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Our latest newsletter (May 2010)
is now available to download from the News
Page.
Jill Simpson MBE

Sadly Jill passed away in October 2009. She was the founder and driving force behind Mji wa Neema and Saidia, as well as other projects helping disadvantaged children in Kenya. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her, but her work will continue to bring hope to the children of Gilgil.
For our American supporters We now have a sister charity in the USA. You can give money for Saidia through The Orphan Support League, without having to worry about transferring money to the UK.
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Mji wa Neema
is Swahili for 'house of hope'.
We are a small UK based charity raising funds to support orphaned
children in and around Naivasha and Gilgil in Kenya, and specifically
to fund Saidia Children's Home and projects started by Jill Simpson MBE,
Teresa Wahito and Jane Kinuthia. Jill sadly passed away in October 2009 after a lifetime of good work, but Jane and Teresa continue to work tirelessly on behalf of AIDS orphans and other deprived
children in the area.
The first 'House of Hope' was
established in Naivasha, about fifty miles North of Nairobi. After two years it was taken over, and is now run by a committee of community members, with a trained social worker looking after the day to day running of the home Our original goal of creating a home that is run by the local community has been achieved, and our support is no longer required.
Our efforts now centre on Saidia
Children's Home in Gilgil, and other projects which improve the lives of AIDS orphans and other disadvantaged children in Gilgil and the surrounding area.
There is no social security net in
Kenya; the extended family is still very strong and orphaned children
would normally be taken in by an aunt or grannie. But kids with no
family are on their own, and today many families have lost the entire
parent generation to AIDS. The idea of 'charity', so normal in our
society, is a new idea in many third-world countries. One of our
fundamental aims is to create projects that will become independent of
outside aid, relying instead on a mix of self sufficiency and local
support. It is precarious, but if we can help at
this crucial time it will become sustainable in the long term. Small
amounts of money to us will go a long way for them - can you imagine
feeding a child on £10 a month in
the UK?
Mji wa Neema is registered as a
charity in the UK (No: 1099611). UK trustees and fund-raisers, and the
administration team in Kenya, all work on an entirely voluntary basis.
So we have no overheads in the UK, and every penny collected goes directly to the children. And because we support the projects directly, we know that the money we send is always used as intended.
We are funded entirely by private donations, so we are always looking for contributions, and particularly for people who would be willing to commit to a regular monthly payment to sponsor a child.
Please explore the rest of this site to find out a little more about
the various projects, and maybe make a small donation. (Following the
arrow at the bottom of each page will take you on a quick tour of the
site.)

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