Blessings for Bethsaida & Soweto Slum
Donation protected
Hello all! My name is Kayla Recck. Thank you for clicking on Blessings for Bethsaida! This is somewhat of a lengthy message, but I encourage you to take this ride with me. Some of you may have seen my personal GoFundMe page last year as I was fundraising for my volunteer trip to Kenya. I went to Kenya in December 2013 and spent three weeks volunteering in Bethsaida Children's Centre loacated in Soweto Slum, Kenya. Now, I am dedicated to helping them, as well as the community as a whole long term. The orphanage consisted of 28 children ranging from 1-15 years old. The orphanage is run by Mama Fidellis and her daughter, Paulina. The orphanage is extremely small; with accumulative living sqft around 700. The structure of the orphanage is made out of jagged tin and wood. The floors are cracked and damaged, leading the children to constantly get hurt while "playing". There is a bathroom that consists of two (2) six foot holes in the ground. These "toilets" are dangerous, as there are no toilet seats preventing children from falling in and down the hole. Children have fallen in and gotten extremely hurt. The space is so limited, that the kids are all jammed into one small area to engage in activities. There is one children bedroom that has three "full size" wooden boards with blankets that sleeps up to ten children per platform. The wooden platforms are held up by large rocks. There is no comfort or space for the children to sleep adequately. Their "garbage" is the ground. They have no running water or electricity.
I have to tell you, my life has changed. My perspectives on life have done a complete 360. Every morning while in Kenya I walked through this Slum, talking to the locals and into the doors of Bethsaida Children's Centre with the anticipation of getting high-fives, hugs, kisses and bright, bright smiles.I often found myself sitting in bed at night wondering, "how do they live like this?", "why is this ok?", and "what can I do to help?". While there, myself and two other volunteers were able to provide this centre with much needed items such as, cookware, eating utensils, basins, soap, snacks, hygeine items and kilos of food. We also printed a bunch of pictures to remind them of happy times. And of course, provided a ton of endless love. However, I learned a lot about how the country runs, and there are some very concerning issues when it comes to QUALITY EDUCATION.
Ok, let me get to the purpose of this GoFundMe page:
In Kenya, children have to pay to go to school out of pocket directly. Unlike America, where we pay taxes into the school systems, the families in Kenya are completely responsible for the fees on their own. Not to mention, the principals of the schools pocket the money that these very underprivelages families pay. The unemployment rate is 50% in Kenya, so how can families afford to pay 30,000 shillings per year to send their children to school? With the financial burdens on families, it's close to impossible to send a child to school. The dropout rates for children whom are in 6th + grade is extremely high.
I am in graduate school at Springfield College. As a graduation requirement, we are to build an approved, research proven, sustainable and effective project that targets and aids a social issue. Having this academic opportunity along side of my personal ambitions and visions, my goal is to build a secondary school in Soweto Slum that will accomodate all children who have completed the 5th grade. I hope to build this school and recruit volunteers yearly to dedicate 6 months of their time to teaching in the school. However, in order to successfuly complete my graduation requirement, as well as get this school project going, I need the financial stability and sponsorship to do so.
*I am in search for sustainable sponsors. Businesses that would so graciously sponsor me in building this school in Soweto Slum, Kenya. Sponsorships that would build a new school that would accomodate children in this very vulnerable community. Creating a Non-Profit Organization is something I plan to do in the future. I will be under the Institutional Review Board as well. I know that is an amitious goal, but I'm passionate about providing an affordable, quality and stimulating learning enviornment for the children whom so desperately need it*
At Bethsaida, particularly, the older children are unable to attend school, as the school fees are too expensive. A quality education should be available for all children everywhere. Right now there are thousands of children without a quality education, all because their too poor to attend. Does this seem right to you? Not only do they have to beg for food every day, walk, fetch, and pay for dirty water three times a week, and live with disease because they don't have the funds for proper medical treatment, but they have to give up their education because money won't allow them to pursue it. There has to be a change, and I am 100% comitted to making that change happen. I have dedicated a big portion of my life to impacting the living conditions as a whole to in the most positive way.
Also, outside of the sponsorship and building od the school, I am collecting funds to help pay for current school fees (so the older boys at Bethsaida can get back into school) and medical treatments as well as dental and personal hygeine prodcuts, purifying water tablets, first aid materials, children vitamins and shoes. Bethsaida needs YOUR blessings. Just recently, Typhoid, parasites, Scabies and Pneumonia have targeted the children at Bethsaida. The medical treatment is very expensive, and unfortunatley maintaining their health longterm is close to impossible. The water that they are exposed to and forced to consume is filled with sewer bacterias, leading them to have parasites.
I could ask for ANYTHING, it would be to have your blessing in making change in this community. I hope that even in the smallest way, I have inspired YOU to make a difference in the lives of wonderful children in Kenya. By giving just a small donation, you could contribute to vital antibiotics and medical treatments for one child or maybe even more. You can aid in sending a child to school to get the education that every child deserves to have, a new pair of shoes, a meal, a text book, or even just a new coloring book that I KNOW will make them smile. Who knows, together we could raise enough to build the community a brand new school. I need your help to best help them. Don't you think they deserve it?
"We have two hands - one for helping ourselves and one for helping others".
For much more information or If you wish to send an offline donation (as this site does take a percentage of donations) or donate goods, please feel free to e-mail me directly at
[email redacted]
and/or Facebook at
www.facebook.com/kayla.marie.7355
Please visit Bethsaida's Facebook page @
www.facebook.com/bethsaidachildrencentre
and www.facebook.com/blessingsforbethsaida
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I have to tell you, my life has changed. My perspectives on life have done a complete 360. Every morning while in Kenya I walked through this Slum, talking to the locals and into the doors of Bethsaida Children's Centre with the anticipation of getting high-fives, hugs, kisses and bright, bright smiles.I often found myself sitting in bed at night wondering, "how do they live like this?", "why is this ok?", and "what can I do to help?". While there, myself and two other volunteers were able to provide this centre with much needed items such as, cookware, eating utensils, basins, soap, snacks, hygeine items and kilos of food. We also printed a bunch of pictures to remind them of happy times. And of course, provided a ton of endless love. However, I learned a lot about how the country runs, and there are some very concerning issues when it comes to QUALITY EDUCATION.
Ok, let me get to the purpose of this GoFundMe page:
In Kenya, children have to pay to go to school out of pocket directly. Unlike America, where we pay taxes into the school systems, the families in Kenya are completely responsible for the fees on their own. Not to mention, the principals of the schools pocket the money that these very underprivelages families pay. The unemployment rate is 50% in Kenya, so how can families afford to pay 30,000 shillings per year to send their children to school? With the financial burdens on families, it's close to impossible to send a child to school. The dropout rates for children whom are in 6th + grade is extremely high.
I am in graduate school at Springfield College. As a graduation requirement, we are to build an approved, research proven, sustainable and effective project that targets and aids a social issue. Having this academic opportunity along side of my personal ambitions and visions, my goal is to build a secondary school in Soweto Slum that will accomodate all children who have completed the 5th grade. I hope to build this school and recruit volunteers yearly to dedicate 6 months of their time to teaching in the school. However, in order to successfuly complete my graduation requirement, as well as get this school project going, I need the financial stability and sponsorship to do so.
*I am in search for sustainable sponsors. Businesses that would so graciously sponsor me in building this school in Soweto Slum, Kenya. Sponsorships that would build a new school that would accomodate children in this very vulnerable community. Creating a Non-Profit Organization is something I plan to do in the future. I will be under the Institutional Review Board as well. I know that is an amitious goal, but I'm passionate about providing an affordable, quality and stimulating learning enviornment for the children whom so desperately need it*
At Bethsaida, particularly, the older children are unable to attend school, as the school fees are too expensive. A quality education should be available for all children everywhere. Right now there are thousands of children without a quality education, all because their too poor to attend. Does this seem right to you? Not only do they have to beg for food every day, walk, fetch, and pay for dirty water three times a week, and live with disease because they don't have the funds for proper medical treatment, but they have to give up their education because money won't allow them to pursue it. There has to be a change, and I am 100% comitted to making that change happen. I have dedicated a big portion of my life to impacting the living conditions as a whole to in the most positive way.
Also, outside of the sponsorship and building od the school, I am collecting funds to help pay for current school fees (so the older boys at Bethsaida can get back into school) and medical treatments as well as dental and personal hygeine prodcuts, purifying water tablets, first aid materials, children vitamins and shoes. Bethsaida needs YOUR blessings. Just recently, Typhoid, parasites, Scabies and Pneumonia have targeted the children at Bethsaida. The medical treatment is very expensive, and unfortunatley maintaining their health longterm is close to impossible. The water that they are exposed to and forced to consume is filled with sewer bacterias, leading them to have parasites.
I could ask for ANYTHING, it would be to have your blessing in making change in this community. I hope that even in the smallest way, I have inspired YOU to make a difference in the lives of wonderful children in Kenya. By giving just a small donation, you could contribute to vital antibiotics and medical treatments for one child or maybe even more. You can aid in sending a child to school to get the education that every child deserves to have, a new pair of shoes, a meal, a text book, or even just a new coloring book that I KNOW will make them smile. Who knows, together we could raise enough to build the community a brand new school. I need your help to best help them. Don't you think they deserve it?
"We have two hands - one for helping ourselves and one for helping others".
For much more information or If you wish to send an offline donation (as this site does take a percentage of donations) or donate goods, please feel free to e-mail me directly at
[email redacted]
and/or Facebook at
www.facebook.com/kayla.marie.7355
Please visit Bethsaida's Facebook page @
www.facebook.com/bethsaidachildrencentre
and www.facebook.com/blessingsforbethsaida
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Organizer
Kayla Marie
Organizer
Charleston, SC