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After a long journey from the UK to Kenya a lorry load of donations was distributed by our Chairwoman Thurit to the poorest in Konya (May 2010). The whole community came together when boxes full of blankets, clothes and toys were unpacked. Calculators and other school materials had been collected by pupils of the German School London, books were given by ACS Egham International Schools. And a real sensation: Seven sparkling bicycles! A big thank you to all who have donated!!
 
We have bought school uniforms for 50 children who have lost one or both parents. In Kenya children need a uniform to be allowed to attend Primary School. The uniforms were financed with a donation of £300 from the Catholic Primary School “Our lady of Victories” in Putney. They had raised the money at an evening of Carol Singing in December 2009. Thank you so much for your support!
We are absolutely delighted that the Accounting and Advisory Firm ‘Mazars’ has increased their grant for our school project in Konya. We can now start construction of a School Kitchen that will daily provide all pupils in Primary and Secondary School with a simple warm lunch – an important improvement to the children’s nutrition.
This additional support by Mazar comes only a few months after completion of the new Secondary School with two classrooms, each accommodating 50 pupils. The whitewashed building is equipped with wooden tables and chairs and big black boards. The school was officially opened on Jan 9th 2010 with a big celebration in the presence of our chairwoman Thurit. Classes began their studies the following day.
Among the children who started secondary school in January are ten orphans. Their carers in Konya are not able to pay the school fees of £245 per year. Hope for Konya has managed to find sponsors for these five boys and five girls. They pay the school fees and get information and feed-back on the situation and the educational progress of their sponsored child. A big thank you to the sponsors!
We are very proud of our eight German runners who took part in the London Marathon this year!!! They all completed the legendary 42 kilometer course from Greenwich to Buckingham Palace in fantastic time and raised £ 2500 for our charity. The money will be used to buy stoves for the new school kitchen. Thanks to the runners and to all who supported them!!
Farmers in Konya and our project manager Fritz are working hard at improving agriculture in the community. Ten farmers are now for the first time working together, supporting each other in planting, weeding and harvesting crops on their respective farms. By sharing the workload they are making their work more effective. The group of ten farmers have also prepared a trial acre with drip irrigation and planted vegetables on it. And they have taken up regular composting to improve the quality of their land. By working together and using new techniques the farmers learn more about sustainable farming, they improve their income and can spread their knowledge within the community.
Another group has dug a new covered well. We have provided them with a socalled money maker pump, a man powered pump that fills up a 1000 litre tank in just 20 minutes. This is our second investment of this kind. At the beginning of 2010 we bought and installed a pump, tank and drip irrigation at a field growing maize and other vegetables for school lunches. Better access to clean water makes a huge difference for the agriculture in Konya and subsequently the wellbeing of the community!!
Hope for Konya has supplied the community with a simple man powered press to make briquettes from any biomass waste. Material like corn stalks, sugarcane leaves, cardboard or wood chippings are pressed through this device into briquettes. This provides people in Konya with an excellent renewable energy source for heating.
Charity Dinner:
The international travel chaos in April caused by the volcanic eruption in Iceland has forced us to postpone our first Black Tie Charity Dinner. It will now take place on Friday 8th October at the Bingham Hotel, Richmond. Guests can look forward to spending a memorable evening with fabulous food, great live music and DJ dancing. We will be auctioning off luxurious holidays, spa vouchers and celebrity events. Proceeds from the Dinner will go to improving water supply and agriculture in Konya.
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