Friends of WiRED Send Donations to Children in Kisumu, Kenya
BY ALLISON KOZICHAROW AND BERNICE BORN
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ver the years people have sustained WiRED by giving time, talent and money. This September WiRED Director Gary Selnow, Ph.D., traveled to Kenya with a 50-pound duffel full of clothes and toys. All these items were generously donated by WiRED’s supporters, volunteers and board members — Friends of WiRED — in response to Dr. Selnow’s request.
Dr. Selnow gave the clothes to the Kenyan staff, and they, in turn, distributed the donations to children at the Kisumu Urban Apostolate Programmes (KUAP) Pandipieri Center in Kisumu. Most of these children had never had new clothing, much less a toy or musical instrument. Kisumu, located on Lake Victoria in North West Kenya near the Ugandan border, is a poor and underserved region.
A note from WiRED Director Gary Selnow, Ph.D.
My personal thanks to many people who dropped off clothes, musical instruments and art supplies for the kids. We are grateful to so many people who donate regularly to WiRED’s health training programs, and now, special thanks for these extra contributions to help the under-resourced people we serve abroad. Your generosity is inspiring.
The KUAP Pandipieri Center is dedicated to helping the most vulnerable members of the community. Its health program provides clinical services for general health issues (including medicine, vaccinations and screenings) and refers people to a hospital when additional care is needed. It also offers food for malnourished children and monitors their progress with routine weigh-ins and discussions with caregivers about proper nutrition. WiRED’s e-health library, which is located within the clinic, provides information about nutrition for children. Its training programs are available to the children and to their caregivers as well as to all members of the Kisumu community.
Sister Bernadette Nealon, a Franciscan nun, directs the Center’s health program. Staff members who distributed the clothes and other items include Lillian Dajoh (WiRED’s program coordinator at the Center) and nurse Alice Olwino (see earlier story.) Jenipher Muhanji is the program officer for the child assistance programs at the Pandipieri Center. (See sidebar.)
In response to WiRED’s donations, Sister Bernadette said, in the words of St. Francis’s peace prayer, “It is in giving that we receive.”
Jenipher Muhanji Describes the Distribution of the WiRED Donations
Jenipher Muhanji
“It was like Christmas as Professor Gary opened the duffel that contained gifts from his friends. As each item was unwrapped there were exclamations from the medical team from the maternal and child health section. They said, ‘Oh, look at this, it is so beautiful!’ or ‘I know a baby or small child that this will fit beautifully.’ Each gift was tenderly unwrapped, and the contents appreciated so much. We may never meet the givers of the gifts, but we know that the gifts were carefully chosen with needy children in mind. We know that those who gave will receive blessings in abundance from the Lord.
“The pictures taken of children receiving clothes show how beautiful the children are, and the appreciation on the faces of their mothers (and caregivers) is evident. The Child Counselling Team received gifts of pencils, art materials and toys for use at the Center where children who are HIV positive meet weekly. As you can imagine, there was much happiness because of the gifts received. The donations of money will be used to support poor children in need of medical care, food or other requirements.
“We humbly thank the givers of gifts and say, ‘May you be blessed.’”
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