In this month's issue

  •     Kew Riverside Primary School
  •     St Benedict's Donations
  •     Octopuses, Octopi, or Octopodes
  •     Kitchen Rebuilds
  •     Taking Football to Africa
  •     Cups into Pots
  •     The Health and Hygiene Programme

Kew Riverside Primary School

After Kew Riverside Primary School donated a large number of books to Porridge and Rice, Ken addressed pupils and teachers to explain the work of the charity enabling some of the poorest children living in the Nairobi slums to obtain an education.

A big thank you to the pupils and staff of Kew Riverside Primary School for their support. Please remember that Porridge and Rice. still needs more books, any books, so continue collecting and donating.

St Benedict's Donations

St Benedict's continues to be very generous to Porridge and Rice. The Junior and Senior school have donated everything from furniture to books to the charity.

A big thank you to schools, staff and pupils alike, for helping to make the work of the charity possible. Your generosity is really appreciated.

Octopuses, Octopi, or Octopodes

Many people use octopuses as the plural for octopus, and some suggest octopi (the Latin plural) but strickly speaking both are wrong. The word octopus comes from Greek which means that the plural is octopodes.

Whatever plural you select, they are very cute, and already proving popular with Emma having sold 10 already. It looks very much like Emma will be crocheting octopodes for a long time hence. Anyone care to lend a helping hand?

Kitchen Rebuilds

The kitchens at Porridge and Rice schools are in urgent need of refurbishment, and in some cases, complete rebuidling. The Feeding and Nutrition programme could not have functioned with them, but the time has come to give them some serious attention.

The kitchen at Heri Junior is, for example, far too small to cook for over 600 pupils. In addition, it is hard to breath when the fire is lit as the room fills quickly with smoke. Not only does the school need a larger kitchen but it also needs to be converted to use gas. It also needs electricity for a fridge and hot water as well as much better lighting.

The kitchen at each school has its own problems but one thing is shared by all of them, namely, they need work. The charity will be working to raise money and apply for grants this year to do the required work.

Taking Football to Africa

On 20 February, the RAF team running 'Taking Football to Africa' delivered large amounts of football kit and equipment to Porridge and Rice partner schools.

These donations bring huge delight to the schools and help to enable some of the world's poorest children to experience some of the extras that many in the West take for granted.

Porridge and Rice appreciates the continued support of organisations like 'Taking Football to Africa'.

Cups into Pots

Because the charity does not have any paid staff in the UK, it depends on volunteers like Mohit, to achieve its goals.

The charity has a growing number of used plastic cups collected by Richmond Bridge Club to be used as pots but before seeds or seedlings can be planted in them, they need holes for drainage.

Mohit is just one of the many volunteers that has given his time to help with making holes in the bottom of the donated plastic cups.

For full details of the plants that the charity will have for sale, please visit plants for sale.

The Health and Hygiene Programme

People in the slums buy their water in containers of 10 to 20 litres from vendors with a bicycle or a cart. The source of the water is unknown and the cost is around 4 times the cost of Nairobi city water.

The first goal of the Health and Hygiene programme was to provide schools with affordable clean water, so started by putting in a 5000 litre tank and buying water from certified sources. All Porridge and Rice partner schools now have their own tank, and are able to source clean, affordable water.

The programme then broadened as more and more issues were identified to include sanitary pads for girls and female staff, bleach to disinfect facilities, treating worms and widespread ailments like fungal infections, training on nutrition, cleaning and first aid, and reducing unhealthy eating habits.

Not only does illness keep children from school but with limited access to quality medical care, simple illnesses like diarrhoea, frequently lead to death for the inhabitants of the Nairobi slums. The overarching goal of the Heath and Hygiene programme is to improve the health of the children not just to ensure survival but to allow pupils to develop their maximum cognitive potential. It enables Porridge and Rice to contribute to the acheivement of the 3rd Sustainable Development goal which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Emma and Jude 2015

Jude and Emma enjoy a smile and a soda while in the Nairobi slums, volunteering at Porridge and Rice partner schools.

Martin does breakfast

Martin on his first trip to Kenya lends a helping hand wherever needed from serving breakfast to repairing laptops.