GIVING DAY! Miale supports a total of 72 children at Ayany primary from class 2 to class 8. The programme has been supporting children in Ayany for the last 6 years. 3 Miale children received prizes on this beautiful day which was held on the 29th September. Mwende Nzomo and Ireen Khasiala were awarded because they were the best pupils in performance. Daniel Omondi was awarded for being the best head boy; he has shown good leadership skills. The three children were very excited and they were encouraged by the Miale representatives to continue working hard in their studies. They have been performing very well from last year and I believe they will pass with flying colors at the end of this year. They will sit for the final exams –KCPE in November and we wish them all the best with so much love!!

A day with Tom and family in Outreach

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 07:23:59 +0000

During a visit to Kenya Tom spent a day with children and guardians at the outreach program (central part of Kenya). He attended a guardian monthly meeting and had a chance to distribute food to guardians during monthly food distribution. He praised the guardian for their co operation and urged them to participate actively at Johari activities especially the guardian’s empowerment program. The guardians thanked Tom and his family for the visit and for the support which they have been receiving. They also got a chance of visiting a school called Karembuini primary school where he went round in all the classes and encouraged the pupils to work hard in school. He wished all the class 8 success in their forth coming Kenya certificate of primary education exams (KCPE). Lastly Tom and family visited one of the social groups formed by the empowerment program in Kandara during their meeting. This is a group of 10 guardians who gather together to address their social and economic wellbeing. He saw the guardian empowerment program -Kitchen gardens- and encouraged the guardians for their hard work. It was time to come back to Nairobi and I was very certain that their visit had a great impact to the children and the guardians too.

Children enjoying during the holiday program

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 07:56:02 +0000

As part of children growth and development, Johari foundation always engages children with different activities during the school holiday vacation. During the august vacation, Miale children had been gathering at Kibera (CSP) and Muranga (Outreach), we have been engaging them with activities like making crafts and cards, singing, storytelling to improve their self esteem, essay writing to improve their writing skills as well as games to make them relax and feel loved. We have been training them in different thematic topics like HIV/AIDs, Behavior Change and Reproductive health. The ultimate goal is to nurture and develop their talent and show them love as well as disengage them from harmful peer influence by other children within the community. We have been having one on one counseling as well group counseling. Children have been also sharing different challenges which they face at home and in school, and we assisted them to come up with informed decision. We discussed their performance in school and many of them promised to work hard so that they improve on their grades. Holiday is over and its now back to school for the children.