HOLD A HAND

GALILEE Website

I decided to sponsor one little girl named Caroline whose photo was on the site, but she was already taken so I sponsored Eddah instead.

Bumble headed me messed up my payment plan and put $20 instead of $10 so was asked what I wanted to spend the extra $10 on. I decided what better to spend it on that another child, so I chose Doris.

Then as time has gone I have added Rose, Peninah, Veronica, Jackline and Catherine.

I have since joined the Galilee chat groups and what a wonderful bunch of people are on there, also all sponsoring Galilee children.

Galilee have their own website and through this we can purchase items such as school uniforms, books, bags, gifts, desks, food for the families or the school plus a heap more. This not only saves on postage, as the items are purchased in Nairobi, but it also means the correct sizes and need for the children are purchased.

Since I have been a sponsor with this organisation (Feb '06)as a group we have built 10 new classroom and cemented the floors, we have purchased one plot of land that the school is on, we have purchased school bags for almost all the High School Students, we have paid for the Form 1 students to go on a Field Trip. I have also bought my girls, uniforms, shoes, clothes, bags, school supplies etc.  Through the efforts of sponsors we also now have electricity and a water well installed along with more new classrooms being built.

We are kept up to date as to what is happening and who needs sponsoring and all questions are quickly answered on the groups sites.

Letters can be written and parcels sent to your children and you will receive mail back from them as well as photos of your children with the gifts you have given them.

We not only sponsor the primary children but also highschool and an orphanage.

They are all situated in the Soweto slum area in Nairobi and if it wasn't for the school and orphange most of these children would never get an education and some would be living on the streets. In most case what we buy for them is all they have and the meal we provide may be the only one they have for the day.

Sponsorship starts from as little as $12 a month (primary student including lunch program), $12.50 a month (for a high school student) and $30 a month (for an child at the orphanage).

For those that would like to really get involved with sponsoring then this is the group for you, and if you don't want to get involved you don't have to, there are other once of donations that can be given to help the school and the children.

Just though I would update on my sponsorship here.  Rose left some time ago, she went back to her village and didn't return to the school.  I have replaced her sponsorship with Scholastica.

Peninah has also left the school in sad circumstances, it seems her guardian was beating her and making her work so hard she didn't have time for studying and felt there was no use staying at school if she was just going to fail, so she returned to her village.  This saddened me as I had received lovely letters from her and the headmaster said had he known of her circumstances before she left, he could have got her a place in Holly House, the orphanage associated with the school.  Peninah place was take by Lilian, who also writes lovely letters.

Well Scholastica left the school and her sponsorship.

I currently sponsor Eddah, Dorisila, Lillian at WHS and Veronica in Holly House.

Veronica was being abused by the boys she was living with so with help from the headmaster we agreed to move her to the Orphanage Holly House, it meant it was going to cost me more but it also meant she would be safe.

Due to the recent fighting over the elections a lot of the children left the area and have not returned to the school. My Eddah, Dorisila and Veronica were amongst these and I am waiting to hear if they return over the next few weeks.

www.galileeschool.org