Hello folks,
I am sure many of you will know that we were due to visit Kenya in March. We had our suitcase pretty much packed and were all set to go to the hotel near Heathrow the next morning, when we heard that the Kenyan President was going to deny access to foreigners....I was totally devastated! It was not just a holiday, it was going to be time spent with my lovely friend/unofficial adopted son, Sammy. I was so looking forward to seeing him again.
I sulked big time for a couple of days, but the situation here in the UK got worse and it was obviously the best thing for us to go later when all this is over.
The situation for the guys in Kenya though is pretty serious, many, many of them rely on the tourist industry for their income, there is little or no government support, so they are in danger of going hungry
I made this card when Kenya was very much on my mind and in my heart. The main image is a painting by Sammy and the background is simply multiple stamping using the fabulous #312 Mini Tribal stamp by Abs.
I posted all of this on my fb page a while ago and several people said they wanted to help, so I set up a fundraiser and have so far raised £700.00 which is amazing and I am very grateful to everyone who donated. I have sent some of the money to Sammy and he has been buying food, soap and facemasks for many local families and neighbours.
The best part of all of this for me is that Sammy has been giving food to some street kids he has seen there. This means sooo much to him because up until a few years ago, he was living on the streets himself and knows exactly what it is like. He has always wanted to help those kids and it is his dream and goal to set up a school to provide free education for them. Distributing the food to them has given him a sense of purpose and he is even more determined now to achieve his goal, but first he wants to get them food!
Sammy bought big sacks of maize, paid for it to be ground into flour and took it to families in the slums of Momabasa
This is the miller
This lady was supporting 6 kids on her own
Food for families
With the kids on the streets..Sammy went back three days to provide them food
A single young man enjoying a cup of warm tea and a chapati
Thank you so very much to everyone who has donated, as you can see it is making a difference to people and providing food at least for a while.
If you would like to help, any donation is very gratefully received and a small amount of money here goes a long way in Kenya and helps many people..
Here is the link to my fundraiser
Supplies for Sammy, Friends and Family
Janet xxx