I never really thought about making contacts through The
Nest but indeed I have met and made a new friend that also volunteers at The
Nest. After meeting Elsabe for the first
time a few weeks ago, I have seen her every time I have been down at the shops
and the last meet up we were discussing things and she found out that I was
living here on my own and promptly told me that next time her and her friend
went out for coffee that she would remember to invite me along. For me meeting new people is always a great
thing and the best part of Elsabe is that she lives on ‘my’ side of town, just
down the road from me in the ‘mzungu’ estate next to Village Market. In one of our conversations Elsabe mentioned
that she is part of an organisation called SAWA and they get together on the
last Thursday of each month and she would mention me to the committee. I said that would be awesome and the
following day I received an email from one of the committee members welcoming
me and inviting me to their next meeting which is a pretty big deal as the
group is predominantly South African as they try and maintain a 80/20 ratio mix
and you can only join by invitation only.
So what is SAWA?
SAWA is a non-profit organization of women who
volunteer their time, energy and love in order to give back to the communities
of their host nation. As a group of mixed Nationalities predominantly South
African, they understand the challenges and opportunities facing women living
their life as an expatriate and they try provide the necessary assistance and
support to help newcomers settle into Kenya. They are also
committed to improving the lives of their members, and their families, by
way of various networking and socializing events. They have a dedicated committee who work
tirelessly to create successful fundraising events which enable them to help
the various charities we support. There
are 2 big fundraisers a year, 2 big families days along with other various
social events throughout the year plus the monthly meet ups as well. It sounds right up my alley and I RSVP’d to
the event and I spoke to Elsabe during the week and I am going to get a lift
with her over and back to the function, so it will also save me a lot of money
on taxis and that is just another positive note of finally living on the same
side of town of someone I have met!
SAWA have a dedicated committee who work
tirelessly to create successful fundraising events which enables us to help the
various Charities we support. Every year the newly appointed committee selects
3 main Charities we will support and specific tangible goals are set for each.
The charity coordinators then work hand in hand with the teams to achieve
these goals. The charities that are
being supported for 2013 are:
Mukuru Outreach Kenya
SAWA’s aim is to turn the Mukuru Outreach day care centre
into a safe, warm and stimulating environment with basic essentials like floor
matting, cots, mattresses, books and toys.
It is a community based organization run for the community by the
community. The C.B.O is registered
with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development and also the with
the National NGO council in Kenya. Mukuru
Outreach Community objective is to provide support for the empowerment of the
vulnerable and youth of Mukuru in order that they live lives they are proud of. In 2008 Mrs Naomi Kerongo was living in Mukuru and
wanted to start a project. She shared her idea with her friend Dr Martina
Lordan who raised the funding with the help of her family and friends in
Ireland. The donations were generous and the community leaders assisted
Martina and Naomi to buy a site in Mukuru Sinai, an inner city slum in
Nairobi. In consultation with local leaders in the community, it was decided to
set up a centre to assist the most vulnerable members of the community namely
women, youth and children. In August 2008 Naomi and Martina initially set up a
hair & beauty college with the advice of Rachael Muchoki who was
running a hairdressing college at the time in Rongai. Once it was set up and
running, Naomi and Martina donated the project to the Mukuru community and
today its run by the community electing a committee from members of the
community including the elders and leaders of Mukuru whilst both Naomi and
Martina are still trustees of the organization.
The Management committee have been active over the years, in responding
to the needs of the community, and have expanded the project to include a day
care centre for children, computer studies centre for the youth in addition to
the Hair and Beauty College.
SAWA took on the responsibility for upgrading both the
day care and the computer centre as part of their 2012/2013 commitment to
Mukuru Outreach Kenya.
Visit website: www.mukuruoutreachkenya.org
Mji wa Huruma
(Home for the Aged)
Currently Mji wa Huruma has a population of 47 elderly
persons who are from poor backgrounds with no known attached relatives. SAWA
hopes to work closely with Margaret and her staff in achieving their dreams and
making the lives of the elderly more comfortable and enjoyable. Mji Wa Huruma is a city council managed old
age home in Runda and the elderly men & women have no family to take care
of them. SAWA have committed to helping them refurbish their kitchen, buy them
two cows and furnish their empty dining hall.
Wings of
Compassion
Wings of Compassion is a rescue home for teenage girls
who become expectant as a result of rape, prostitution, early sexual
relationships and/or drug abuse. Dorcas
and Danshire started the home to provide a safe environment for these young
girls in order to get them off the street or out of their bad situations. They
provide shelter, food and love but they also help restore hope to these
teenagers through one on one counselling sessions, giving them a chance to go
back to school, offering technical skills and becoming care givers to their
babies thus empowering them to reach their destiny. SAWA have committed to helping them purchase
their own land as currently the home is established on leased land – the long
term vision is to re-establish the home on their own land and build an
education centre to provide education and training to the girls which will
empower them to become self- sufficient and able to care for their children.
Visit their website: http://www.wingsofcompassion.net
KSPCA
The KSPCA (The Kenya Society for the
Protection and Care of Animals) is the only charitable animal welfare
organization in Kenya that deals with domestic animal rescue
and rehabilitation. The work of
the KSPCA is far-reaching and never-ending, touching the lives of
families and animals alike. It is achieved without government funding
and is totally reliant on donations.
SAWA assists with smaller fund raising events throughout the year to
provide support and assistance to the valuable work done by KSPCA.
Visit their website: www.kspca-kenya.org
So I am very excited to be invited and hopefully be part
of this amazing organization. I guess I
will find out more information when I meet up with them at the end of the
month. Apparently there are usually
20-35 women that come to the monthly meetings and with this month’s theme
‘puppies and pasta’ I am looking forward to the morning and the opportunity to
meet more people and more about the group SAWA.
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