Holistic Systems

JNMCC Mercy Home is a girls orphanage in the village of Maseno, near Kisumu, in Western Kenya. It is one of the projects assisted by AVIF Volunteers in Kenya and is one of the projects that will be helped by some of the money that you donate in sponsorship of my trip.

JNMCC Mercy Home founded in 1998 by Edward Buyengo, a local preacher and his wife Deborah. To begin with it was just a case of Edward taking five local orphans into his own home to care for them. He decided to focus primarily on providing a home for girls rather than boys as it is commonplace in Kenya for the girls to be married off young in poor families to both alleviate the burden of the family, and to gain a dowry to help sustain the rest of the family.

The orphanage was set up in Edward and Deborah’s own home as the girls were incorporated into the family and became sisters to their own daughter Miriam. To this day, one of Edward’s most strongly held beliefs is that the Mercy Home remain under one roof and that the girls are treated just as Edward’s own are treated. They are a family, and if you ever go to stay you will be family too. There is no division between the Founder and his family, any guests or volunteers that are staying or the girls themselves, the Mercy Home is exactly that; a Home.

The expansion of the Mercy Home programme lead to the expansion of Edward’s home too, with two extensions that introduced a 14-person dormitory, a new washroom, a large kitchen area (including chimney), sitting-room and office. These extensions were completed in November 2006 and opened by the local District Commissioner. There are now 15 full borders at the Mercy Home ranging from 10 to 18 years old  and another 25 on the Day Programme whereby the girls (and now one boy!) are enrolled in the programme but due to lack of space, are unable to board.

For more information on the Mercy Home Orphanage

AVIF is an innovative online charity that provides volunteer teachers and other support to disadvantaged communities in rural Kenya.

AVIF’s focus is on helping people in rural Kenya to become more self-sufficient by teaching them about running small businesses, disease prevention, renweable energy and eco-friendly technologies such as solar cooking.

AVIF is dedicated towards helping rural Kenya to achieve its “Millenium Development Goals” of:

More information about AVIF Volunteers in Kenya

One of the charities I am supporting with my trip is the Tour d’Afrique Foundation.

The Foundation donates bicycles to health care workers and other deserving individuals in Africa.

HIV/AIDS is probably the worst health problem in Africa, however maternal mortality, tuberculosis, malaria,diarrhea, diabetes, cervical cancer are also big challenges.

Bicycles being a very low cost and sustainable form of transport, enable medical workers to treat many more patients than they otherwise would.

The Tour d’Afrique foundation also donates bicycles to other deserving groups. For example in 2008 the Foundation donated 10 bikes to Garlendale High School in Capetown. Many of the children attending this school come from disadvantaged backgrounds and often fall prey to crime and drugs. The school recently started a cycling club, which functions under the auspices of Pedal Power .

The cycling club has had a positive impact in the lives of the children who have joined. The school anticipates that four of their pupils will be chosen to represent the Western Cape in the annual inter-provincial schools cycling competition. This has created a positive difference in the lives of these children, and as a result, there is a huge demand from other children to join the club.

Poverty, however, prevents them being able to afford a bicycle to join the club. It is likely that the 10 bikes donated to this school will change the lives of 10 more children.

More information on the work of the Tour d’Afrique Foundation