The Challenge of Goats

Tomorrow is the day ….. the beginning of another amazing adventure.   The five members of the Six Pack from the Sault, Holly Wickett, Jeannine Jefferson, Marg Dodds, Carey Groot and Gabi Doleske head to Toronto where we meet up with Sheree Wilson, currently residing in London, Ontario.   We are each armed with two fifty pound bags which contain a smidgen of personal belongings but are primarily packed with Days for Girls kits, toothbrushes, soccer uniforms, pillow case dresses and school supplies all either donated or purchased with funds you have generously provided us with.  

We have been overwhelmed by your response to our Goat Initiative.  Two years ago when we went to Africa we had received donations for approximately 35 goats.  This year you have purchased 175 goats to be distributed to girls who we will meet on our travels.  Of course, this creates a challenge for us now.  Since we are unable to transport the goats over in a suitcase, we somehow have to find them to purchase in Kenya.  We have already started this process by sending funds to some of our contacts there.    We are donating five goats to the the Compass School and have asked Flora, a teacher on staff,  if she would be able to locate some for us.   We received this message from her yesterday which may be a prediction of the challenges to come.

Hi Holly
Trusting that you are well….We began our goats hunt yesterday after waiting to hear from the board for over a week to help us locate where we get young goats.  We were not successful yesterday coz the seller we went to was selling @ 4,500 per young goat and after deciding to buy he exchanged the size and wanted to give kids who were still breastfeeding.  We (head teacher, caretaker and I) left frustrated.  By God’s grace one of the motorcycle guys we were using called his brother who has goats and shared our predicament.  We went again today and purchased 3 goats.  One who is suspected to be pregnant @ 4,500, the other 2 @ 3,500 per goat.  We are expecting a fourth one tomorrow at 3,500.  The man who sold the 3 goats to us will get in touch with his neighbour to sell us the fourth one.  Yesterday’s transport was on both matatus (mini-buses) and motorcycles (we used 3 motorcycles yesterday and 2 motorcycles today).  The place we had gone to is quite some distance from Compass.  We made friends with the man who sold us the goats today and he’ll give us a small dog which we will rear for security purpose at Compass to frighten thieves who might attempt to steal the goats.   

Such are the challenges of Kenya, however the spirit of your generousity will be the push we need to get it done. 

We will blog when we can to keep you apprised of our adventures!  Thank you all so much!

Jambo all!

What a fabulous event we had on January 26th at the Water Tower! Not only did we sell out, but we had 76 prizes donated by supporters in our community! As well, Cameron Jefferson from Sylvan Automation, contributed a 49" TV for our door prize! We sold over 30 more goats, and JJ Hilsinger bought six himself, after declaring that he would buy one for every 4 sold that night! As well, Jim learned all about Days For Girls from lead, Gabi Doleske, and came back with a box of hotel soap and a monetary donation! JJ and the Water Tower donated the Pavilion and the pizza, so we are extremely grateful!! The WT staff were very helpful, too!

Jim also said some very kind words about our group, Tumaini Afrika!  He has been so supportive as he has a special place in his heart for Africans. Several years ago he biked from the north to the south of the continent, so he saw first hand what things are like there and how wonderful the people are!

The Reptiles once again demonstrated what a fabulous band they are, as they entertained all night long and had a full dance floor! We are extremely grateful for Jeannine Jefferson and the Reptiles Band for making this our most successful fundraiser yet! 

We are also very appreciative of the many businesses and individuals who contributed to the prize table! Wow! Thank you to those who attended to make the event so successful! Many $10 support tickets were sold as well! Asante!

Special thank you to members of Tumaini Afrika and their friends and family who worked very hard to make this event possible!

Goats!! - To date we have sold 160 goats to be given to girls in different areas of Kenya, thanks to Tumaini Afrika member, Sheena Smith, who started this initiative. Thank you to all who have helped sell and purchase them! Photos of the goats and the happy faces of the girls will be taken for the goat purchasers to see!  

So what's next!!?? Six of us are headed to Kenya on February 24 to see how the projects we support are going and see what the needs are now. Marg Dodds, Carey Groot, Sheree Wilson, Jeannine Jefferson, Gabi Doleske and Holly Wickett have funded their own trip and are looking forward to teaching teachers and students, handing out and educating on the Days For Girls kits, delivering goats to 160 girls, supplying textbooks and school supplies, toothbrushes, soccer uniforms, pillow case dresses, food and more, to needy children. If you would like to follow our day to day activities while we are there, go to the Blog on our web-site - www.tumainiafrikassm.com and give your email address and you will automatically get updates! Thank you to all who have generously donated items to bring with us!

Upon return, the Super Six, or Six Pack, will do a presentation of our trip for all to see and hear, likely in April.

Asante sana!