Donate to Help Children in Dire Need

Hi, my name is Mercy Cheres, and I live in Ontario, Canada. I am raising money to help feed, educate, and cloth children from a family in dire need.

In December 2020, I sent money to my family in Kenya to buy Christmas food for some families who I thought could least afford it. Four households received Christmas hampers; the same four received them again in 2021. However, in 2022 I asked my family to identify other households who would use help at Christmas, and I got a list of 5 to receive Christmas hampers. I learned later that one of the households, had young children on the verge of being abandoned by their mother who is a widow - their father died four years ago.

Every village in Kenya has an elected elder to represent the government at the grassroots. I contacted the elder for the village where the family lives to find out whether the family had food and access to clean drinking water and whether all the children except the toddler went to school. I learned that the oldest child (a young adult now) finished high school with support from a local church a couple of years ago and left home to look for work. The second-born, Ian, who is hardly seen with the rest in photos, is in grade 8, Kipkorir is in grade 2, Brian is not in school, and neither is Jeptum. Yet, Kipkorir (the babysitter) and Jeptum should have been in senior and junior kindergarten, respectively. Besides, the kids begged for leftovers and uncooked cornmeal from neighbors because they didn’t have any food.

I have since worked with the village elder, my family in Kenya and the local school principal to register the school-age children at the school. Meanwhile, I have raised money from my family in the diaspora and sent it to a volunteer who has paid the children's school fees and bought them school uniforms, school supplies, and 180 kilograms of dry corn. However, I have no money for other foodstuffs, such as dry beans, green vegetables, and milk, or to continue paying for the school lunch program.

I know that relying on my family for donations to support this family is not sustainable. For example, I won't be able to raise Ian's school fees when he goes to high school in a few months, and neither will I be able to continue buying the family food for the unforeseeable future. Hence, I contacted SOS (Save-Our-Souls) for help; it has been a month since someone from SOS talked to the village elder. Therefore, I don't know whether there will be any follow-up and what form of help SOS will provide. Consequently, I need your help - any amount you give will go directly to supporting the family via the village elder and a volunteer, whom I have identified.