IMANI PROJECT FALL UPDATE 2009

• Marlene Anderson, Imani Project Director, and 5 volunteers traveled to the coastal villages in Kenya during the month of July to work side by side with village Imani Project Volunteers. Heartfelt thanks to Virginia Scott, Tyler, McConnell, Maggie Socal and Katie Steinberg of Portland, Oregon, and Earline Anderson of Snoqualmie Washington. Because of the dedication, commitment and hard work of our volunteers, we were able to accomplish much more than we had anticipated.
• Classes on education, awareness, prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS were taught students at Masheheni Primary, Mjanaheri Primary, Kagombani Primary, Majenjeni Primary, Burangi Primary, Mwangatini Primary, Maziwani Primary, Kaembeni Primary and Magarini Primary. Classes 6, 7 and 8 were given these lessons, as well as handouts with pictures in both Kiswahili and English. These children are the most educated members in their families and were encouraged to go home and share information with parens and other relatives.
• American Imani Project volunteers were able to provide very basic medical care, and more serious cases were given funding to go to dispensaries or hospitals. We brought l00 saliva HIV/AIDS tests with us to be used in testing children and adults for the virus.
• An HIV+ support group has become an established part of village life. There are now l5 members of the support group that meet every month. This year the HIV+ support group members received a chicken, l0 kilograms of corn for planting maize, and sexuality infomation and condoms and how to use a condom correctly. The fact that such a group exists in the villages is amazing because in the past there has been such a stigma attached to HIV+ status.
• HIV/AIDS education, awareness and prevention were taught in the villages of Misufini,Mianzini, Mnazimoja and Sabaki. Participants were given handouts, condoms, and a 2 kilogram bag of maize flour. At one class there were 400 people!
• American and Kenyan Imani Project volunteers visited all sponsored children in their homes. The children were given gifts, as well as communications from the sponsor. (Communications were translated and read to the family). The sponsored orphan then drew a picture which will be given to the sponsor in the United States.
• We worked together to fill out Orphan Registration Forms for 50 new children needing sponsors. Each of these children was brought to the Imani Project office by their fostering family.
• The Orphanss and Vulnerable Children’s Center continues to flourish in the village of Misufini. Orphans and their families are able to come and pick up needed supplies.School Uniforms are being made on site as we now have a sewing machine.Also there is a dispensary where orphans and their families receive medical supplies.
• The Posho Mill continues to operate smoothly grinding corn kernels into maize flour, which is the staple of the African diet. This mill was made possible by the generous donation of Mike and Lori Kehoe and family. We are very grateful, and the mill has changed the lives of hundreds of Africans.
• We were able to sponsor both a nutritional training for our HIV+ support group members, and a more generalized nutritional training for our fostering families.The trainings were very successful, and much of the credit goes to Sharon So, the young women from Australia who did a 6 month internship with the Imani Project.
• We are pleased to announce that the Imani Project now has a functional chicken house. The project was designed and implemented by Sharon So, our Australian intern. The house is quite roomy, and can comfortably accommodate up to 30 chickens. We are hoping to produce both meat and eggs for sale in the surrounding villages. A larger chicken house accommodating many more chickens has the potential to become an income generating activity for the Imani Project.
• For more information about volunteer opportunities, please call Marlene Anderson, Imani Project Director at 503 349-2596.