The Friends of Turkana Trip 2009

2. Friends Of Turkana One of the main goals for this trip to Kenya by the Friends of Turkana was to visit a community whose goal was sustainability. That is, it would become self sufficient, not dependent on hand outs and charity. The Nyambani Orphanage and community has as one its goals sustainability. The community now has 460 orphans and 46 house mothers (grand mothers) on 1000 acres of land around 200 kilometers from Nairobi. The goal is to house 1000 orphans. Most of the orphans come from Nairobi and many have lost parents to AIDS. The community has built most of its own primary schools.

3. The village solar powered pumps irrigating (drip) vegetable and has fruit gardens. It also has a cash crop of trees for timber – these will take around eight years to mature . Herds of goats and other livestock are fed from the village gardens. The community makes their own bricks and the wood stock is milled in their own “Polytechnic Institute”. At this time in the community is dependent on outside support but they have a plan in place where they should be self sufficient within ten years. This is the model (or parts) we want to duplicate in the Turkana communities.

4. Turkana The Turkana communities are mostly nomadic. There is a great deal of goat and camel herding. There is serious overgrazing which negatively impacts the already parched environment. Water resources are scarce and underdeveloped. Barely one third of the students go to primary school and 95% of the schools were built by NGO’s. Although the state does provide teachers (ill trained and barely paid) there are practically no school supplies. The following is a photo chronicle of our visit this year.

5. Africa

6. Kenya

7. Turkana, Kenya

8. The Friends of Turkana - 2009

9. Nyambani Orphanage - a community moving toward sustainability

10. Nyambani - Children’s Cottages – There are now 460 Orphan and 46 Grandmothers

11. The Farm at Nyambani

12. Brick Making at Nyambani

13. Tree Farm for Timber – The Cash Crop

14. Nyambani Village Polytechnic

15. The Nyambani – Polytechnic School

16. The “Barn” at Nyambani

17. Construction of the Cottages

18. The Grandmothers – House Mothers

19. The Nyambani Children

20. A Nyambani Baby and Anna

21. The Primary School At Monti - Lodwar

22. Anna with a Student at the Monti School

23. Poetry Recital at the Vulnerable Children’s Program - Lodwar

24. The Abandoned Children Program - Lodwar

25. The Primary School at Losajait

26. School Supplies for Students at Losajait

27. The Bore Hole with Hand Pump at Sopel

28. The Deaf School - Lodwar

29. The Children of Natoo

30. The Foundation of the Natoo Primary School 2002

31. The School at Natoo – Mastering the art of concrete block making

32. Construction of the Natoo Primary School 2002

33. The Finished School at Natoo 2004

34. Meeting the Natoo Community 2009

35. A Solar Powered Well at Kalimapus

36. The “Shores” of Lake Turkana at Kalimapus

37. The Motor and Controls for the Well

38. The Kalimapus Community Greets the Friends of Turkana

39. A Gift for the Friends of Turkana from the Villagers of Kalimapus

40. The frame of the “Stolen” Solar panels in Kataboi

41. The Turkana Basin

42. The Turkana Basin Institute

43. Dr. Shirley Kenney President (ret.)– SUNY - Stony Brook at the Turkana Basin Institute

44. Village Outside the Turkana Institute and evidence of severe drought and climate change

45. The School Teacher at the Turkana Basin Village

46. Farming in Lodwar – Food for the Vulnerable Children’s Program

47. The Cow Peas and Maze are Sprouting in Four Days

48. Making Textiles for Products to be sold to Support the Vulnerable Children’s Program

49. Textile Making on a Manual Loom

50. Farewell to the Children of Turkana

51. Thank you to all the Friends of Turkana whose contributions made this trip a success. With your help we brought clothes, school supplies, some sweat and most of all hope to these wonderful people.Friends Of Turkana: Mary Lai, Kathy Hill-Miller, Rhoda Grauer, Julia DeCarlo, Terry Bordan, Camille Marzilliano, Staci Karathanasis, June Scheu, Joan McCarthy, Anne B. Morrison, Dan Aroaz, Bob Manheimer, Paul Forestell, Rob Altholz, Jeff Kane, Iftikar Ahmad, and special thanks to Emily and Mike Seiman

52. Sunset in Kenya 2009

53. On Safari in the Masai Mara

54. The King of the Jungle

56. Giraffes in the shade

57. Jaguars by a Creek

58. Wildebeasts checking

59. The Catholic Cathedral in Nairobi

60. Commemoration of Pope John Paul II’s visit to the Cathedral in Nairobi