Hand in Hand

Success at Kiraracha

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:17:54 +0000

Kiraracha School are celebrating as the first students to take their standard 7 exams from the school have achieved great results. The school came 1st in the area in achievement. The challenge for the students now is to get placements into secondary school.

As the building of further classrooms goes on, the teachers will be motivated to continue their good work with their current students. Will these students opposite who are currently in the pre-primary be able to achieve such good results? Let's prayer that the success of the former students will inspire them to to do well.

Latest news from Mike and Charlotte

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:55:42 +0000

Click here to read more about Mike and Charlotte's time in Kenya. The newsletter was written just before Christmas and gives an update of their time up until then.

Christmas comes early in Ecuador

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:57:01 +0000

Christmas has come early in Ecuador for many of the children that Dave and Ana have contact through the project of Mano y Mano.

This week they have been visiting local schools to distribute Christmas gifts and bring the message of Christmas. As you can see from the photo the children were very happy with their gifts.

Next week Dave and Ana are organising further celebrations at the project for the chidren that they regularly work with. They are also looking forward to a group from Inca Link visiting them for a few days at the end of December to do some practical work as well as putting on a programme for the children.

Dave and Ana say a big thank you to everyone for their Christmas wishes and support during 2011.

Married life begins in Kenya...

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:25:42 +0000

Well it's not some people’s idea of a honeymoon but for Mike and Charlotte they have decided to start their married life visiting some our projects in Kenya. They hope to be able to spend quality time with the children and assist in whatever way they can. Last week their yearlong adventure began. Read more about their first week at Daylove in their first newsletter.

Maize distributed to needy families

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:37:19 +0000

Yesterday Esther was pleased to be able to witness the distribution of some maize to needy families in Gachoka, Eastern Kenya.This maize was purchased by Hand in Hand as a result of people responding to the desperate situation that many families are facing.These families have been struggling due to the lack of rains that the country has experienced for over a year. Fortunately the rain has fallen recently and the people are hopeful that it will continue so that their crops may produce a good harvest and they will be able to provide for their own families.

Gifts that make a world of difference

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:47:07 +0000

This year's Gift Catalogue is now available. Gifts given from last year's catalogue totalled over £5,000. This amount given through the various gifts to the projects we support really have made a significant difference to those who have benefitted. From the child that now has a new pair of shoes protecting their feet as they walk to school and the grandparent who has a cow providing milk for their family as well as a little extra income, THANK YOU.

If you would like to be a part of making that 'world of difference,' look at this year's catalogue and place an order.

KEGS team 2011 returns

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 14:34:00 +0100

The KEGS team 2011 returning from Kenya all said they had what could be described as 'a trip of a lifetime.'

Experiencing the culture, country and people was something not to be forgotten. The first few days were spent at New Hope Children's centre where the students were amazed at the amount Anne managed to achieve with not only the children in her care at the orphanage but also in the wider community especially amongst the grandmothers.

After 2 days with Anne the team moved on to Kericho, stopping at Centre of Hope on the way to spend time with some of Mogonjet past students who were currently studying at the centre. On day 4 Mogonjet Students overwhelmed the KEGS group with their greeting. The school were busy with exams when the team arrived but not wanting to waste any time the team set about the task of painting some of the outside of the school buildings despite hot weather conditions. The remaining days were mostly spent with the secondary school students taking some varied lessons and broadening some of their horizons.

Overall the KEGS team found happiness in the people they met despite some of their difficult circumstances. The team came back inspired to raise further funds to enable the school to achieve more and with the hope that one day they would be able to return.

New Hope inspires alternative stag 'do'

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:06:36 +0100

A couple of years ago Carl Wright and his now fiance visited New Hope Children's Orphanage. They were so inspired by the work that Anne Chege was achieving there that Carl has decided to arrange a Stag 'do' with a difference. Along with 16 friends he will be cycling 100 miles overnight from Bristol to Exmouth. When asked "why?" His reply was " to show that not all the younger generation don't care and are only interested in drinking!" Their target is to raise £10,000 which will go a long way in helping the centre care for the children. If you would like to back Carl in his efforts visit www.justgiving.com/bristol-to-exmouth-with-wrighty. Once he has recovered Carl will be getting married in Kenya in September.

To find out more about Carl and the other cyclists visit www.bristol-to-exmouth.moonfruit.com

Cheryl is half way through her six month trip

Tue, 10 May 2011 15:09:04 +0100

Back in February Cheryl Vickery set off for Kenya to re-visit those that she now calls her second family. Over the last couple of months she has been devoting her time between the Daylove Children's Centre and New Hope Children's Centre near Nairobi. At weekends she spends time with the children of New Hope being their sister and friend. During the week she negotiates the matatu journey to get to Daylove where she helps in the pre-primary class and in the evenings spends time with the children from the night shelter. She is enjoying meeting up with other volunteers that she has met on previous visits as well as knowing that she is inputting valuable time into the lives of children that have come from many difficult circumstances. Look out on our facebook page for snippets of information from her time in Kenya.

Sponsor Dave Shore to Shore 4 Ecuador

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 13:22:19 +0100

Dave Garlick is getting back on his bike again from 27th May - 5th June 2011 as he does another Lands End to John O'Groats bike ride raising money for the Mano y Mano in Ecuador.If you would like to join Dave and others on the ride along the way contact anaydave@hotmail.co.uk or Pete Davison pete.davison@tiscali.co.uk 01255 678620.

To sponsor Dave either send a donation to Hand in Hand marked for Ecuador or donate by clicking here.

Joining Hands Together Africa Registered

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:48:52 +0100

As part of our strategic plan to improve support for our partner projects in East Africa and give greater accountability to Hand in Hand, last year we employed Esther Gathogo as our East Africa representative. In order to operate effectively within the country we needed to register as a Non Government Organisation(NGO) there. Unfortunately we could not use the name Hand in Hand as there is already another charity operating under that name in Kenya. So a new name was needed. Joining Hands Together Africa was the outcome of our thinking. Maybe not the catchiest name but hopefully conveys some of the thinking behind our work.

The process of registering a charity is not straight forward any where but in Kenya it seems to have taken forever. However nearly a year later we have an official certificate to say we are registered. We hope this means that over time we will be able to access other resources within Kenya and be able to network within the country with other organisations for the benefit of our project partners.

Our base is in the heart of Nairobi. A supportive Kenyan Business has provided office space at a substantially reduced rate in this prime location. Thank you Peter for your generosity and support in so many ways.

Spring Newsletter Available!

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:39:12 +0100

The latest edition of our quarterly Newsletter is now available. It features important information regarding new developments with CBC as well as updates on many of our projects. It is a great way to keep up with the work of our project partners and how your support is helping them.

Download a copy here or if you would like a copy sent please phone Sue on 01245 421177 or use the GET IN TOUCH form and provides us with your postal address.

A successful visit

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:52:35 +0000

Sue returns from a successful visit to kenya and Uganda.

The aim of the visit was to understand some of our project partners better, put faces to names, visit a couple of new projects and spend some time with Esther, our East Africa Development Manager.

As always the children at the various projects were happy to welcome visitors with repetative cries of 'How are you?' The project leaders were grateful to be able to share what is happening and what needs to be done further. Everyone of the leaders wanted their thanks expressed to all their supporters who so lovingly give. The message echoed that your help is making a difference in the lives of those they work with.

The challenge now for me is how do we continue to raise the funds that are so needed in a climate where finances are stretched?

Watch out over the coming weeks for the website to be updated with facts and pictures from the various projects following my visit.

Bookkeeper Found

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 14:52:43 +0000

We are pleased to announce that we have now engaged the services of Mike Duffy to meet our bookkeeping requirements.

We welcome Mike on board and hope that he will enjoy his time working with us.

Clive returns with a team from Kenya

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:39:39 +0000

Clive has just returned from his last official team visit to Kenya. A team of 8 were working at the Namrata Shah Orphanage and with Planting Faith Ministries.

The team managed to paint the newly constructed kitchen, erect a fence around one of the fields, assist with some agricultural work on the demonstration farm as well as spending time with the children from the orphanage. Visits were made to some of the beneficiaries of the TOGs programme which has now donated over 30 cows during the last 3 years. A worthwhile and rewarding trip.

Sue returns from Ecuador

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 16:08:37 +0000

Sue has just had the privilege of visiting Dave and Ana in Ecuador at Mano y Mano. It was great to see first hand all of the work that they are involved in. The support education programme that they are running for 7-14 year olds is benefiting 25 children at present providing them with a helathy meal and lots of interactive activities to support their education.

Dave and Ana work really hard and face many daily frutrations but they are determined to keep going as they can see the benefit in the lives of the children they work with. Please pray especially for the need of a primary teacher to support them in this work.

Mogonjet Team Returns

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:37:12 +0100

A team from Kegs local grammar school have just returned from the school at Mogonjet, Kenya. Everyone had another fantastic time experiencing Kenyan culture first hand and interacting with the students. One of the teachers writes ' Our connection with Mogonjet is one that is so worthwhile, for both schools.'

Staff change at HiH

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 15:25:39 +0000

The trustees of Hand in Hand are sorry to announce that Adam Blowes will be leaving the charity on 1st March. Adam has been instrumental in a number of developments during his two years with us, most notably overseeing the design and launch of our new website. He has also been instrumental in maintaining the quality of our publicity materials and raising awareness of our project partners in local schools. We hope that Adam will be blessed as he goes into the next chapter of his life.

All future enquiries to the office will now need to be addressed to our Development Manager, Clive Pickett, who is available on 01245 423839 or clive.pickett@hihand.org

Projects Benefit from your Generosity!

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:59:23 +0000

Thanks to your incredible generosity this Christmas time our project partners will have a great start to 2010! We have seen an amazing amount of support for all of the projects and items listed in our Gift Catalogue, so much so that every item has been purchased more than once.

Many of our supporters have sent gifts to their loved ones or have just bought something that caught their attention as a way to donate to the work of our project partners.

Thank you from us all at Hand in Hand!

Please remember though that the catalogue isnt just for Christmas presents, it is great for Birthdays, Anniversaries, Thank Yous or to make a donation to one of our project partners by purchasing something they so vitally need.