St Chad’s Church commit to ten years sponsorship
of a child in Kenya.

Ostine Odhiambo Ronga

St Chads P.C.C. have agreed to embark upon on a ten
year project to sponsor a six year old child called Ostine.
The sponsorship money will be used to provide basic
essentials such as clean water, adequate food, healthcare, farming tools as well as educating Ostine through his
school years.

Ostine will be sponsored by the P.C.C. via an organisation
called World Vision, which offer a unique opportunity to
change the lives of children in developing countries. This sponsorship should
make a huge difference, not just for Ostine, but for his community.

World Vision
World Vision is a Christian organisation who help poor, oppressed and marginalised people irrespective of their religious beliefs. It is one of the worlds leading relief
and development agencies and a member of several major agency groups including
the Disasters and Emergency Committee, British Overseas Development and the Consortuim for Street Children. In 1950, World Vision was legally incorporated.
In 1982 it became a UK registered charity. Today World Vision UK is a growing organisation with funding from both voluntary and government sources running
community development projects in over 40 countries.



Our child sponsor - Ostine Odhiambo Ronga
Ostine was born in July 1999, he lives with his father in Winam, Kenya. Ostine
has to help out at home where his special job is looking after the animals. He
also loves to play when he has the chance.

Winam is an area of the growing city of Kisumu,
which lies close to the equator in Western Kenya,
near lake Victoria.
High levels of unemployment mean people often
cannot afford the essentials for their families.
Those who try to grow some of their own food
on small plots of land often find their crops
destroyed by floods.

There is little access to health services in the
crowded slums. Many people suffer from Malaria, which can be fatal, especially
for young children. The area also has the highest HIV/AIDS prevelence in Kenya.
As well as educating people about the prevention of these diseases, this ten
year project plans to dig wells and boreholes, and construct good pit latrines
to help reduce the spread of water-borne diseases.

Sponsoring a child in this manner will hopefully be a very positive experience for
us all, particularly for the children attending Sunday School. Children and adults
from the congregation will have the opportunity to correspond with Ostine if they
wish and exchange information about the communities in which we live. We look forward to corresponding with Ostine over the next ten years to see him and his community's development.

A notice board in church will display further information about Ostine and his community.

Sue Bellingham

In Winam Area Development Programme (ADP), your sponsored child's community
has had another successful year Many different activities joined together to
build on the work of previous years, giving further opportunities to children and
their families. Located in the growing Kisumu City which suffers from high unemployment, the programme is helping local people to develop their urban community and bring about lasting improvements.

The introduction of free primary schooling in Kenya has given children more opportunities. The community want to improve educational standards for their
young people, but many school buildings are in need of repair and lack equipment.
In 2005, 200 new desks helped to improve the learning environment for children
at I 3 schools in the area. Child Sponsorship also helped 300 children, who have completed their primary education and are keen to continue studying, with a contribution towards their costs. This investment in their future will help to
improve job prospects for these young people.

Local organisations began to realise the effect of the pandemic on these children's lives, including impacting their ability to study.The children did not previously have a project to support them within their schools, but that is now changing. With the support of the community, the ADP and other stakeholders, five primary schools have launched orphan lunch programmes. Meanwhile, Mayenya Primary School has taken the lead in giving vulnerable and orphaned children the opportunity to stay at school for a few extra hours each day to catch up with their work and enjoy other extra-curricular activities.

It has been a mixed year for your sponsored child's community in Winam. The ADP reached another milestone as programme staff and the community successfully carried out an evaluation of the last three years of the ADP's work This analysis has been turned into action by helping to shape the ADP's plans for the next three years. Regular monitoring and evaluation play important roles in ensuring that the ADP is addressing the needs of local people, carrying out relevant activities and helping the community to achieve their goals.

However, the community experienced a long dry spell in the course of the year, which affected their ability to make major contributions to development activities. This slowed down completion of some projects. However, the community remain very keen to participate in their own development and several activities in the areas of health, HIV and AIDS, education, water and sanitation took place.

Construction of a new community health centre at Nyalunya will bring the benefits of basic healthcare to at least 9,000 more community members.The ADP also continued its immunisation programme, with almost 700 young children being vaccinated against serious diseases.



Children in Winam ADP enjoying
extra curricular activities




Health
Malaria is a major problem in Winam, with expectant mothers and children under five most vulnerable.The ADP is working to reduce the prevalence of malaria and other preventable diseases in the community. Last year almost 8,000 bed nets were distributed to families, and a reduction in the number of children affected by malaria was reported.

Education
Quality education is one of the goals in Winam. Primary schooling in Kenya has been available free of charge for a number of years now, but schools have struggled to cope with growing enrolment numbers.The ADP is working to improve the learning environment for children by constructing or repairing classrooms and providing more teaching and learning resources in primary schools.

Last year, the programme also facilitated the setting-up of a community-managed bursary fund. This project is focused on improving school enrolment and retention of orphans and vulnerable children living in the Winam area. An important part of this work was to improve the community's awareness of the importance of education for these children who, due to their circumstances, often miss out on schooling.

Positive living
Support for people living with HIV or AIDS is a fundamental part of the ADP's work. The programme continued to support and strengthen community based organisations, such as Community Care Coalitions and Community Health Workers, These organisations are caring for community members living with HIV or AIDS, and children orphaned or made vulnerable because their families are affected. Support groups hold regular meetings where members share their experiences and help one another.

People living with HIV or AIDS are often unable to work and may struggle to provide for their families. The ADP supported group members with skills training and working their own farm by providing fertiliser, maize seeds and beans. This practical help is giving people affected by HIV new opportunities to remain self-sufficient and hopeful for the future.

Good nutrition is particularly important for people living with HIV. One enterprising support group are planning to produce and sell their own 'nutriamix' - a health food made from ground beans, maize, Soya, sorghum, groundnuts and rice.The 'nutria-mix' grill benefit group members and will also be sold to other support groups, with profits reinvested in the farm. Group members are now hoping to turn their idea into a small, profitable business to boss' household income.

Community HIV and AIDS awareness campaigns continued to take place. Teachers were involved with life-skill training and are now sharing their knowledge with the children in their care. This kind of activity is so important in helping to arm the current generation of children with the understanding they need to protect themselves against HIV.