Happy Moments Africa believe in working towards helping people become self-sufficient. As such we touch different aspects of life in Kenya all of which we hope will lead to self-sustainability, health, education, a better and safer environment and an economic situation which keeps the rest going..
Agriculture
Water availability is of prime importance in every agricultural undertaking. Happy Moments has helped a number of people in the past improve their supply of water by deepening wells and collecting rainwater from roofs in plastic tanks. A few communities have been helped in purchasing a water pump. The current extreme drought in Kenya has shown that greater initiatives must be taken to conserve and improve the water supply.
A farmer near the Tana River who has managed to bring four acres of scrub land under cultivation with minimum tools, needs more support to irrigate the land. Through his hard work, he is already able to support his family and sell some surplus produce.
There are a few reservoirs in the Makuyu area which could be repaired and would provide many people with fresh water. Before embarking on such work, it is essential to secure the rights of the local population to draw on the water supply and prevent individuals from taking over the supply for their own exclusive use. This involves a great deal of negotiation with local dignitaries and government departments but we are continuing to work on it.
A model chicken farm, rearing day-old chicks to a size of Kg.1.5 to2.5 for sale to individuals, supermarkets , hotels and restaurants has been set up. A Maltese expert has offered his experience and expertise to expand this project, and train local people wishing to start their own farm. Any profit generated by the model farm will be used to fund humanitarian work.
Other people have expressed interest in rearing pigs. This has been started on a small scale with an initial investment of Euro 200 and provides a long-term income for one family.
Eight years ago Happy Moments Kenya helped to start a tree nursery to produce fruit and timber tree saplings. This nursery now produces 100,000 trees annually. Sometimes the selling price of the trees is partly subsidized by Happy Moments Kenya and they provide a long-term subsidiary income for their owners. At the present time this tree nursery is threatened by the drought.
Seed and fertilizer have been partly financed over the past years and more help will be needed after the drought.
I have helped a beekeeper to improve his knowledge by sending him to Nairobi to attend a course, and have provided him with the most modern beehives and equipment to produce good quality honey.
Numerous people have been helped with donations of livestock and tools.
Commerce
Several individuals have been given a loan to start their own enterprises. The most successful has been a hardware and general store which now has a subsidiary store and employs six people full-time. This store has been running for five years. The owner is now in a position and willing to help others in need.
A blacksmith started four years ago with a loan from Happy Moments Kenya and now employs four people, who are also learning the trade. He has diversified his production in the meantime and is rearing pigs on a bigger scale. A carpenter was provided with tools. He produces all sorts of furniture, including cupboards, beds, chairs and upholstered sofas etc. He employs and trains young people.
A transport company was started in 2008 with a loan to buy a small truck to transport agricultural produce from remote places to Nairobi in order to allow the farmers to improve their income. At the same time it is able to transport all sorts of goods from the town to the country. Two people are employed as helpers. Within two years the truck will have been paid for and the loan repaid.
Several people have been supported so that they can open a small ‘shop’, selling anything from fruit and vegetables to second-hand clothes, a photo studio, shoe repairer, and a bicycle repair shop. The start finance for each enterprise was not more than Euro 20.
Health
With the help of a very generous donor, Happy Moments Kenya was able to supply equipment and instruments worth more than Euro 50,000 to a remote hospital in the Meru area with 150 beds. A retired German surgeon and nurse volunteered to work there for several months during the last two years which meant that the incumbent Italian surgeon was able to take a holiday. An offer of voluntary work in this hospital by a surgeon would be highly appreciated. Donations of food were also taken to the hospital. Another hospital in Nanyuki was given medicine. The help from Happy Moments Kenya will continue.
When there are outbreaks of malaria in the area, Happy Moments Kenya is paying for medicine and treatment provided by the day-care centre at the Salesian Mission.
Urgent medical treatment was paid for on many occasions. In one case, Happy Moments Keniya was able to prevent the amputation of a patient’s leg and he is now starting to walk again
Many people were able to have their eyes tested and were provided with spectacles donated by a German optician.
Education
During the past ten years, we have built ten kindergartens and renovated six. Each kindergarten accommodates up to fifty children who are taught by qualified teachers with a minimum of equipment. Most of the kindergartens have been provided with clean water and trees have been planted near the buildings. Some have playground apparatus.
The next projected kindergarten would replace an existing rented derelict shack with very little light and only benches without desks. The teacher has thirty-eight pupils whose parents pay about Euro 3 per month. The children are taught in three languages: Kikuyu, Swahili and English and they are between three and six years old.
Happy Moments pays school fees for a number of children who otherwise would not be able to attend the state secondary schools.
A few state schools have been helped with the provision of high quality blackboard paint and repairs to benches and desks, as well as donations of trees to provide shade in the playgrounds . Drinking water supplies have been installed where possible.
Some further education courses have been paid for to enable adults to improve their knowledge in particular fields of veterinary and agricultural work, as well as hairdressing and accountancy.
A future educational project will be the establishment of an information centre to provide computers and qualified staff to give instruction. This is a particularly worthwhile project since there has recently been a fibre optic cable link connection to the coast which will soon provide fast internet access nearly all over the country. It is envisaged that after the initial period, this would be a self-supporting project.
Humanitarian Aid
Aids is widespread and has meant that many children are left without parents. Happy Moments Kenya has taken on the responsibility for four orphans to allow them to remain in their own home, providing them with food, clothing and improvements to their house. The Salesian Mission has agreed to provide the education for two children.
Donations of bedding, clothes, food and school books have been distributed regularly to four orphanages. Old people without any support are regularly given food and other necessities. Depending on the financial situation of Happy Moments Kenya, consideration is being given to a project to set up an orphanage under the close supervision of the charity with the help of reliable local people.
With the cooperation of the Salesian Mission, Happy Moments Kenya has provided funds and organized dignified funerals for poor people. We have also helped people, who already have children, to get married. Early in 2008, in the aftermath of the election chaos in Western Kenya,
Happy Moments Kenya with the Rotary Club Thika, donated food, bedding and school equipment for the refugees living in camps. Two families were looked after in Makuyu until they could return home after about six months.