There's an Elephant in my kitchen ...

Many of you will know that I support Naning'Oi school in rural Kenya. But if you're new here, my names Sarah and I support a girl's rescue centre in the Maasai. We rescue girls from FGM and Child marriage, so they live at the school full time.

We have been blessed this year to raise enough funds to build a 1-acre shamba (farm garden) to grow grains, fruits and vegetables for the girls and up until last week they had grown a lot! They have harvested millet and sorghum, but tragedy struck over the weekend. A herd of elephants came to the shamba and ate almost all of the maize that they were soon to harvest, along with the sweet potatoes. Imagine waking up one morning to find all of your food for the next 3 months had been eaten ...

We are thankful that nobody was caught in a stamped or hurt and all of the girls are safe. But, we must now look at purchasing food for them for the next term (three months) while we look to replant the shamba, install beehives and a stronger fence.

It costs £3,000 to feed the entire school for a term so I am aiming to raise half of that, along with funds for the new fence with your help! You have never failed me before ...

It's also my birthday this month (16th of July) and so I am asking anyone who would like to wish me a happy birthday, to pop a donation here instead of buying a card or a gift. The girls at the school are as important to me as if they were my own children, and I know with the collective help of everyone we can ensure their food supply is provided.

If you're interested to know what we will be doing to help the elephants, for they too are in just as much need ... watch this space. The goal is to pump water from the school's borehole to a man-made watering hole far away from the school. Co-existing with elephants is a challenge, but a challenge we are ready to accomplish!

Thank you for your continued support,

Sarah & Naning'Oi