SOS

SOS 18th February 2009

In our ongoing programme of Child Support, we have come across acute cases of hunger in families whose children we are mobilizing educational support for.

Besides the initial 250 children whom we are working with, many more children have come to KCDN for similar support. We have listened to their stories, we have visited their places of residence and we know, these people need some intervention.

The current situation of food in the country has impacted very strongly on many Kenyans. In the slums of Nairobi, hunger is really severe. We know that levels of prostitution are on the rise due to food scarcity.

We know single mothers who are becoming desperate by the day, mothers who resort to peddling flesh as a means of survival. With this, cases of venereal diseases are also coming to fore. This means that the war against HIV/AIDS could be lost. By the time Kenya has new harvests to bring back normalcy, many more people will have contracted the disease.

With the current drought, drug addiction and abuse is also coming to fore. People who are hungry are resorting to all means to cheat hunger. Some are giving their children drugs as a sleeping pill. Some more are resorting to drugs as a tranquilizer. They want to forget that they are hungry.

It is out of this information that we want to appeal for support that can help the 250 children in our programme. Besides the educational support that we are mobilizing and working for, please do respond to the plight of these families.

We need rice, unga, cooking oil, dry cereals like maize and beans and any other food items you can give us.

This is a calling of our time. Lets us respond with that timeless creed of the Americans; yes we can.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
CEO KCDN Nairobi.
Tel; 0735 529 126, 0724 365 557

KCDN at Fida Kenya

On Friday, we at KCDN were privilaged to be hosted at Fida Kenya for a meeting with Alice Maranga, Programme Officer; Civic Engagement.

Accompanying me from KCDN were Phylis Wanjiku, Carol Odhiambo and Amondi Dorcus.

This was one meeting that indeed added value to what we have set out to do. This engagement will strengthen our engagement with the children and their parents/guardians.

We take this opportunity to thank The Executive Director at Fida Kenya for enabling this explorative meeting. We thank Alice for hosting us and we look to a future full of promise.

Odhiambo T Oketch
CEO KCDN Nairobi

Bursery Funds in the Constituencies

At KCDN [http://kcdnkomarockswatch.blogspot.com],we are faced with such cases on a daily basis.

In our follow up of these cases, we have found out that in most cases, CDF is used as a political tool to punish and to reward.

Our MPs are not as sincere in disbursement of the funds to needy cases as is by law required. In most cases, it is children of supporters who access these funds. That is the sad reality.

A casual look at all the CDF funds already disbursed to all the 210 constituencies in the country since 2004 makes nonsense of the reality on the ground. That money could have financed the education of all the bright children coming from vulnerable groups. But the truth of the matter is that littel attention has been paid to all cases that are deserving.

We need to mobilize Kenyans to know that CDF is their money and it is meant for all such deserving cases without necessarily being political supporters.

This is also the sad condition that is obtaining at the National level where Kenya has received a lot of money in form of Grants and Loans from development partners since Independence in 1963, and yet, we have nothing to show for it.

Odhiambo T Oketch
CEO KCDN Nairobi

Dr George Omburo supports KCDN

We are happy to have received financial support of 100USD [Kshs 6,977.00] today from Dr George Omburo of New Jersey USA.

Dr Omburo has been a friend of KCDN right from the time we mooted the idea of social mobilization in 2006. At that time, he sent to us 500USD to help us with logistics. That was the time when Kenyans were also seriously agitating for change and all prospects looked at iminent change come December 2007.

His support made KCDN develop structures that became handy when Kenya erupted into chaos after the elections of December 2007.

With support from new friends, Mr Jairus K'Onyiego and Mr Sam Okello, both of USA, KCDN was able to actively respond to the call of distress from Kenyans who were trapped in the vicious violence of January 2008 in Naivasha and its environ.

What we saw in Naivasha made us redirect the thinking at KCDN and from then, we decided to mobilize educational support for all children who are orphans and/or vulnerable.

We take on this opportunity to sincerely thank Dr Omburo for this timely support. We appeal to many more friends to come forward and join us in this journey of hope.

Odhiambo T Oketch
CEO KCDN Nairobi.

KCDN Child Support Initiative

In our continuing efforts at mobilizing support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, we want to appeal for your support to make this Initiative proactive.

Last year on June 15th during the KCDN Embakasi Peace Run, we were able to mobilize support for Exercise books for pupils at Tumaini Primary School in Umoja. We were grateful to Text Book Centre Ltd for having given us 1000 exercise books, some story books and some text books.

We were encouraged also by the support we were given by SGS Kenya Ltd, Rachier & Amolo Advocates, Mini Bakeries [Nairobi] Ltd, Rodgers Orero [UK] and Jairus K'Onyiego [US] to help make the Peace Run be a success.

On 5th of December 2008, we were able to mobilize support for the 250 children in the KCDN Child Support Initiative. With support from Phoenix Aviation Ltd, Capital Airlines Ltd, Tetra Pak [EA] Ltd, Express Connections Ltd, The Cradle, Taxplus Consult Ltd, Aristocrats Insurance Brokers Ltd, Mr Chacha Odera, Mr Lenny Amolo, Ms Irene Ngugi [SA], Mr Regem Lugonzo, and Ms Elisabeth Onyango, we were able to buy for the children some parts of the uniforms from Uniform Distributors, and books and stationery from Text Book Centre Ltd.

This year, we have been able to receive support from Mr Matunda Nyanchama [US], Mr John Maina [US], Dr Paul Nyandoto [Finland] and the staff at Barclays Bank of Kenya at Haile Selassie Avenue Branch led by Ms Irene Wasike.

We have a lot of ground to cover this year, and we would be happy if you can join us in this marathon and help create some change for our children. We need exercise books, assorted stationery, uniforms, shoes, socks, school bags, things that the children need in class.

We witness the kind of poverty amidst us on a daily basis. Parents throng our offices for help for their children to go to school. Few cases get the kind of media attention that triggers some response, while majority of cases are not reported. We meet with them on a daily basis.

If you can offer some little support to drive our initiative forward, kindly reach to us and help put a smile on the faces of these children.

Lastly, hunger is real. We are witnessing tales of families going hungry for days, and when they are able to get some food, it is simply not sufficient for the whole family. Let us join together to alleviate, at our personal levels, the pain our sisters and brothers are going through. If we can mobilize some bags of rice and bales of unga, it would do the parents some good.

If you are willing to help, kindly send your donation to;

KCDN Bank Details;

Bank; Barclays Bank of Kenya,

Branch; Haille Sellassie Avenue Branch,

Account Number; 1525543

Branch no. 082,

Swift Code BARCKENX

Account Name; Komarocks Community Development Network


Or


M-pesa your support to 0724 365 557.


Or


Drop all the support you can to our offices at Komarock Phase 2 at the shopping centre.


All support will be publicly acknowledged unless you say otherwise.


Odhiambo T Oketch

CEO KCDN Nairobi.

Odhiambo T Oketch is the Chief Executive Officer at Komarocks Community Development Network, Nairobi Kenya.

Phoenix Aviation supports KCDN

Mr Odhiambo T Oketch of KCDN on the left and Mr Shaun Barretto, the General Manager Phoenix Aviation Ltd, witnesses the handing over of a support cheque of Kshs 50,000.00 to Mr James Kariuki of Text Book Centre Ltd in aid of KCDN Child Support Initiative on 13th Nov 2008.


this was our end year summary; 5th Jan 2009

At this very moment last year, Kenya was pregnant with hope.

We were looking forward to an election which had all the indications of changing the face of Kenya and Kenyans. Politics was at its highest, and the people were excited either way.

But it reached an anti climax on 30th December 2007 when the Hon Samuel Kivuitu made his announcement and pronounced Mzee Kibaki as having won the elections. Kenya erupted and fighting broke out all over.

The fighting that I saw, the blood letting that I saw across the country made me change. Time had come for me to do something useful for Kenya and Kenyans, than to engage in endless political discussions which added no value.

I made up my mind that from that time on, I would work with forces that focused on the plight of children. I had seen that in times of conflict, men would fight leaving the women and the children vulnerable.

In worse case scenarios, women would trade off their security for sex while the child had nothing to trade off. These were the scenes that were obtaining in conflict zones. Property was burned; women were raped; children got lost; some lost their parents; and many more lost their homes and education become a pipe dream.

In January, I started discussing this with friends like Mr Jairus K'Onyiego from USA. He would call me long hours on phone and I would update him on the situation in Kenya. Thereafter, Sam Okello, also from USA would join in and we discussed more.

Out of these discussions, KCDN was born. It had been registered in May of 2005 as a Community Based Organization, but we were dormant. In February, with the support of Mr K'Onyiego and Sam Okello, I was able to open the KCDN office in Komarock. Thereafter more support came in; Mr Joram Odus, Ms Pamela Ohonde, Mr Dick Aduong'a, Mr Sebastian Onyango, Ms Caroline Otieno, Mr Richard Mungla, Mr Lenny Amolo, Mr Otiende Amolo, Mr Rodgers Orero, Mini Bakeries Ltd [Mr Mwaura], SGS Kenya [Mr Aswegen], Ms Irene Ngugi, Phoenix Aviation Ltd [Mr Barretto], Mr Ragem Lugonzo, Ms Irene Wasike, Aristocrates Insurance Brokers Ltd [Mr Kasim], Express Connections Ltd [Mr JM Mugo], Capital Airlines Ltd [Capt Vaghela], Ms Elizabeth Onyango, Mr Owino Olendo of Taxplus Consults Ltd, Tetra Pak [K] Ltd [Ms Mwihia}, The Cradle [Hon Millie Odhiambo] and many more.

It was not easy. We first wanted to group vulnerable people into self help schemes where they could mobilize their own resources for self sustainability. We soon found out that in the wake of the Pyramid Schemes syndicates, this was going to put us at loggerheads with the people whom we wanted to help.

We immediately changed focus and identified 3 issues that we wanted to address namely;
1] The immediate plight of IDPs
2] National Healing and Reconciliation
3] Child Support.

1] The immediate plight of IDPs
Our immediate task was to call for material support for Kenyans who were internally displaced following the post election violence. We got very favourable responses, more so, Caroline Otieno from Arusha Tanzania came in handy with massive mobilization of friends in Arusha and he consigned to me many bundles of used clothes, shoes and beddings in support.

We gave these out to two groups; one in Karachuonyo and the next to a local church in Kayole where some IDPs had taken refuge. This first phase was a resounding success.

2] National Healing and Reconcilaition
This was our second phase. We thought of better ways by which we could preach the gospel of National Healing and Reconciliation and we settled on organizing a peace run in May.

KCDN Embakasi Peace Run was hence conceived, and initially we settled on 31st May. This date coincided with a presidential function in Embakasi and the PC Nairobi informed me of the need to make changes. We hence settled for 15th June 2008.

With financial support from SGS Kenya, Rachier & Amolo Advocates, Jairus K'Onyiego, Rogders Orero and Mini Bakeries Ltd and material support from Text Book Centre Ltd, Phoenix Publishers Ltd and East African Educational Publishers, we were able to host a very successful KCDN Embakasi Peace Run.

We were able to assemble a galaxy of guests who added their voices to the need for National Healing and Reconciliation. The Commissioner of Sports was ably represented by Mr Karinga, the Assistant Commissioner. In attendance we had Ms Sarah Kiwanuka, Chairperson Athletics Kenya Nairobi Province, sports officials from Nairobi Province and many more guests besides the occasion being graced by school children from different schools, athletes from several athletic clubs and the general public.
This second phase of our programme was also a resounding success.

3] Child Support.
Our last focus was on child support and we decided on December 24th as our due date. We later revised this to 5th December 2008.

The KCDN Child Support Initiative was meant to give educational support to as many children from vulnerable family backgrounds for their schooling for 2009. To get the right mix of children, we worked in collaboration with the various Head Teachers. The number of children who need help was so overwhelming, but we settled on mobilizing support for 250 such children.

This was not easy. We made several appeals and when it all looked like getting lost, support started coming in. We have made our public appreciation to all those who helped this day to become a resounding success. We have also made our public appreciation to all our guests, starting with the Director Basic Education in the Ministry of Education.

This is a challenge we want to take into the new year where we hope to retain your support. It is you who have made us succeed with the 3 initiatives we undertook this year. God bless you so much.

We have 4 things lined up for which we would solicit your support in 2009;
1] In March 2009, we will be launching the KCDN Quarterly Newsletter. We will invite your support and sponsorship for this. Through this, we will be articulating what we are doing for the society and the children in particular. We will invite teachers and pupils to post their challenges and aspirations. We will also be inviting policy issues from the Ministry so that the parents and guardians know what the government is doing in support of the Free Primary Education.

2] In June 2009, we will host the second edition of the KCDN Peace Run. We will not call it KCDN Embakasi Peace Run since this is limiting. We will invite support and participation from you all as we preach the virtues of National Healing and Reconciliation. We will mobilize participation from all our children, their colleagues from the surrounding schools, parents and the general public.

3] In September 2009, we will organize a KCDN Child Day Out for our children. Many children of privilege often have days out where they have lots of fan. We will mobilize your support to make this day out a success. This will see us organize tours to the parks for these children. It will be lots of fan for the children.

4] In December 2009, we will again mobilize the second edition of the KCDN Child Support Initiative. Through this initiative, we will mobilize support for educational materials for these children.

The best gift we can give to our children is EDUCATION. And this we can only achieve by actively helping the government as they provide for Free Primary Education, by providing the remaining necessities.

As we close the year, we must thank you all for your support. We could not do any better, but we appreciate the little that we have done in support of our country and our children. In our collective responsibility, we believe. And Yes, we did it.

May we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2009. God bless, God bless, Amen.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
CEO KCDN Nairobi.


this was our thank you note to all those who helped make the KCDN Child Support Initiative on 5th December 2008 to be a success.

Dear Friends,

We hereby replicate the speech delivered by the Director Basic Education Mrs Leah K Rotich during the KCDN Child Support Initiative Day on 5th December 2008 at our offices. The speech was read on her behalf by Mr Paul Mungai, Assistant Director of Education, Ministry of Education.

We also take on this opportunity to sincerely thank the following for both financial and material support that enabled our day to be a success;
1] Phoenix Aviation Ltd
2] Capital Airlines Ltd
3] Express Connections Ltd
4] Mr Leonard Amolo of AIG
5] Aristocrats Insurance Brokers Ltd
6] Ms Irene Wasike of Barclays Bank
7] Ms Irene from South Africa
8] Mr Lugonzo
9] Mr Chacha Odera [Oraro & Co Advocates]
10] The Cradle- the Children's Foundation

We also want to appreciate the following for having taken their time to be with us on this day;
1] Mr Paul Mungai, Assistant Director of Education
2] Ms Irene Wasike, Manager, Barclays Bank of Kenya, Haille Sellasie Avenue Branch
3] Mr Peter Mwangi, District Education Officer, Nairobi East District
4] Ms Grace Ngine, SQASO Nairobi East District
5] Ms Edna Ambasa, SQASO Nairobi East District
6] Mr John Muli Makau, PA to the MD, Aristocrats Insurance Brokers Ltd
7] Mr Arthur Kibisu, representing the MD, Express Connections Ltd
8] Ms Teresia Muturi, The Cradle
9] Mr Eric Juma, Chairman, Komarock Residents Association
10] Eng Barrack Okal, Secretary, Komarock Residents Association
11] Mr Meshack Kimathi, member, Komarock Residents Association.

We know that we have friends whose support we will still be receiving, those who had called and written to us pledging their support, we want also to appreciate your envisaged support.

We will account to all our benefactors. This is just the beginning of what we want to do, and it is a journey of a thousand miles. We have only made the first step. We hence still need all the support we can get.

To you all we say; Thank you, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, 2009.

Odhiambo T Oketch,
CEO KCDN Nairobi.
Tel; 0735 529 126, 0724 365 557,
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com

The 10th Parliament in Kenya

The 10^th Parliament in Kenya 4^th February 2009

Yesterday, 3^rd February 2009, I was impressed by the calibre of debate in the House as captured on Television. I came to appreciate the effect of live coverage in this age and time when things appear elephant for Kenya . It makes it easy for the electorate to separate the chaff from the grain.

Of particular interest to me was the Constitutional Amendment debate that seeks to entrench the Waki Report in the Constitution in as far as setting of the Tribunal to try those adversely mentioned in the Report.

The Second reading was moved by Hon Martha Karua and seconded by Hon James Orengo. Immediately thereafter, Hon Danston Buya Mungatana took to the floor and made my day. He implored parliament not to entrench the said Amendment in the Constitution because the whole process was flowed and in bad taste. And he had all the right reasons.

His argument was sound. We have had several Commissions whose results have never been made public. We have used these Commissions as safety valves to reduce the pressure from the public as we launder the offenders. People who masterminded the worst of scams in Kenya are currently senior members in this Government. People who were accomplices to the worst scams in Kenya are sitting pretty in the Civil Service. People who have brought down Kenya in the last 46 years are still calling the shots in Government.

Honestly, we are where we are simply because of these people. As the world is changing and going hi-tech in terms of service delivery, these people are also going hi-tech in terms of thievery. They steal in a manner that cannot be detected; not even those who refund money to the Treasury can be detected and named!

Setting another Tribunal now is just business as usual. They have always escaped with it, and now, Parliament must not be used to enable them cheat us again. Besides, as Hon Mungatana said, the country needs urgent intervention in the food situation. The money that this monolith of a Tribunal will need to set it up is the kind of money that can secure food for many Kenyans now.

If we had a sound situation in which we can proudly point to as a consequence of the setting up of a Commission, Kenyans could not have been this impaired. We could all have had faith in its setting because we could all have known that justice will be done. But the history of such creations speaks for itself.

Commissions have been used in Kenya to cover Grand Theft by Government officials and time has come when Kenyans from all walks of life must call on their respective Members of Parliament to vote against this thing. Those who think that it must be business as usual must be stopped in their tracks.

I was more so impressed by the MP for Limuru, Hon David Ngugi, who pointed out the sad scenario that followed on the death of the Hon Robert Ouko when all witnesses were systematically eliminated one by one. How sure are we that the same would not happen now when this Tribunal is set up in Kenya ? The Executive wants the soft way out and they must not be granted this.

They are the simply reason for continued impunity in Kenya .

They must face the world and be shamed and convicted for crimes against humanity. And the media must give us this advantage. Many Kenyans were killed, most killed by the Kenya Police. How will the Police prosecute their own?

The political elite have taken Kenya and Kenyans for granted for too long. Time has come when we must all follow the proceedings of the House and pass judgement accordingly. That is why the Executive have created many amorphous bodies to fight corruption. The simple reason is to set the bodies against each other to enable the Grand Theft to continue unabated in government.

The Executive have no intentions of fighting graft and impunity in Kenya . This is their fodder.

How can Kenya suffer food shortage at this age in time? When countries such as Somali have enough to feed their citizens? It is sad that a country such as Somali that has had no government since 1991 is able to feed itself amidst the bandits and pirates, while in Kenya , a country that has been stable politically for all the 46 years of Independence , has a serious issue with feeding her people.

Something must be terribly wrong. Or the leaders have simply lost it. They had no idea at leadership and as such mistook leadership to be synonymous with thievery.

Time has come for the Middle Class to rise up and be counted, not on the basis of tribal support, but on the basis of issues national. We owe it to Kenya that we want.

Odhiambo T Oketch,

Komarock Nairobi.

Hunger in Kenya; the case of KCDN

Dear Friends,

In our continuing efforts at Child support, we want to make this special appeal for support to you.

We are a Community Based Organization whose forte is the plight of Orphans and Vulnerable Children. We are mobilizing educational support for some 250 of such children from across 7 schools in Embakasi and we kindly request for your support with our programme.

At this particular time in our history, we realize that the times are really hard for many children, and all support that will make their education be meaningful is welcome. We are also concerned with the heavy pangs of hunger as it affects many families.

From what we are seeing in our daily interaction with the most affected, hunger is real. To this end, if we can receive support that can ensure these children have at least one meal in a day, it will be real honour to us and many children will appreciate. This is basically besides our mobilization for educational support.

I am keen to work closely with all people of goodwill in areas of child support and empowerment as outlined in our work schedule for this year. Kindly let me know if we can meet and discuss some more, or, if you can be of support.

Blessings.

Odhiambo T Oketch
CEO KCDN Nairobi,
Tel; 0735 529 126, 0724 365 557
Email; komarockswatch@yahoo.com

Fundraising walk

Save A Life Today, For A Better Tomorrow.

TEAM PREPARING FOR HUNGER WALK.

The Okoa Maisha Team met on the 2nd of February to discuss the way through for the hunger walk set to happen on the 7th of February. The planned routes is as follows:

Starting Point: Jocham Hospital

Check Points:

1. Buxton
2. Saba Saba
3. Lebanon (Mombasa Penetcostal Church)
4. Koblenz Hall (Okoa Maisha Secretariat)
5. Cassablanca
6. Nakumatt Likoni
7. Aga Khan
8. Post Office
9. Makadara Grounds (End Point)

We urgently need volunteers to help out with the checkpoints. If you can put in your assistance please let us know on the wall and we will get back to you.

The walk is set to start at 8am to about 1pm.

Be there and save a life.

15 ARTISTS COME TOGETHER TO RECORD FAMINE RELATED CAMPAIGN SONG CALLED OKOA MAISHA