LATEST NEWS

end-January 2008

Many people have been kindly asking how we have been affected by the troubles in our country. Our work in Korogocho has been devastatingly affected. The walls of the new class that we were constructing was brought down and the front part of the kitchen roof was ruined by the angry protesters. Up to now there is no lorry willing to ferry construction materials to Korogocho for renovations and repairs.

We had reported to the police our two staff who had not reported to work Mr Kenneth Omondi, teacher and Mrs Lydia Awino Instructor for Women Vocational Training . However Lydia showed up on Monday and explained that she was held up in her rural home due to transport hitches. We still cannot know the whereabouts of Teacher Kennedy Omondi.

The children at the orphanage and foster home are safe,. When we opened the school the school population has dropped to 170 which means 130 children have not yet reported. Our social workers are doing their best to establish the whereabouts of these children and their parents. We have not yet heard any deaths from our school staff, children or parent or guardian ; maybe it is because we are yet to establish their whereabouts. Seven of our staff have lost their brothers or sisters in the violence.

Contrary to Korogocho, Maseno is quiet little business going on without much tension as such. However many parents opted not to take their children to school unescorted. Our Haven Academy in Maseno occasionally had to call on the parents to postpone taking their children by the roadside to be picked by our driver for fear that the protestors would stone our bus or set it ablaze with petrol bomb.

Please continue to pray for Kenya, and for peace and justice.

December 2007 : 

Franklyn had a good 8 weeks tour in UK and Canada and came back safely on the 6th November. The necessary finances to buy land to build a kitchen and dining hall for the school have been secured, and the land has already been purchased. Now we are moving the perimeter wall before we start building.

October/November 2007 : 

VPM Director, Rev'd Franklyn Otwoma is visiting the UK. During his visit, Rev'd Otwoma hopes to be able to raise the funds to build a dining room and kitchen at Haven Primary School in Korogocho.

International news. We had learnt the death of our Sister Debbie Haig last month . Debbie is the wife of Revd Canon Murray Haig, and both have been supporters of VPM for a number of years. She lost the battle to cancer. All of us who knew Debbie found a very delightful Christian person she was . We will miss her. We mourn for her. Lord keep her soul in peace.