My name is Stuart McGlade, I'm raising funds to help the family of my late friend Sarafino. We became friends over 10 years ago while I was deployed to Kenya on a training exercise with the British Army. I returned on the 10th anniversary to find him and his family, but he had sadly passed away. Sarafino was the only breadwinner of the family, work is scarce in the more remote areas and since his death his family have struggled just to eat. Shortly after his death, the families goats and chickens were killed by predators, his eldest son, in desperation to feed the family, stole a goat and was caught, and now serving time in local prison.

When I arrived I was stuck by the sadness and misery in the atmosphere because of how desperate conditions were for this family. I was driven to try and help them and decided a weatherproof home they could all stand up straight in, along with a handful of chickens and perhaps a couple of goats, was more than achievable. That is the basis of my goal, but depending on how far I can make funds go, I would also like to pay off future school fees for the smaller children with any leftover. I intend to purchase tools locally, as well as the materials, and use the project as an opportunity to teach Sarafinos sons some basic construction skills, then leave them with the tools to be able to move forward with the ability to find work and make money.

I plan to arrive in Samburu County in Kenya, where the family live, sometime in early June and hope to have materials ready to be collected and paid for when I arrive. Typical new construction in the area is simple solid concrete blocks, so I hope to employ a couple of local bricklayers to help and teach all of us the local methods and techniques, and to expedite the process as much as possible. Any help that can be shared either financially or with helpful connections or resources would be greatly appreciated. Anyone have a pickup in Kenya I could borrow?