For this weeks assignment I only heard back from one of my contacts, Amos Balongo. Amos does many things in Kenya related to children and serves on a board for all of Africa to make choices for children but Amos's passion is Camp Ohana and he is the Chairman. Camp Ohana "has a singular focus, which is the development of underprivileged, orphaned Kenyan children into compassionate adults who are successful leaders in their communities and in an increasingly globalized world. The Foundation will accomplish this through the creation of an educational camp program called Camp Ohana."(Camp Ohana).
I emailed Mr. Balango and asked him about poverty in Kenya and this is what he sent me.
"Hi Amy,
Poverty in Kenya is a topic that I almost can not discuss in one sitting as it takes many shapes and forms.
At the center of it all is the fact that many kenyans do not have access to the basics which is food, water, shelter and clothing. The unemployment rate in Kenya Hoovers at about 40% with a population of about 34 million.
Water is life, with that said, I want to discuss one of the contributing factors to poverty in Kenya and that is lack of water. Please visit www.campohana.org and check out our projects. There you will find information on the clean water project.
Additionally you will find information on our health and wellness program that my foundation runs in kenya. This is another way that we are dealing with extreme poverty in Kenya."
After reading my email I went and checked out the website and found...
"Over 50 percent of Kenyans are living below the poverty line. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has compounded the deteriorating health standards and resulted in growing destitution, and unprecedented levels of poverty.
The water crisis in Kenya is disrupting social and economic activities throughout the country. Unfortunately, the current wave of droughts and water shortages in Kenya and the rest of East Africa is only expected to continue" (Camp Ohana). Amos along with others are working to change the water and poverty situation in Kenya.
Please visit the website, it was very inspiring to see that people can make changes. www.campohana.org
Amy,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your blog post, I also visited the website. Their vision, mission, and values statements was very inspiring to me. The Camp Ohana Foundation is run by individuals who are compassionate in providing opportunities for underprivileged children in Kenya. Also, they are focusing on working to mold the children to be successful leaders in their communities and in an increasingly globalized world. The children are our future generation, and we need to work with them to teach them how to survive and succeed in this world. Thank you so much for sharing this information and website with us.
Amy,
ReplyDeleteI have seen those facts about sub-Saharan Africa and the water supply and AIDS/HIV epidemic. In my discussion post I studies UNICEF and they goal is to eradicate the AIDS/HIV epidemic. Strategies include: providing voluntary, confidential testing and infant feeding counseling for pregnant women, helping governments develop infant and young child feeding policies that encourage early and exclusive breastfeeding and include HIV guidelines, protecting breastfeeding, and promoting optimal infant feeding in hospitals.
Amy, My church Faith Ministries in Columbus provide moneys and resources to Kenya to help them with the water situation yearly. We focus on many countries throughout the world to help satisfy world hunger and as well as at home in America. Thanks for sharing the information from the website it was very informative
ReplyDeleteAmy,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post, I visited the website as well, it is so emotional to learn how bad poverty is in this country. I understand why it is so important to help these countries who are in despirate need of help for children and families.