Health & Wellbeing Fayre in aid of the Gathimba Edwards Foundation

AndBreathe... actively supports two charities, UK Sepsis Trust and Gathimba Edwards Foundation.  At the end of March I am going to Kenya to visit  GEF projects and meet the families supported by the funds we are raising at the moment.  I will also have the opportunity to meet Rael, a young woman I have been supporting for several years.  I am very excited at the thought of us finally meeting! For £35 per month it is possible to support children who are unable to attend school due to lack of funds.  Enabling them to attend school means they are so much more likely to lead a better life and give back to their communities.  I am funding my own visit in March/April, so the funds I raise will go directly to the families who need it most.  Money raised from our fundraising will go towards two very important causes.

The first project is the building of a home and support for a family of 9 in the Iten area.  The mother and father had 8 children but unfortunately in 2017 they lost a baby due to malnutrition.  Two of their young children, Evans, aged three and Koech aged five, suffer from malnutrition. Lack of clothing and school fees are also a huge challenge.

The family currently live in very poor conditions with no beds or toilet (they use a nearby bush) and when it rains the roof leaks water onto them.  Both parents work as casual laborers - this means some days there may be no work available at all in which case the family cannot afford to eat. On days when work is available they are paid £2 each for a full day's work.

Their 10 year old daughter, Chepkemoi, attends class 2 at St. James Primary School.  She currently lives with a well wisher in the neighborhood as she ran away from home due to frustration and embarrassment of the living conditions. Before a well wisher took her in she would sleep in a nearby forest at night alone.

Ali Mathers, who has been to Kenya with GEF twice before and will be returning again in April has already been fundraising with her friends and family towards the house for a very special reason.  It will be built in memory of her late father and hero, John MacGregor who passed away last year.  Ali, her family and friends hosted a fundraising party in 2018 and has already raised £1,640 towards the £4,600 cost of the house.

The second aspect of the fundraising will help us support one of 32 families to start up a business which will enable them to become self sufficient.  Daniel is a single father of 6 children following the passing of his wife during the birth of their twins Mary and Anastasia.  £280 will enable us to help Daniel transform part of his home into a retail shop and start generating income of is own to support his family.  We predict this will give him an annual income of around £1,350. 

If you are unable to attend the Health & Wellbeing Fayre in March but want to donate, you can visit my Totalgiving fundraising page at https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/gillianwatt . Thank you for your support.  I look forward to sharing photos and thoughts from the visit when I return.