February 13, 2007

Dear Friends,

I recently returned from a month-long trip to Kenya, my fourteenth trip as part of my ongoing project to document the lives of children growing up at the Good Samaritan Children's Home in Nairobi's Mathare slum.

In Mathare, HIV infection rates are hard to estimate, but at the nearby MSF (Doctors Without Borders) clinic, 40% of those who are tested for HIV test positive. MSF therefore estimates that at least 25% of the 300,000 residents of Mathare are HIV-positive. Fortunately, antiretroviral drugs are now available in Mathare through the MSF clinic, and more HIV-positive parents are staying alive and caring for their children. Good Samaritan sponsors a support group for HIV-positive women, and helps many of these mothers by providing nursery school at a very low cost.

This being said, there is still not enough access to antiretroviral drugs in Kenya, parents continue to die from AIDS, and new children continue to arrive at the doors of the Good Samaritan Children's Home. On December 23rd a mother of three children, including six-week old Jacky, died from AIDS. Jacky was incredibly thin when she arrived at Good Samaritan as the mother had been unable to feed her during the last weeks of her life. Now, thanks to Good Samaritan, Jacky is healthy.

Even if an orphan is rescued by Good Samaritan, though, life in the slum is not easy, and the children that I've been filming for the past 5 1/2 years continue to struggle.

BOSS

Boss, who is 22 and who moved out of Good Samaritan several years ago to live in a slum house nearby, still works at the printing press where he has worked for the past three years. Recently, the company sponsored driving lessons for him and he has become one of their delivery drivers.

There was significant gang violence in Mathare last November, and Boss and his wife Njoki moved out of the slum and into a slightly safer and more developed neighborhood nearby. Finances are now tight for them as their new room is significantly more expensive than their previous room in Mathare. In addition, Njoki is now pregnant. So Boss, who 5 1/2 years ago was one of the first kids I met from Good Samaritan, will be a father in May.

Unfortunately, because of these new financial restraints, Boss has stopped supporting his younger sister, Njambi, and her 2-year old daughter Melissa.

NJAMBI

Njambi, age 18, had been receiving financial assistance from Boss since she got pregnant and dropped out of high school over two years ago. For a while, she lived in the same house as Boss and their older brother Malonza, but Boss moved out soon after Njambi gave birth, putting more of the financial burden on Malonza. Malonza hasn't worked since July, so when I saw Njambi in January she was clearly worried about how she would be able to feed Melissa. Already, they have had to cut the electricity in their house because they can't afford to pay the bill.

Njambi had planned to start beauty school in January (sponsored by a donor for children from Good Samaritan), but for some reason she did not. And now she won't start school until next January, meaning another year of financial insecurity for her and Melissa.

OCHIENG

Ochieng, who like Boss also moved out of Mathare during the violence in November (the house that he and his friend shared was later burned down), is in a significantly more precarious situation since the fighting. He had been working as a primary school teacher in a school in the slum, but that school was burned down and the church that ran it has not built a new one, leaving Ochieng without a job.

Fortunately, he now lives with his girlfriend, Susan, whose family is helping support them while they both look for work. When I left Kenya last week, Auntie was on the way to visit a company which supports Good Samaritan and which often gives jobs to children who have left the Home. They had requested a list of people who they could hire, and Ochieng was on the top of that list.

CHALO

Chalo is unfortunately not on Auntie's job list, as the two have not resolved their falling-out over accusations that Chalo stole Auntie's mobile phone. Additionally, Chalo is now fighting with his extended family on his mother's side (he is not in touch with his family on his father's side), as they are accusing him of trying to take their land. Because land is inherited from father to son, Chalo does not have a claim to any of his mother's family's land. He understands this and has no interest in their land, but because Chalo has finished secondary school and therefore has the most education in the family, his uncles are suspicious of him.

And so, without a job for over a year and without any support in the slum or from his extended family, Chalo, who was often considered one of the children Good Samaritan "had hopes in," has gotten himself into trouble and is now in debt $200 (an incredible amount of money where most people make less than $1/day) to some dangerous people.

After a series of discussions with people worried about Chalo's safety, a group of his friends intervened and tried to come up with a solution. A donor and I have agreed to bail him out financially, and his friends are going to help him find a new place to live where he cannot be tracked by the criminals. And Boss's employer has agreed to hire Chalo once he moves and is debt free.

LUCY

In January, Lucy began her final year of secondary school. The school hired a new counselor, and when Lucy spoke to him it was the first time she had spoken to a professional since her mother's death from AIDS in July 2005. It seems that she is coping reasonably well with this. But the counselor learned that she has a younger brother who disappeared a few years ago -- he simply didn't return home from school one day, and no one has been able to find him. This is weighing heavily on her, and clearly is getting in the way of her studies. 2007 is her final year in high school and in October she takes the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education Exam which will determine if she can go on to college. If Lucy does not do well enough to continue her studies, her options will be very limited back in Mathare.

THE GOOD SAMARITAN EDUCATION FUND

Lucy is one of 60 children who Good Samaritan helps attend high school. You can help send additional children to school by making a tax-deductible contribution to the Good Samaritan Education Fund. A $250 donation sends a child to school for one year.

To donate on-line with your credit card, visit http://www.globalallianceafrica.org/donate/index.cfm

Choose the "Special Purpose" option, write "Good Samaritan Education Fund" in the "Comments" box, and fill in an amount.

To pay by check, make it to "Global Alliance for Africa" and in the memo write "Good Samaritan Education Fund." Include a note mentioning that you would like your donation to go to the Good Samaritan Education Fund, and mail the check and note to:

The Executive Director
Global Alliance for Africa
703 W. Monroe
Chicago, IL 60661

If you do make a donation, please let me know so I can ensure it is tracked properly.

"ORPHANS OF MATHARE" SCREENING IN NEW YORK

The Harvard Film Group presents a screening of Orphans of Mathare on Friday, February 16 at 8PM at The Tank @ Collective:Unconscious, 279 Church Street in Manhattan. Tickets are $7. There is a free Honest Tea reception starting at 7PM. Information can be found at www.thetanknyc.org

In addition to screening Orphans of Mathare, I will screen new footage from my ongoing project at Good Samaritan.

Thank you so much for your continued interest and support.

Best,
Randy