Thankful, and so so proud
A couple of weeks ago we sat down and decided to reach out to our network - I get told often that I’m not “maximising” our web of contacts of people who can help us, and as a past marketing professional I understand very well what that means. But in Marafiki, it doesn’t really work like that. Our volunteers have passion, they don’t need to be maximised, and they don’t need sad stories in order to take action!
As we continue to fundraise, we have to take a break and say thank you. The response from you all has been really amazing, at a time when we understand very well, everyone is struggling. COVID19 is proving to be a time for re-grouping and creating new ways, but also an injection of kindness.
That’s not all though - as past volunteers and their family members shared our post and our donation details, we saw real empathy, rather than other’s super sad and desperate posts looking for help. We believe that people who are vulnerable are just the same as us - with challenges that they can overcome. Just like you and me. We are proud to see our volunteers join the dream, as usual, and understand that we are all equal and deserve equal dignity.
A couple of days ago, our team went out to St Dorcas Educational Center, to bring food and soap from your donations. We were so impressed with how well educated the kids are in the COVID19 epidemic and felt like they understood what is happening. Though we would very rarely give out food, as we believe in a much more sustainable model, we know that these are extreme circumstances. We also were very happy that we didn’t have to buy any veggies, since the home has been utilising their space and have plenty of kale and other produce. This also makes us so so proud!!!
The situation in Kenya continues to develop. As of yesterday, the number of infections is still only 225, yet the government measures of social distancing and the total devastation of the tourism industry have started putting pressure on the finances of thousands of families and children’s homes. We are finding that there is an assumption that everyone in Kenya is in dire straits at the moment, and this is not the case….YET. But the families and children’s homes living in informal settlements who are used to receive a certain salary and have lost it, are definitely feeling the hunger set in and are understandably scared. The families and projects outside of Nairobi and with a little bit of land have the advantage of growing their produce and keeping their animals.
We don’t know what is going to happen - and that’s as true for Kenyans as it is for most of the world. We are not rushing in to help people hoard food, we are looking at the situation as something that will require long term commitment and a lot of creative thinking.
With love and thanks
Marta Macharia