Inside this issue:

CMCTT 2

Anestar Schools 2

Visitors 2

More about the boys 3

Helping the Brooks family move home

4/5

A-Kili openings 6

Contact details 6

the Law degree to start again in September. Meanwhile he is study-ing for his CPS (certified public secre-tary) which many law-yers get anyway. He has also formed Shades of Hope and is delivering inspirational messages to schools with a team of about 15

Nelson had been en-rolled into University of Nairobi and had almost completed the first year. As with many young stu-dents, uni life and the freedom it brings distracts them from the course they’re attending. Nelson was no different and

because of his love for drama, we sug-gested that he de-ferred his course for one year to concen-trate on drama and music. However, things did-n’t work out and so, with the help of a Kenyan benefactor, he is reapplying for

As we have settled into life here in Kenya, we have become more involved with other people and the good works that they are doing, as well as in our local church. We would like to share broader news than just the work with our boys. The nine young men still re-main our priority and everything else fits around them.

Matt and Michelle Barrow Kenya News

Incorporating Child2Child

June 2014

young people. His first event, in Anestar schools in Nakuru, ( No 14 in the country!), was very well received. Here is his FaceBook page for https://www.facebook.com/pages/Shades-of-HOPE-LTD/305642386253182?fref=ts

Nelson: University and Shades of Hope

try in 2013. Mrs Gatimu has kindly offered to tutor our form 4 boys in the August holidays at no charge. This is a big offer, which we are discussing with her at the mo-ment. She has a heart to help the less fortunate and has also offered us other resources to help with the boys’ studies. We are very grateful to her.

We are so grateful to folk who want to visit us!!! So far this year we have had Chris French from Avail, our mission, coming to see how we are getting on. Kin Ing came from our church in Worthing to tutor the boys in chemistry. Sylvia Davis from Manchester is coming in July to do some CMCTT work with our Kenyan church.

But the highlight of our visi-tors this year has been our daughter Jojo and our grand-daughter Penny. They came for two weeks and we had so much fun together. We also re-connected with Penny as she only sees us on the com-puter screen when we Skype!!

In 2012, Nelson was a pupil at Anestar and made an impres-sion on the owner, Mrs Gatimu. Recently, she published a book about ‘her boys’ and Nelson is mentioned in it! Also a letter he wrote to her is published in the book. The book was launched in May and, as Nelson’s parents, we were invited. It was an event combined with the cele-bration that the school was ranked No 14 in the whole coun-

For several years we have been associated with CMCTT train-ing children’s workers both in Africa and the UK. We have been told by our pastor here that a work without a suc-cessor is no success! So this year we have gathered a small group of people from our church and have been training them using our CMCTT syllabus. We are nearly halfway through the course as we write, and hope-fully by the end of the year this group of ladies will be fully trained to work in the Sunday School. Our pastor would like us to duplicate this for any who

feel called to work with children in a Christian context at a later date. We reckon that this will not be until next year at the earliest. In the meantime, we continue to work in the Sunday School. Each week we sing with the children for 30 minutes. We use the gui-tar and sing some songs from the 1950’s as well as modern ones. We also take in our Ipod and speakers and use the tech-nology to teach fully backed

songs from current songwriters like Doug Horley and John Hardwick. You can see two videos of the children singing we have posted on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/child2child

CMCTT (Christian Ministry to Children and their Teachers)

Visitors

Anestar Boys Secondary School

Matt and Michelle Barrow Page 2

Nelson on the platform at the book launch, speaking of Mrs Gatimu’s care for the boys in her schools.

By the end of the year he will be choosing his subjects for the last two years of school. He must study Maths, English, Chemis-try, Kiswahili, CRE, (Christian RE), History and Government, and Business Studies, but he can choose from either Biology or Physics, then between Agri-culture or Computer Studies.

James is in form 2 in his secondary school, St Mary’s Secondary school for boys. Their motto is: “Give us the boy and we will give you the man!” He found the leap from primary to secondary quite a big one, and the school he’s in expects very high stan-dards. We sometimes get a facebook message on Sunday afternoons from him as the students are allowed out of the school compound at that time.

He struggles with maths and physics but we are able to help him in the holidays.

As we said in our last newsletter, we have five boys finishing secon-dary school this year. Already they have taken what are called pre-mocks, and in July they will be sit-ting their mocks. Then after an intense August holiday, they go back to school for the run up to the KCSEs. (Kenya Certificate of Sec-ondary Education). Then from mid October to mid November they sit the exams. Most subjects have two papers and specialist subjects, ( Business Studies, Agriculture and Computer studies), have a third

paper. The rest of their lives will be determined by these results as em-ployers, colleges and universities all look at the results. I work with the boys during the term to help them with tough topics l i k e ‘ d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n ’ a n d

More about the boys

James, our youngest.

The Form 4’s and K.C.S.E.

Page 3 Kenya news and Child2Child

“The rest of their lives will be determined by

these results”

Daniel had stopped his football training due to a knee injury and so we counselled him to pur-sue a skill that he would be able to rely on in the future. He chose to do a course in computer web site design. This will finish in August and we are hoping that he will find a job after that in the web industry, which is growing fast here. Isaac has been studying Busi-ness management in a college here in Nakuru, but in July will be registering with the National Youth Service.

The NYS, as it is called, has three elements to it. Firstly, you have five months of para-military training in a town called Gilgil. Then, for up to eighteen months you work on ‘Nation Building’. You are sent anywhere in the country to as-

sist in infrastructure improve-ments, or disaster intervention. This is seen as a commitment to the country improving. Finally, you are put into a NYS college to study a subject of your choice. Young people who take this op-tion are often snapped up by employers as the business sector recognizes the discipline and commitment the NYS engen-ders. To find out more about the Na-tional Youth Service you can visit their web site: www.nys.go.ke

‘probability’ in Maths and Michelle is working on helping with English, but of course, at the end of the day, we pray and trust that they will do their best. We have also been teaching them exam techniques including allowing time at the end of a paper to review answers and allowing the right amount of time per question. There are no clocks in any exam halls, so we have bought them watches! Please pray for Kirwa, Sam, Ephan-tus, Peter and Ibrahim over the next months. The results come next March!

Matt and Michelle Barrow Page 4

On the last Monday in April we and all our boys helped the Brooks family, with their nine orphaned girls, move from one road above us to their own land, about 30 minutes drive outside Nakuru. We loaded the lorry, and unloaded it the other end, twice. We have to admit to a few aches and pains the next day! The Brooks family were moving from a family home in a good part of Nakuru to their ‘barn’ on their land. It is a very basic building made from cob, with a mud floor, solar panels and a low tech water system. Eventually, they will build a permanent home further up their hill and the ‘barn’, (or should I say, ‘the Prancing Pony’), will be used for animals. We have been involved with this build-

Photos:left, top to bottom: A future and a hope logo; Loading the lorry; and unloading. Right, top to bottom: Belongings out of the lorry; into the house; solar panels going up.

Page 5 Kenya news and Child2Child

ing project from its beginning, with the design, then moving in, the wir-ing and the solar installation. Since moving in, the Brooks have acquired two donkeys, (Ashleigh and Russel), a cow, (June), and one kit-ten called Liam to compliment their already large pet household of a Great Dane called Music, two white dogs called Fluffy and Fang and a cat called Tiger!! Their girls have settled into local schools just 30 minutes walk from the Shire. (You’ve probably guessed that they are Tolkien fans!) (At this moment of writing, we heard that the Great Dane suddenly died yesterday. This is a real loss to the family)

community of the Nandi region, which is predominantly made up of the Kalengen tribe.

Rehabilitation Home This centre is built to receive 40 adults wishing to recover from addic-tion at any time and is being set up to have qualified staff in all depart-ments. NACADA, the Kenya govern-ment’s anti drug unit has been advis-ing on the setting up of the place.

This will be the first rehabilitation in Nandi North County. There is a lot of excitement about this project.

Empowerment Centre. The idea behind this centre is to give a second chance to those who dropped out of school for one reason or an-other . There is special em-phasis of young ladies who had to drop out of school be-cause of pregnancy. There is quite a stigma here about pregnancy out of marriage, but it is very prevalent.

This centre will teach com-puter studies, tailoring, entre-

A-Kili Foundation opens two new projects

preneurship, and also driving. In the future, as things develop on the site, there will also be workshops, a small commercial bakery, and a small house will be built to teach domestic man-agement. At the opening, there were many dig-nitaries including the Governor of Nandi County, who we were able to chat to briefly over lunch. It turns out he knows Kirwa’s father. Two of the political figures that came to the launch arrived by helicopter, which created quite a stir! One upshot of the day was that in the evening there was a report on what the politicians had said during the event and it was put on the nine o’clock news. Guess who was in the background?! Watch the short video from the news here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imnCsDF1Sw0&feature=share However we were disappointed that the opening itself was not reported. If you would like to look at the Master Plan for the two centres we put on paper, then you can see it here: http://child2child.webnode.com/news/a-kili-foundation-master-plan-for-nandi-county-project-/

Matt is a trustee and advisor for the A-Kili Foundation in Kenya. Run by the cousin of Kirwa, Mr Hosea Kili, the Foundation seeks to help the less fortunate, particularly in their home region of Nandi County.

On Friday 13th June, we went to the official opening of the A-Kili Founda-tion Rehabilitation Home, (AFREH), and the A-Kili Foundation Empower-ment Centre, (AFEC).

We were excited about the potential of these two projects to impact the local

We have been travelling to East Africa since 1990, and moved here in January 2012. We are being Dad and Mum to nine Kenyan young men, who we plan to mentor and assist until they find their own feet as Kenyan citizens.

Whilst here is Kenya we are helping with differ-ent situations, such as the local church, fellow missionaries, and other good works.

If you would like to help in any of the areas mentioned in this newsletter then please contact us on our email address on the left.

Check out our website: http://

child2child.webnode.com

Together, we are making a difference!

P O Box 18112-20100 Nakuru Kenya Phone: +254702264298 E-mail: child2child@gmail.com

Ch i l d2Ch i l d

The Governor of Nandi County opening the Empowerment Centre