“This is a dream come true”, said Lucy, a chairperson on Tumanthane community-based organization (CBO). She said these words last Tuesday as she witnessed water gushing out from the ground, a rare sight in that arid region. It was such a joyous occasion when some of us from Tumaini joined the community to dedicate the sinking of the borehole for the community. The water will benefit thousands of people in Kisaani village and the surrounding communities in the Katangi region, Machakos County, Kenya. Indeed, the sinking of this borehole is a testimony of what is possible when Tumaini partners with a poor community; first through child sponsorship, and then through CBOs or co-ops to address long term extreme poverty challenges. Tumanthane is one of the dozen CBOs that we have partnered with over the past few years.
They are a true success story. Initially we provided special breed goats for them, followed by tents and plastic chairs, which they rent out as a source of revenue. This was followed by a poultry project and a myriad of training in financial management skills. The latter has helped them to be more proficient in running their table banking endeavors. The group has been successful in eliminating extreme poverty in their midst to a point where they are now sponsoring a vulnerable child and an elderly person in their midst. This act is in line with their motto: “We are blessed to bless others.”
Fast forward to 2021! Over the past few months, this CBO has been focused on addressing one of the most daunting challenges in the region: water. Through their meager resources they were able to raise money and meet some of the initial costs for sinking a bore hole. Tumaini was then able to source some funding through one of our long-term partners, Mark and Shari, whose core mission is provision of water in developing countries. We are eternally grateful to this couple who have worked with us to provide water to three communities. In all this we give God the glory.
A big thank you to those who donate to our socio-economic efforts and completely lift communities from extreme poverty to self-sustaining. Through your partnership, we were able to assist 33,206 people in 2020! If you would like to give a designated donation to our socio-economic efforts, please go online today and do so. Any amount helps!
Sincerely,
Stanley Mutunga
President/CEO
COVID-19 Update:
As of Wednesday, February 24, 2021
The daily positivity rate has remained below 5% this week. Incredibly good news!
There were only 1,592 new positive cases this past week bringing the total so far to 104,780 to date.
42 people lost their lives to the disease bringing the total to 1,839 to date.
The cases continue to be sparsely reported from across all the country.
There is a nightly curfew (from 10:00pm to 4:00am) which will continue through the end of March.
The government has announced the launch of vaccinations beginning next month.
Since the country-wide school re-openings, there has not been a spike of cases despite the challenges with social distancing.
We continue to thank God for His protection. All the children and the families that we support remain safe. Our staff are all doing well and continuing to serve.