Help with Food
Dear Friends,
We thank God for His divine protection of our lives. Sending you love from the children and staff at Star of Hope Kenya. Thank you for your generous support towards our efforts to help make a difference in our communities. The month of September was filled with different activities in efforts to finalize preparations for the reopening of schools. We could not do all this without your support. Thank you. Here are the highlights of the month of September 2020
1. Phased Reopening of Schools
2. Corona Virus Preparedness
3. Relief Food Program
4. Pastoral Care Program
1. Phased Reopening of Schools
Colleges and Universities in Kenya Reopen
The Ministry of Education gave a directive to all institutes of higher learning to resume operations starting from Monday 5th, September 2020. We interacted with some of our students from Star of Hope Training Institute who were very excited to be back to school. We thank you all for supporting our youths to acquire life-long skills to earn them a living.
New School Calendar - Phased Reopening Of Schools In a statement from the Minister of Education, Schools in the country are set to reopen for Second Term on October 12 for Grade 4, Class 8 and Form 4 students.
The Minister stated that schools will close on December 23, 2020, for a one week break. This means that they will open schools on January 4, 2021, up to March 19, 2021 for the Third Term. Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams will start on March 22, 2021, and end on March 24, 2021. Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams will start on March 25, 2021, and end on April 16, 2021. The Minister said all students must adhere to the mandatory use of facemasks and monitoring of body temperatures.
2. Coronavirus Pandemic preparedness
We have been finalizing our coronavirus preparedness activities. Renovation of our school infrastructure including paintwork, fabrication of learning desks and tables among other activities took place.
Our tailoring department has hit the target of making 3,000 face masks that will be used by our children when schools reopen soon.
3. Relief Food Program
The September 2020 COVID19 Relief Food Intervention Program reached 300 families with 1,500 Food Packages having been delivered across Mikindani and Jimba villages. This program has continued to have a great impact on the welfare of our families during this pandemic period. Thank you for your support.
4. Pastoral Care Program
The Pastoral care program has made a huge difference in the lives of not only the Star of Hope Kenya families but also teenage, school-going children around Mikindani area. Our Facilitator of the program, Madam. Lydia Ngigi engaged with Teenage boys and girls, Parents and Our teaching staff in four separate meetings in September 2020.
Madam Lydia discussed various challenges that affect these groups of people and together we discussed ways of solving our problems in a way that accommodates every member of the family and society. These meetings have led to better relationships between Children, parents and teachers. Our children have also been guided to avoid temptations of indulging in drug abuse and dropping out of school. Reports from local media have stated that many school-going children are expected to drop-out of school by the end of 2020 due to extreme poverty and the negative implications the COVID19 pandemic has had in their lives.
We thank God for the Pastoral Care which has put a smile in all our participants' faces. Our girls and boys received self-care packs for their personal hygiene. The girls' package included sanitary towels which was the number one challenge reported in the girls' meetings. Thank you to all well-wishers that have greatly supported this vital program.
Conclusion
Thank you for standing with us during this pandemic and making a difference in our local communities.
God bless you.
Country Director,
Gilbert Ochieng,
