Dear friends and supporters of Maisha,

Happy new year 2022!  Everyone at Maisha would like to sincerely wish you all the best for this year and many more to come.
It has been a very difficult season for Maisha with the passing of Mama, the Covid situation and financial challenges, but we would like to keep you updated on all the latest news from the home. We remain confident that you will continue to support us through these troubled times and help us provide a brighter future for our children.

THE DEPARTURE OF A LEGEND
It has been a very sad and painful time for everyone at Maisha as we laid to rest Susan Wangari Chimba (Mama Maisha), the backbone of the family last July in the grounds of Maisha.  We are all still coming to terms with this great loss, but are confident that she is now in a better place, free from pain and that her wonderful legacy will live on at Maisha. The children have of course been deeply affected and their school grades have reflected that, but we trust that little by little, they will settle down, be able to process their grief in positive ways and make her proud by performing to their best ability.
We are now actively looking for an overseer for the home, but this process is going to take time and it is not going to be easy for somebody to step into Mama’s shoes and be accepted by the children and employees alike, so we are taking our time to ensure that the right person is found at the right time. For the time being, Beatrice and Florian are overseeing operations from Switzerland thanks to the latest technology which allows regular Zoom meetings with the employees and children. All financial transactions are currently being conducted from Switzerland including the payment of school fees, bills for the home, food etc. Beatrice has recently returned from a trip to the Maisha home where she was able to set up all these administrative matters and ensure that things continue to run efficiently and smoothly.




 

Children updates
 
Most of the Maisha children are now in colleges, secondary schools and some are on their way to becoming independent.Three of the Maisha children who have finished their studies are now  independent and living outside maisha home.They earn their own income and are faring well in life.We wish them all the best.The majority of the rest are in secondary school and also in colleges. Last year, Andrew Ouma joined university, Dennis started college and at the beginning of this year, Tracy joined a plant machine college.  We hope that those in secondary school will see their grades improve this term. Two of them will be sitting for their final exams in secondary school. Those in primary schools are working hard in their studies.
 
We also have started counselling classes for most of the children who are specifically struggling with the death of mama. We pray and hope that they will find peace within themselves.






 

COVID 19
Like everywhere else in the world, Kenya has been affected by Covid 19 and schools were closed in Kenya for a good part of 2020. Our students are now back in school, college and university but they are having to catch up on the curriculum that they missed and the Kenyan Government has shortened school holidays in order to do this and at the same time unfortunately increased school fees. We are grateful that so far the Maisha family has been protected from the virus and we have not had any positive cases at the home.






 

FARMING & AGRICULTURE
Maisha is continuing to expand its boundaries in farming and is becoming more and more self-sufficient. With new additions to our animal family, more room was needed and we have recently constructed housing for our piglets. The children helped with this and it became quite an educational project.  On a similar note, the Maisha farm is thriving and is currently abundant with seeds. Maisha is looking forward to being able to reap the harvest and enjoy the produce in due time, despite the current drought that is threatening the growth of crops throughout Kenya.



 

EDUCATION & FINANCIAL CHALLENGES

The Covid situation has not helped the finances of Maisha. We have seen a drop in donations and several sponsors have stopped their contributions due to the crisis. We are also having to meet ever increasing fees for further education. Our children are growing fast and the vast majority are now either at secondary school, college or university. Whereas the fees for primary school in Kenya are reasonable, as soon as a student gets passed this basic level of education, the fees soar as only the elite can access further education. We are committed to ensuring that our children get the best chance in life possible and believe that the key to their future success lies in their education. We want to bring our students as far as possible academically to allow them to become independent adults who can find jobs and provide for themselves and their future families. We have three students sitting for their secondary national examinations this year and we wish them every success as they prepare for these so that they may be able to access the university or college of their choice.
 
The Maisha car has reached the end of its life and we are currently trying to raise the necessary funds to purchase another second-hand car which we intend to import from Japan to lower costs. However, with prices in Kenya becoming increasingly similar to those in Europe, the estimated cost of a second-hand car that can transport a minimum of six children and shopping supplies for the home etc.,could be expensive


 

Gratitude

Finally we want to thank you all for your faithful help and support. Last year during festive season the neighbours surrounding maisha donated food items for Christmas to the maisha home. We are privileged to have such a supportive community around maisha. We would also like to especially thanks GEMS (Group of English speaking Mothers) In Nyon who raised over 3000 CHF for maisha during a bake sale on November. We were amazed at the incredible success of this fundraiser and the money raised helped us enormously as our maisha students starts a new school years. Without our sponsors, fundraisers and regular donors,  Maisha would not exist and we look forward to continuing to partner with you in 2022 and beyond.

Asante Sana.