January 23rd, 2008

Dear Friends and Supporters of Maji Mazuri, 

Maji Mazuri USA launches an emergency appeal for the victims of the riots in Kenya

We urgently need your help to send funds for desperately needed food, blankets and mattresses, cooking pots and charcoal stoves, and clothes for the many members of Maji Mazuri in Kenya that have been displaced by the recent riots.

As many of you know, violence erupted after disputed national elections at the end of last month, and as many as 1,000 people have lost their lives and several hundred thousand people have been forced from their homes. The situation has been most serious in the west of Kenya, and in the slums of Nairobi, which is where many of Maji Mazuri’s projects are active.

While no one from Maji Mazuri has been killed, two have been injured, and many have lost everything to looters. Others have still to be accounted for.

Imagine the plight of the family of Samuel K., who is one of our micro business loan members. He and his wife Grace, their 3 year-old daughter Jane and her grandmother, live together in a shack in Mathare Valley just like those below. Their home was looted and everything was taken, even their clothes. Samuel’s business selling chickens was wrecked and all his stock stolen. They have nothing but the clothes they stand up in. We need $190 to provide a minimum of basic contents for their home. It will cost about $75 to re-establish his chicken business. Even with this help it will take Samuel months or years of hard work to recover fully.

Consider Ann N., also a Maji Mazuri micro business loan member, who has two adult daughters and 5 grandchildren living with her. They, too, lost everything to looters. We estimate that it will cost us about $270 to provide them with basic bedding, clothes, cooking utensils and some emergency food.

We don’t yet know just how many people will need our help. So far we estimate that there are about 90 Maji Mazuri families who have lost their belongings, or their businesses, or both. There are several whose homes were destroyed in fires, or were literally pulled down by the mob.

It is important for you to know that Maji Mazuri is NOT tied to either side of the dispute. We have staff and members from all the major tribes in Kenya, including the Luo, the Kalenjin, the Maasai, the Kikuyu and the Kamba. We serve anyone who needs us. We take no political stands. We just want peace and the rule of law to return so that people can rebuild their lives – with your help.

So, please help us! Please consider making a gift of $50 or $100 or whatever you can manage. You could ‘adopt’ one of our needy families by making a donation of $180 or more. We will send you the names of the family and tell you about their situation. We know that many of you are already generous supporters of Maji Mazuri, but this humanitarian crisis leaves us with no choice but to ask for something extra from us all.

You can use PayPal on our website, www.majimazuri.org or send a check to Maji Mazuri USA at 4783 Summerset Lane, Atlanta, Georgia 30338. All the money you give will go to Maji Mazuri in Kenya. Please mark the check “Emergency”.

Thank you!
Kevin Corcoran
President, Maji Mazuri USA

January 4th, 2008

Dear Friends and Supporters of Maji Mazuri, 

I was able today to talk at more length with Wanjiku Kironyo a couple of hours ago and she asked me to send you all her thanks for  your prayers and concern, and to share with you the latest information about Maji Mazuri and the situation in Kenya.

As most of you know, there has been widespread rioting and violence in the aftermath of the general election held on December 27^th. After initial voting returns seem to indicate that the opposition party had a commanding lead, later returns, which took three days to emerge, closed the gap and finally were declared, last Sunday, to have resulted in a narrow victory for the incumbent government. Unfortunately, the political divide mirrors tribal rivalries – Kikuyus largely support the government lead by Mr. Kibaki, a Kikuyu, and Luos and some other tribes support the opposition, lead by Mr. Odinga, a Luo.

Opposition supporters erupted in fury, alleging electoral fraud, and riots and lynchings began immediately, mostly concentrated in areas where supporters of both the government and the opposition live in proximity to each other – Western Kenya, the Rift Valley, the coast, and Nairobi. 

In Nairobi, the largest slum – Kibera – has heavy concentrations of Luos and supports the opposition. Kikuyus in Kibera have been attacked and driven out, while government forces have entered in force to try to restore order. Many homes, businesses and some churches have been destroyed. Wanjiku’s house is just yards from Kibera’s boundary.

The Mathare Valley, which has large concentrations of Kikuyus, and where several of our projects are located - including the Head Start School, the Youth Group, the Teenz Group and the Mavuno micro business loan program – has been raided by gangs of Luos and others, and has also suffered the destruction of homes and businesses.

As of today, things have quietened down in Nairobi, and there is talk of a political solution, which Bishop Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Peace Prize winner from South Africa, is trying to broker. Wanjiku tells me that some food shops have reopened, and a few buses are running, but that the city centre is almost deserted and that few people are at work. There is still talk from the opposition party about holding a massive protest rally in Uhuru Park, in downtown Nairobi. This rally has twice been postponed in the face of a huge presence of riot police.  The fear is that if it takes place, things could again get out of hand.

How is all this affecting Maji Mazuri?  First, it must be said that communications in Nairobi are very limited, with many people unable to charge their cell phones, and fearful of traveling from place to place. However, so far, we have not heard of any Maji Mazuri child, youth or adult, who has been killed or injured. We know that a number of our Mavuno small businesses have been damaged or destroyed, but we have not been able to determine the extent of the problems.

On a project by project basis, this is what we know at present:

• In the Mathare Valley, the Head Start School has not been damaged. The children are not in school, since all schools have been ordered to stay closed until  Tuesday January 15^th. The Youth Group and Teenz offices are undamaged, despite the fact that the gas station next door was burned down yesterday. We have heard from some of the teachers, and some of the youth that they are O.K.  As I mentioned above, we have no reports of casualties among Maji Mazuri members, but a number of people are reported  to have been killed in the Valley.
• Upper Matasia and Kiserian are said to be quiet, and there are no reported problems. Wanjiku has spoken with Nathan Munyori, the principal, and he and his family are safe. However, the children are not in school.  We have heard from a number of families of our pupils that they are O.K. But have no news about others. In Kiserian, some construction work and the installation of equipment for the dormitory are taking place.
• Our Children’s Centre in Kasarani ran out of food a couple of days ago, but Wanjiku was able to buy food and deliver it yesterday. All the children are safe. If the situation improves and travel becomes safer, the 17 physically challenged children who were to move to the new boarding facility in Kiserian this week will be moving on January 15^th. when schools are scheduled to reopen.
• The Maji Mazuri administration office at Ngumo – in Wanjiku’s house – has not reopened.  Wacera, Wambui and Janet are all safe, but have not been able to travel to work. Wanjiku is on her own, but says that she is O.K. Her food supplies were almost drained, but yesterday she managed to buy some basics.

The next few days are critical. Hopefully, the politicians will come to some solution – a possible government of national unity is being talked about, followed by fresh elections. Meanwhile, as Wanjiku told me: “we can only wait and see” – and pray.

I will send out another update about the situation next week, and earlier if needs be.

Thank you all very sincerely for your support and encouragement in this difficult time.

Best wishes,

Kevin Corcoran
President, Maji Mazuri USA

December 18th 2007

Dear friends and supporters of Maji Mazuri,

We want to thank you for your wonderful help over the past year, and we want to appeal to your generosity again!

Thanks to your generous support, this has been a great year for Maji Mazuri in Kenya. We are now  working with over 500 children and youth in our schools and centers, and with some 200 adults who have small business loans in the Mathare Valley slum in Nairobi.

Our projects have grown in strength with the completion of new buildings, the refurbishment of others, and the addition of skilled professional staff:

• The Children’s Centre for mentally or physically challenged children has been refurbished, and now has a rain water catchment system and solar panels
  

• Our Kiserian elementary school has a new set of classrooms, and the kitchen/dining room/ dormitory building is complete and being furnished right now. In January, 17 of our physically challenged children will move from the Children’s Centre to Kiserian where they will live in the new building. They will have a ‘housemother’ and will attend our school where the average class has 30 pupils, compared to the 80 or more in the government school they were attending before. This will make it much easier for them to integrate into a world which is not used to dealing with the handicapped. Here is the new building:
  
  
  The upper floor houses two dormitories – one for girls and one for boys. The lower floor has the kitchen, storerooms and the dining hall which is also used by the local community for meetings, and on Sundays for prayer services.
  
  There are toilets and shower stalls on both levels.
  
  This is the finest building for miles around! It was built in less than 18 months for about $45,000 using local contractors who have done a great job.  A visiting American architect pronounced it “a solid structure that is built to last”.
  
  (Notice the banana plants which are already yielding fruit for the children to eat, and generating income from the sale of crop surpluses to the local market.)
  
• At our elementary and high school campus at Upper Matasia, Maji Mazuri has built a third floor in the high school structure to accommodate more boarders and we have just struck water with our borehole project! The borehole project was funded by a Canadian private foundation and a church group in Canada. This will guarantee clean water for the more than 200 pupils and teachers at the school. This year also saw our first grade 12 graduating class!
  
• In the Mathare Valley slum in Nairobi, we relocated our Head Start School after the previous building was burned down last November in the riots. We have a rented building which has a concrete floor, and metal ceiling, but it is quite crowded as you can see:
  
  
  
  The children here are from ages 3 to 7 or 8 and attend school from pre-Kindergarten class through Grade 2.
  
  We feed all the children a hot meal every day, and none of them is suffering from malnutrition.
  
  Many of these children are sponsored by Friends and Supporters of Maji Mazuri.
  
  Their mothers are usually working all day at the small businesses that we have provided loans for.  Some of the children have fathers, but many do not. Parents now know that their children are safe, and being cared for and getting an education.

Now for some really exciting news
We have contracted to buy a piece of land just inside the slum and will be constructing a major facility to serve all our programs in the Mathare Valley. The plan is to build a 4 storey structure rather like the Kiserian building, above, but taller:

• The ground floor will be for the Head Start school and offices and toilets
• The second floor will house a primary school
• The third floor will house a secondary school, and
• The fourth floor will provide space for the Youth Group, and for the Small Business Loan Program.

This building will allow us, for the first time, to have a secure location in the slum where we can keep teaching equipment and materials, where the Youth Group can meet together in safety, and where we can distribute and collect money with the Small Business Loan Program members in a secure environment. It will be a place of refuge for many people in one of the most deprived slums in Africa.

We have already raised the money to buy the land, and a Dutch charity is promising to fund the first floor of construction. Together, we need to raise  $100,000 to complete the building, and about another $35,000 to equip and furnish it.

Please consider making a donation to bring this vision to reality. I know that many of you have already been very generous to Maji Mazuri.  For our part, we have striven to use your donations wisely and frugally.  It is still true that Maji Mazuri USA’s expense ratio since we started almost 3 years ago is less than 1% of our income. More than 99% goes directly to the programs in Kenya.

I know you will give our appeal serious thought. Any donation – small or large – will be very much appreciated. Don’t forget that you can use PayPal, on this web site, to send us funds. 

We wish you all the very best for the Holiday Season, and that you have a peaceful, healthy and fulfilling year in 2008. 

Many thanks for being a loyal Friend and Supporter of Maji Mazuri!

Best wishes,
Kevin Corcoran
President, Maji Mazuri USA

October 27th 2007

COME TO OUR CELEBRATION OF AFRICA
on Saturday October 27th 2007 at 7.30 p.m.

Please come and join us at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, 1978 Mount Vernon Road, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338 for an African Harambee* – a concert, reception and silent auction to benefit Maji Mazuri and honor Wanjiku Kironyo, the founder and director, who will be with us that evening.

The wonderful 60 voices of the DeKalb Choral Guild will present music from and about Africa, there will be drummers, a reception with light refreshments, and a great silent auction with many great bargains to bid for.

Tickets are $25 each and all proceeds, after direct expenses, will go to Maji Mazuri in Kenya.

You can send a check to Maji Mazuri USA, 4783 Summerset Lane, Atlanta, Georgia 30338, or you can buy tickets through PayPal, at the foot of this page, which accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. In either case, please remember to include a mailing address!

We will mail tickets to you if we get your order by Tuesday October 23rd. After that, your tickets will be at the door.

See you there!

* “Harambee” has several meanings in Swahili, the national language of Kenya. Often it means a special gathering to work together or to raise money for a community project, like a school or a church or a clinic. Sometimes a family will hold a Harambee to raise money to pay a hospital bill, or send a child to college. Today’s Harambee will fund the expansion and equipping of our Maji Mazuri schools and the Children’s Center.

March 28th 2007

The first three months of 2007 have seen a lot of great progress at Maji Mazuri! Several construction projects have been completed, and two more are under way. The management team has been strengthened with the addition of two new managers and several trained professionals, and the children are growing healthily and doing well in school.

These are just some of the highlights from each project:

Headstart School Relocated

We have relocated the Head Start School that was destroyed in the disturbances last fall in the Mathare Valley slum. The new building is a big improvement on the old: it has concrete floors, secure doors and windows, a tap with clean running water and toilets for the children.

Youth Group Running Internet Café

The Youth Group is now running the Internet café that they set up on the very edge of the slum area at year end, and business is beginning to increase.

Children's Centre Acquires Vehicle

The Children’s Centre has acquired an almost new vehicle, purpose built to accommodate disabled children, thanks to a very generous grant from the Wilson Foundation, and work on the new 3^rd floor is complete, again thanks to the Wilson Foundation. The Centre was finally able to persuade the local state elementary school to allow our physically disabled (but mentally very alert and competent!) children to attend, and 14 of them  now go each day to regular school. This is very important in order to help reintegrate these children into society. Indeed, the elementary school has sent groups of its own children to visit the Maji Mazuri Children’s Centre to get a better idea of how physically and mentally disabled children live.

Kiserian School Completes Kitchen/Dining/Dormitory Building

At the Kiserian School we have completed the Kitchen/Dining/Dormitory building and the upper floor is being used temporarily as a classroom while we build an additional floor of classrooms on the classroom block. We are also building a new block of restrooms.

Kiserian Farm Recovers from Flash Flood

The Kiserian Farm suffered from flash floods in December and early January, but we are now plowing the land and planting new crops, and thanks to a grant from a group of supporters in Quebec, Canada, we are adding several acres of drip feed irrigation which will help us conserve water in the dry season.

Upper Matasia School Adds Third Level to Building

At the Upper Matasia School we have added a third level to the Secondary School building which now accommodates Grades 9 through 12, and have added a science room and more dormitory space.

Micro-Loan Members Back in Business

And many of  the micro-loan program members in Mathare Valley are now back in business after the disruption last year. The program now has over 120 active loans averaging $100 each, with a loss rate of less than 1%.

Many thanks to all our supporters who make this progress possible! Your generous help is empowering so many children, youth and adults to change their lives for the better in so many ways!

Kevin Corcoran

December 15th 2006

Better news from the Mathare Valley slum in Nairobi, Kenya

It is just a month since we heard the very sad news that our Head Start School and almost 20 houses belonging to members of the Maji Mazuri micro business loan program had burned down during a violent confrontation between two rival gangs in the Mathare Valley slum where we operate. 10 people were killed, including one of our members, and many injured. Most of the small businesses funded by the micro loan program were looted and some were burned down.

In order to help feed, shelter  and clothe the homeless and help rebuild, Maji Mazuri USA launched an Emergency Relief Fund appeal with $30,000 as our initial target. I am delighted to be able to tell you that within 3 weeks we had met our target, thanks in part to generous gifts from members of several Atlanta churches, and as from as far afield as England and Western Canada.

Special thanks go to members of the following churches in the Atlanta area:

• Dunwoody United Methodist
• Mount Pisgah United Methodist
• St. Luke’s Presbyterian
• St. Patrick’s Episcopal.

With these funds we were have been able to help those most in need. We have fed and clothed those who lost everything, and we quickly found temporary accommodation to get the little children from the Head Start program back into some familiar routine as soon as possible, after all the traumas they had been through. People are now drifting back to what is left of their homes and livelihoods and the situation is calm, if still very tense.

We plan to build a new school just on the edge of the slum, where we feel it will be less vulnerable to civil unrest, but still be within easy walking distance of the children’s homes.

We thank every person who contributed to our Emergency Relief Fund appeal, and those who continue to support us through their gifts and by sponsoring the children in our care.

Kevin Corcoran

November 16th 2006

Tragedy Strikes in the Mathare Valley – several killed, many injured, 100s are homeless. Maji Mazuri USA launches an appeal for an Emergency Relief Fund.

Last week, fire erupted in the Mathare Valley slum in Nairobi, where Maji Mazuri has several of its programs, and destroyed hundreds of homes and small businesses and the Maji Mazuri Head Start School.

According to the New York Times and the local Kenyan press, violence exploded when two rival gangs fought over control of the illegal alcohol brewing business in the Valley. At least 7 people were killed and many injured. Homes and businesses were torched, and the population fled. The Valley is still largely empty, and under nightly curfew.

The toll on our Maji Mazuri community has been heavy:

• One micro loan program member was shot and killed, and another died of a heart attack

• The Head Start School was totally destroyed, with all its contents

• 18 micro loan members lost their homes, and many more lost their businesses

• Almost all of the micro loan members are without an income, for at least the next several weeks, as they cannot yet return to the Mathare Valley and most have lost their stocks to the fire and to looters. Maji Mazuri USA is today launching an appeal for donations to an Emergency Relief Fund to raise and initial $30,000 so that we can

• Provide food, clothing and emergency shelter to the homeless, and help them to rebuild their little houses when it is safe to do so

• Support the micro loan members for the next few weeks as they try to reestablish their businesses

• Get the Head Start School back into operation as soon as possible in rented accommodation. Please be generous and make a donation to the Emergency Relief Fund. You can make a donation right now via the Internet, or send a check made payable to Maji Mazuri USA, marked ‘Emergency’ to us at 4783 Summerset Lane, Atlanta, Georgia 30338, USA.

August 14, 2006

In the last 3 months we have made a lot of progress at Maji Mazuri.

The Sponsorship Program Continues To Expand

We now have 106 children and young people who have sponsors and can therefore stay in school, and receive a healthy diet and a roof over their heads. However, on our trips to Maji Mazuri this summer, we have identified 170 more children and young people who need sponsors too! Please think about this and go to the page on sponsorship if you can help.

About 30 of these are teenagers who need to go to a boarding high school, at a monthly cost of $70. Since some people find a commitment of $70 every month rather high we have created a dual sponsorship program: one donor sends $35 per month to cover the cost of tuition, and another sends $35 to cover all other expenses – food, housing, books, uniform and so on.

So now there are three options for sponsorship: $30 per month for a younger child; $70 per month fully supports a teenager at boarding high school; and $35 per month meets half the needs of a teenager at boarding school.

More Children Served In The Mathare Valley Slum

This year we added Grade 1 to our Head Start school, building on the success of the Nursery and Pre-K programs. There are over 60 little children in the school, mostly sons and daughters of the women and men in our micro loan scheme. They are being prepared to enter the state school system, and they get a nutritious meal every day at school.

We have launched a Teenz Group, which gives the young teens somewhere safe to go on weekends and where they learn music, dance, acting and art. About 25 children are coming every Saturday and Sunday to the program, which is run by a Kenyan volunteer with help from international volunteers.

Youth Group Opens Its Office

With substantial help from St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, and from the Duara charity in the Netherlands, the Youth Group has rented and equipped a small office right on the edge of the Mathare Valley slum district. They have established a small library, installed electricity and are setting up a cyber café which will act as a local training center for Internet and computer skills, and will provide a source of income.

The Children's Center Is Bigger Than Ever!

The Maji Mazuri Children’s Center focuses on mentally and physically handicapped children , many of whom are also orphans. We now have 49 children at the Center, and it was getting pretty crowded! However, thanks in large measure to donations from Norway, we have been able to put a third floor on to the building – providing more school rooms and more dormitories for the children.

The Kiserian School Is Growing Again

Last year enrollment at our Kiserian school dropped as Maasai families migrated away in the search for pastures during one of Kenya’s worst droughts in recent memory. This year the rains were good, and our borehole is now capable of watering many cattle. Enrollment is up – to 93 children!

Meanwhile, we have decided to put another story on our kitchen/dining room building, to provide a dormitory for children who live too far from the school to walk each day. Thanks to a generous donation from a Florida based foundation, we have funded about half of the cost involved. In the last month we have put a roof on the structure, and the next steps are to start fitting windows and installing electricity, toilets and plumbing, and kitchen equipment.

The Kiserian Farm Adds More Cultivation Under Irrigation

We now have almost 5 acres of irrigated land – using a mix of sprinklers and hoses – and have several full time farm workers. A further 5 acres is ready to irrigate, once we can raise the funds for the pipe and equipment. We are harvesting tomatoes, sweet peppers, spinach, maize, beans and bananas for the children to eat, and for sale in local markets.

Upper Matasia School Adds Grade Eleven

Our primary (elementary) school at Upper Matasia caters for children from Nursery through Grade 8, and has been growing steadily. There are 92 children, of whom we have sponsors for 20. The secondary (high) school, launched 3 years ago, has opened up Grade 11, and now has 80 pupils, of whom 23 are sponsored. Next January the new school year starts and we shall have our first Grade 12 group.

International Volunteers Are Making A Great Contribution

Maji Mazuri is blessed with a growing flow of young women and men who come for two or four or more months to work at Maji Mazuri. Some bring skills in teaching and special education, or medicine and nursing, or practical craftsmanship, or business, or social work. They all bring enthusiasm, commitment and compassion and hard work. This year we have had volunteers from Austria, Britain, Canada, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Portugal and the US.

The Mission Trips Keep Coming!

In July, two churches in the Atlanta area – Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church of Alpharetta, and St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church in Dunwoody – made trips to Maji Mazuri and spent time visiting all the projects, teaching, painting classrooms, taking the children out and putting on entertainments for them.

These visits are very worthwhile! The children and staff love to get visitors who show them how much the rest of the world cares about their lives. The visitors are very touched and inspired by what they see and come home and tell lots of their family and friends about some of the good things that are happening in Africa!

Next year we hope that at least 4 local churches will be making mission trips to Maji Mazuri.

Kevin Corcoran
President, Maji Mazuri USA

December 14, 2005

In the last 3 months we have made a lot of progress at Maji Mazuri.

The Sponsorship Program Expands

We now have 93 children and young people who have sponsors and can therefore stay in school, and receive a nutritious diet and a roof over their heads. However, on our trips to Maji Mazuri this summer and fall, we have identified 185 more children and young people who need sponsors too!

About 50 of these are teenagers who need to go to a boarding high school, at a monthly cost of $70. Since some people find a commitment of $70 every month rather high we have created a dual sponsorship program: one donor sends $35 per month to cover the cost of tuition, and another sends $35 to cover all other expenses – food, housing, books, uniform and so on.

So now there are three options for sponsorship: $30 per month for a younger child; $70 per month fully supports a teenager at boarding high school; and $35 per month meets half the needs of a teenager at boarding school.

The Children's Fund Is Launched!

Some of our children have special needs – hospital visits, physical therapy, wheelchairs or other equipment – and a regular sponsorship does not cover these costs. So we have set up the Children’s Fund to which any one can make a donation, large or small, which will provide resources for the Maji Mazuri team in Kenya, to use as the needs arise. Indeed, without Maji Mazuri, many of these children would not survive.

Our hope is that those people who cannot make a long term commitment to sponsor a child will feel able to make a donation to the Children’s Fund. Checks should be made out to Maji Mazuri USA and mailed to us at 4783, Summerset Lane, Atlanta, Georgia 30338, USA. 

100% of the money we raise in sponsorships and with the Children’s Fund goes directly to Maji Mazuri in Kenya. In both Kenya and here in the US we prepare annual audited financial reports, and Maji Mazuri USA is recognized by the IRS as a non profit company so all donations are tax deductible.

Please take a little time – in this busy Holiday Season – to consider our plea for help! 

Crops Are Being Harvested At The Farm In Kiserian

Our first crops under irrigation have done well! The children are eating vegetables from the farm, and we have sold our first cases of tomatoes and spinach to the local market. The banana trees should be producing fruit in the next two months, and tree planting continues. 

Atlanta Firm Donates $5,000 For The Kitchen/Dining Room Building At The Kiserian School!

The floor has been poured and the walls built. The next phase for the new kitchen/dining room building is to build the roof. Then we will be able to install equipment and furniture. Thanks to a generous donation of $5,000 from the Atlanta Architectural firm of Corcoran Ota, the roof work can be completed in the next couple of months. 

St. Patrick's Church In Atlanta Visits Maji Mazuri In Kenya

In October, 10 members of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, Atlanta, spent a busy and moving week together with Wanjiku Kironyo and her marvelously dedicated team. It is hard to express the emotional and spiritual uplift that the group all felt at each of the projects visited – spending time with the children in the Mathare Valley head start school, or at the Children’s Home, or in the elementary and high schools; watching the Youth Group perform a stunning short play about a young man bereaved of the love of his life through AIDS; taking the disabled children to the park and boating pond for a picnic (see photo); and meeting some of the small business entrepreneurs whose lives have been transformed because of the funds St. Patrick’s has sent to the micro-loan scheme.

St. Paul's Anglican Church In Edmonton Alberta Raises Over $6,750!

Some of Maji Mazuri’s earliest supporters in North America come from Alberta Canada. In the last couple of weeks St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Edmonton, Alberta has raised over $6,750 for Maji Mazuri in a tea and bake sale, and by selling crafts and jewelry made by members of the Maji Mazuri family.

Youth Group Obtains Space For An Office And Internet Cafe

Thanks to the generous support of St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, the Youth Group were able to rent space in a safe location for a small office and to open an internet café – just yards from the Mathare Valley slum. They also plan to install a small library. This will be a safe place for them to meet, and keep their equipment and books.

Duara In The Netherlands Funds Youth Group Education Program

The Duara charity in the Netherlands, whose main purpose is to raise funds and send volunteers to Maji Mazuri, has raised the equivalent of US$3,000 for the Maji Mazuri Youth Group Education Fund. This will pay for youth to attend courses in business administration, electrical engineering, hairdressing and English literacy.

Thank you for taking time to learn more about our precious children and young people!

We wish you Happy Holidays and many blessings for 2006.

Kevin Corcoran
President, Maji Mazuri USA 

September 18, 2005

A lot of progress has been made at Maji Mazuri during the Summer!

80 Children And Young People Now Have Sponsors!

Since our child sponsorship program was launched in April, we have found sponsors for over 50 of the children and young people on the Maji Mazuri list. Together with 26 children sponsored through Crosscurrents International in Ohio, this means that nearly 80 now have sponsors. Our list has grown to 123 children and young people, so we need to find over 40 more sponsors! Please be one of the caring individuals who will help us to leave no one without a sponsor Click on this link to view the new Sponsorship page!

The Kiserian Farm Is Flourishing As More Irrigation Equipment Is Installed!

In the spring, a private foundation in the Netherlands awarded Maji Mazuri some $5,200 to pay for additional irrigation equipment at the Kiserian farm project. Already several acres of land have been irrigated, and installation of more equipment is happening right now. The farm is growing vegetables, corn, bananas and passion fruit. We are also planting trees that can be pruned for firewood without killing them.

A New Kitchen/Dining Room Complex Is Under Construction At The Kiserian School!

In June we received a grant of $15,000 from a private foundation in Florida to pay for the construction of a kitchen and dining room at the Kiserian school. Until now we have not been able to provide a hot lunch for the children, many of whom suffer from malnutrition. With clean water from the borehole, and fresh fruit and vegetables from our farm next to the school, we can have a major impact on the children's diet, and therefore on their health. Foundations have been poured and the walls are rising.

The Maji Mazuri Youth Group Is Planning A Center In The Heart Of Mathare Valley

Thanks to generous support from St. Luke's Presbyterian Church in Dunwoody, Georgia, and from some other donors, the Youth Group is actively working to build a center for their activities in the Mathare Valley slum district, where most of them are living.

The Micro Loan Program Is Expanding Its Scope

With the generous support of St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in Dunwoody, Georgia, the Micro Loan Program  in Mathare Valley is adding new members to the program, and making larger loans to members who have proved their credit worthiness.

Atlanta Churches Visit Maji Mazuri

This summer two churches sent missions to Nairobi to visit and work with Wanjiku Kironyo and the Maji Mazuri team: St. Luke's Presbyterian Church went in June and Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church, from Alpharetta, Georgia, in July. Both teams were moved and inspired by their experiences and a new surge of support for Maji Mazuri's work can be seen in both congregations, with fund raising initiatives and new sponsors coming forward.

Next month, St. Patrick's Episcopal Church is sending 10 members out to Kenya, which will be the second group to visit Maji Mazuri from this church in the last 15 months. 

Young American Volunteers Living And Working At Maji Mazuri

During 2004 and 2005 we have had 4 young adults from Georgia who have traveled to Africa to spend anywhere from two to twelve months living and working with Maji Mazuri in Kenya. Next month, a fifth young person will go out to spend at least three months with the program. These young people do wonderful work, interacting marvelously with the Maji Mazuri Youth Group members, with the children, and with the Maji Mazuri team. 

The volunteers come back truly inspired by what they have seen and experienced. Some have called their stay 'life changing'. They have a new understanding and compassion for the challenges that people - especially children and women - face in the Third World.

June 1, 2005

This has been a very busy two months at Maji Mazuri, with lots of exciting developments:

Child Sponsorship Program Launched!

Our child sponsorship program has been launched and we have already found sponsors for 32 of the 91 children and young adults on our list. Please be one of the caring individuals who sponsor the remaining 59.

Click on this link to view the new Sponsorship page!

Private Foundation Funds Irrigation Project

A private foundation in the Netherlands has awarded Maji Mazuri some $5,200 to pay for additional irrigation equipment at the Kiserian farm project. This will enable us to add several acres of land to our thriving vegetable farm.

Maji Mazuri USA Receives IRS Approval

Maji Mazuri USA Inc. has been approved by the Inland Revenue Service as a public charity – a 501 (c) (3) non profit company – and is also registered in the State of Georgia as a domestic non profit company. We are now authorized to issue tax receipts for the donations we receive.

Maji Mazuri USA, Inc. Board Established

Our Board has had its first meeting and seven directors were elected: