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WISH LIST
We are currently seeking donations for two purposes:
1) To begin Phase II of construction for Mercy Children's Centre school in Bumala;
2) To provide for the basic needs of the orphans under Mercy Children's Centre's care.
School Construction
With the generosity of donors from our first annual fundraiser in March 2007, One Child's Village was able to build a school for 90 HIV/AIDS orphans in a poverty-stricken village called Bumala. Phase I, construction of the main school building with four classrooms, is now complete. View photos and learn more about this project...
For subsequent phases, we hope to raise funds for:
- girls' and boys' dormatories
- kitchen
- guest houses for volunteers and visitors
- meeting house
Basic Needs
During our visit to Bumala (Busia District, Kenya) in June 2007, we had discussions with members of Mercy Children's Centre and observed the orphans in their environment. Many high priority items were identified for the orphans' safety, comfort and educational needs. Simply click on an item to learn more about why it is needed. Amounts are in Canadian funds (CAD) and Kenya Shillings (KSH).
Additional educational items needed include pens, pencils, crayons, erasers, paint, paper, rulers, protractors, math sets and other teaching aids such as kits and educational games.
Comfort, Safety &
Survival Items |
Cost per Item |
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Quantity
Needed |
Total
Cost |
| CAD funds |
(KSH) |
| Blankets |
$12.50 |
(800) |
12 blankets |
$150 |
| Mosquito nets |
$5 |
(300) |
7 nets |
$35 |
| Bed mattresses |
$20 |
(1250) |
12 mattresses |
$240 |
Material Donations
We are also accepting material donations to improve the functioning of our office and operations in Kenya. One Child's Village is currently in need of:
- Ram for Dell Pentium 4, 2 slots, PC133MHz SDRAM (prefer 512 MB or 1 GB)
- Digital Photo Camera
- Memory Cards for Digital Photo Camera (prefer 512 MB or larger)
- USB memory keys (prefer 128 MB or larger)
- Digital Video Camera
- Scanner
- Used laptops
Please note: We appreciate that some people may prefer to donate material goods directly to Mercy Children's Centre. However we find that shipping items to Africa is difficult and costly. Should you have particular items to donate, we suggest you contact One Child's Village to find out whether they can be delivered during our next trip to Bumala.
Item Descriptions
| Shoes |
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Barefooted children following tour guides of the Kakamega Environmental Education Program. |
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We noticed that none of the children at the school in Bumala had shoes. We quickly wondered about the limitations that being barefoot poses. Isn't it hard — painful even! — to kick a soccer ball while barefoot? What about the children who walk between 2 and 5 kilometers to and from school each day? When we went on an educational field trip with the children to the Kakamega Tropical Forest, we were denied a tour for obvious safety reasons.
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This orphan's feet are infected with jiggers. His toes are extended apart and swollen, making it difficult for him to walk. |
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| We also learned that one child unfortunately caught a parasite ("jiggers") – a common occurrence when walking barefoot where pigs reside. The parasite burrows underneath the toenails to lay its eggs. This causes an itching sensation, swelling and a lot of discomfort for the child, making it difficult for them to walk. If left untreated, those infected can die. The prognosis is generally good if the parasite is noticed early on. One reactive measure is for the teachers to monitor and remove the eggs as soon as possible, followed by spraying the toes with insecticide. Shoes are the best preventive measure. Back to Wish List... |
| School uniforms |
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It is easy to wonder why uniforms are such a priority amidst poverty. In Kenya it is government law that a child attending school must have a uniform. No uniform means no education, yet families must incur the cost of the uniform. Many families living in poverty cannot afford a uniform for their children. For many of the orphans at Mercy Children's Centre who are provided a school uniform, it is often the only clothes they own.
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Some uniforms are worn out and need to be replaced... |
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...and some children who have recently joined Mercy Children's Centre need new uniforms.
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There are other benefits to uniforms. They represent a particular school's colours. Such identification becomes important as student behaviour reflects a school's reputation within the community. Perhaps more startling is that a recognizable uniform has, on occasion, assisted in recovering an abducted child. Currently, there are 20 orphans at Mercy Children's Centre who are in need of a uniform. Back to Wish List...
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| Notebooks |
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Children proudly holding their notebooks (Class 1). |
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Notebooks are always needed. Ideally, it would be best if each child in Nursery Class, Class 1 and Class 2 had one notebook per subject. Some children can only afford a single notebook for all their subjects combined. Still others share their notebook with peers in class who have none.
Back to Wish List... | |
| Textbooks |
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We hope to purchase textbooks for the teachers and students in Bumala. Texts covering the topics of Math, Science and English are currently needed for Nursery Class, Class 1 and Class 2. Unless they become obsolete, most texts are reused the following schoolyear and they are shared among the students. We also aim to gradually build a resource library with reference books, dictionaries and texts covering a wide range of topics. Back to Wish List...
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| Desks |
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Children sitting at their desks (Class 2).
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The desks in this photo are built locally. To help out poverty-stricken citizens of Bumala, Charles (Director of Mercy Children's Centre) purchases the wood from a vendor nearby and then hires a carpenter from the community to build the desks.
Ten desks are currently needed for the orphans in preschool. As you can see in the picture below, the children sit on the floor of the classroom. Although they seem to enjoy class immensely, the seating arrangment is uncomfortable. Back to Wish List... |
Classroom rent
Mercy Children Centre presently has 4 classes at their school in Bumala: Baby Class, Nursery Class, Class 1 and Class 2. The "baby class" (equivalent to preschool in North America) has 30 children. Due to limited space, the class is unfortunately held in the smallest room in the building. The hope is to rent an additional room in the same building for the duration of the construction of their new school by One Child's Village. Back to Wish List...
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A very crowded "baby class".
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| Blankets |
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During one of our home visits in Bumala we saw how some of the orphans lived. We met one woman, a grandmother who had inherited 7 grandchildren from her deceased sons. She explained to us that any income she generates must first go to feeding the children. The next priority is to get as many of the children to school as possible. She said that after taking care of the essentials, there is usually no money left for things like blankets or a leaky roof. In the picture on the right, Charles (Director of Mercy Children's Centre) holds up one of the children's blanket. Back to Wish List... |
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| Mosquito nets |
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Mercy Children's Centre is currently renting two apartment units for 22 homeless adolescent-aged orphans in the Kawangware slums of Nairobi. Having a home to go to at the end of the day protects the teens from dangers and vulnerabilities of a poverty-stricken community. Other preventable risks include malaria through mosquito bites. These bunkbeds are in need of treated mosquito nets to decrease the likelihood that the orphans will contract malaria. You might notice the smudges on the wall above the bed – successful attempts at eradicating mosquitoes. Back to Wish List...
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Bunkbed in need of a mosquito net. |
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| Bed Mattresses |
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Similarly, bed mattresses are needed for the bunkbeds mentioned above. We don't have a photo of the mattresses currently used, but Charles removed the blanket from one of the bunkbeds revealing to us a two-inch weathered and yellowing foam – much like the one shown on the left. Back to Wish List... |
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