Sewing Machine + Home Visits, part 2

Today we had another full day of kid visits scheduled. Of the 9 Osupuko kids we recently added for sponsorship, we had met with the families of four of them (see Home Visits, part 1). The remaining five (the younger ones) were today.

But we had a delivery to make first. When we spoke with Jennifer, the teacher of the Special Needs class at Osupuko, she mentioned that they would really like a sewing machine for the classroom. To teach new skills to the learners. Hopefully marketable ones. 

We immediately had one sponsor who stepped up to help with this. With the sewing machine in the van, we needed supplies, notions—all the stuff they would need to start learning.

We went to a store in Ngong for the materials. Above is the street where the store is located.

One other thing we purchased was backpacks for all 9 kids for book bags. We observed that they all appeared to need them, as well as uniforms and shoes. We got pretty good bags for $8 apiece.

Below, Benjamin and James with their new book bags.

We then delivered the sewing machine. The class was thrilled. Below are Claudia, Hannah, David, a girl whose name I didn’t get, Leia, and Jennifer.

The machine required quite a bit of setup and came with no instructions. Luckily, being a full-service nonprofit, we had brought a former professional tailor with us: team member and driver Thomas. He dove in, setting up the machine. Jennifer started videoing what he was doing so she’d know how to maintain the machine. 

Thomas got it set up and working. Over lunch, Hannah’s daughter, who I believe is in grade 1, came into the room. In short order, Thomas made the little girl a dress.

It will take time for the teachers to get up to speed on sewing, but then they can teach the class. For a while, Virginia can bring an experienced sewist/tailor with her when she comes to help with the learning process. We have a few mothers of sponsored kids who are skilled in this regard.

We then loaded all five of the kids up in the van with us. We were going to deliver each one to their home and have the visits. At one point, the group in the back all broke into song!

Our first stop was the hardest to find. We had to summon Agnes, another of our mothers in the area, to walk us to the house. It was not even close to a road. Thomas stayed in the van with the rest of the kids.

The path on our way to Felicita’s home, below. Agnes is leading.

Walking through the brush on our way, movement caught my eye. I spotted a dung beetle rolling his/her treasure home. I’d heard about these guys, but never seen one.

After a lengthy walk, we arrived at Felicita’s home. Her mother met us there. She lives there with her children. She is a single mom.

Their home is a bit larger than a lot we see. There are three rooms. In the picture below, there is a room behind the wood wall, and another one on the left.

Felicita’s mom is a bead jewelry maker, as is common in the area.

Above, Felicita is wearing a necklace that they gave to me. We each got a piece of jewelry.

Below are the two of them with some of the jewelry. She shared that she had been at the market the previous day trying to sell jewelry, but hadn’t sold anything. Hearing that, I bought another piece I didn’t need.

The next stop was an ad lib. Agnes informed us she had made tea for us. It would have been rude not to partake. 

Agnes took us on a path lined with prehistoric-looking plants to get to her home. We expected a dinosaur to come out any moment.

We asked Thomas to move the van to Agnes’s home, with now only four kids in tow. Agnes had prepared a meal large enough for the five Tuko Pamoja team members and all four kids, with leftovers for the family.

Agnes is an early success story for us. I’ve posted about her before. She was married at 14 to a 55-year-old man. He fathered three children with her: Abigael, Stephen, and Shaleen, all of whom are sponsored through Tuko Pamoja. He passed away. She has three younger kids as well from other fathers. 

Agnes makes some really nice jewelry. We have helped to sell some, from which she has got enough cash to buy a couple goats. So far, the sponsorship, including family support, has helped her to turn a corner. We will be keeping in touch to make sure her progress continues.

Part 3 of this report will have the rest of the kids’ home visits.