Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/bumalatr/public_html/blog/nucleus/libs/globalfunctions.php:3925) in /home/bumalatr/public_html/blog/xml-rss2.php on line 40
http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/ Diary en-us Nucleus CMS v3.32 � Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog//nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/ http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=68 Janet Weyama visited Bumala in October this year and met many of the guardians, widows and children supported by the charity. They have asked us to thank all who are supporting them, it is giving them hope, especially in regards to the borehole water which has given them the opportunity to grow their own produce all year round, and minimise infections
All the projects are doing well and several are now productive, The Poultry Farm, which the children eagerly participate in, is now profitable, they sell the eggs and chickens,
Some of the goats we have on the farm are producing kid's and also milk which is good for our children.
The farm has two large fish ponds stocked with fish, one pond has mature Tilapia and the other fry. The ponds will be restocked to provide a constant supply, the fish eat mosquito larvae which is an added bonus.

Our farm was also given 700 passion fruit trees supported by USAID, these are now flowering and should be fruiting within the next few months. Passion fruits like bananas are in high demand, both of our plantations are healthy, banana's are now being sold in the market and by the road side, this gives work to some of our widows as they sell the produce for us. the proceeds boast farm funds and increase productivity.
Our Margaret's Haven safe house is now complete, furnished, painted and with guttering. All water from the roof will soon be stored in the rainwater harvesting tank that is being built -thus saving the cost of the borehole pump to provide water for irrigation . Our bananas alone need many litres of water each day especially in the dry season. this 500,000 litre tank has been funded by the Kitchen Table Charities Trust (KTCT)


A few of our children have recently left school and are now working. Harrison is working as a student teacher in Nairobi and Maureen has started a two year hairdressing and beauty course at a polytechnic school in Busia which is about 30 miles from Bumala, she is happy and doing well.

The Babbacombe and St Marychurch Lions Club heard about the plight of two boarding schools in Bumala that do wonderful work. These schools care for the blind and handicapped children in the area, two of our sponsored children go to these schools, Austin attends St Oda School for the Blind and Sharron attends St Catherine's special needs school, both these children now have a future, and are being educated and cared for. Unfortunately due to the ever increasing costs, these schools are finding it extremely hard to feed and support the children in their care. The trust itself does not have the funds to help them as we have many other commitments, the Lions Club very generously donated funds to both schools which has been a great help to them.

SCHOOL SHOE DRIVE
We are extremely fortunate to have five Schools in the area which support the charity these are:- Kingskerswell, Decoy, Bradley Barton, Babbacombe and Warberry Primary Schools.
In September this year they all joined together in collecting unwanted shoes that would go for recycling, the pupils managed to collect around 100 large bin bags between them which raised much needed funds, so that we could have school shoes made for our children in Bumala.
If you have an unwanted shoes, clothes, bedding ( not duvets or pillows) then we would love you to deposit them in our recycling bin at B&Q car park in Newton Abbot, This bin has the ACT logo and our charity name is on it, Last year recycling raised nearly £1,000 for our charity helping us to purchase school uniforms for our children.

FORTHCOMING EVENT

February 24th 2012 - Sponsored Sky dive. Two supporters of the charity are attempting to do a sky dive to raise funds for us, we will shortly have a fundraising page on the virgin giving site if you would like to donate . Please contact Anne Jenkins if you would like more information.

We are selling handmade Calendars and Christmas cards that depict the charity's work. Calendars are £5. Xmas cards £3 per pack of 6. Also for sale are raffle tickets for our
Easter Raffle being drawn on the 27th March 2012. Tickets are £1 each. Many good prizes.
1st Prize is a handmade African theme quilt, 2nd £35 adoption certificate from Paignton Zoo.
Please contact Janet Weyama if you wish to purchase any of the above

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year .

Janet Weyama 01626 -352773 email weyama@tiscali.co.uk


]]> General http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=68 Sat, 26 Nov 2011 20:04:26 +0000 http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=67 A visit was arranged to St Oda School for the blind where Sister Leanora the head teacher was presented with money donated from the Babbacombe and St Marychurch Lions Club to help with the rising costs of food, also musical instruments where given to help the award winning orchestra at the school.
A visit to another school that our special needs girl Sharron attends was also presented with money from the Lions Club, which they were very grateful for.
Our farm is now very productive, Bananas and eggs are being sold locally and soon our passion fruit will be producing fruit.
The goats are providing milk and meat for our children. The cows also provide milk, The honey is yielding plenty, and with the high demand for it we will soon be selling the jars in the markets.
Poultry, and vegetables are also being shared with the children and widows . Our fish farm is fully stocked and we have now built another pond to keep up with the demand, this fish farm also keeps the mosquito larva down as the fish eat it.
The donation we received from the Kitchen Tables Charity to build our water harvesting tank has enabled the work to been started, there is plenty of rain at the moment so this tank will fill up very quickly , this then can be used for irrigation instead of the borehole water, which will only be used for human consumption, thus saving the cost of electricity to pump the water to the header tank.
The charity is now looking into Bio-Gas, as we have cows the manure can be used to produce energy, again saving electricity.
Please look on our Gallery for more updated pictures
]]> General http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=67 Sun, 30 Oct 2011 20:22:08 +0000 http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=66 The Bumala Trust charity held their annual sponsored walk on Saturday 20th August which started from Ilsham Green, Torquay, and finished at the Park Hotel Paignton, The aim of the walk was to raise funds to help orphaned children receive an education, medical care, food and other essentials in Bumala, NW Kenya.
The charity have successfully achieved clean borehole water for the whole community of Bumala, and are now training with the help of experts, some of the local community in agricultural methods, and animal husbandry.
We have a successful farm, with cows, goats, poultry, fish, bananas, passion fruit, many different varieties of vegetables, and bee hives, We have built a safe house for our most vulnerable children, who have no families to care for them.
Funding has been approved to complete an eco water harvesting system with the help of Kitchen Table Charities, this will capture all the rainwater in a large brick built storage tank , which will be used for irrigation, thus saving the cost of electricity in using the borehole pump.
The Charity wishes to thank all those who completed the walk especially the two Panda’s Wendy and Henry, who greeted and waved to many children (and adults). The donations received on the walk totalled £121.88. The total so far with raffle and sponsorship is £573.88.
Grateful thanks to Suzanne and David Schofield of The Park Hotel, Paignton who generously gave us a room as a finishing venue where refreshments where available.
The Trustees would also like to thank The Eastern Eye, Pizza Cafe, Hiflyer Balloons, The Embassy tavern, Paignton Zoo and Trulytreats for their donations to our raffle.
Visit our web site to see all the projects we have completed and how this has affected the people of Bumala. Photographs taken during the walk can also be seen on our website www.bumalatrust.co.uk. under about us then gallery.
Donations can still be made on the virgin money saving link on the website

The Charity is very concerned about the spiralling costs of essential commodities and school fees, One of our children Austin who is blind attends a wonderful school called ST ODA School for the Blind in Maseno Kenya ( about 1 hours drive from Bumala), this excellent school is finding it increasing difficult to feed and care for its pupils and staff. The sister who runs this school has informed us that she has to choose which child to feed that day, which understandably upsets her greatly. Our charity would love to help her but due to the many needs of our own orphaned children we cannot sponsor this school as well. but two of our volunteers have agreed to do a sponsored Skydive at the end of November to raise funds to keep the school open. Most of the children that go to ST ODA'S have no home to go to in the school holidays, unless this school can find the funds to feed and clothe them then they will become destitute, with no family to care for them.
Sponsor details and a fundraising site will soon be completed if you would like to help and sponsor the skydive, please look on the site again for more information or contact us.


]]> General http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=66 Tue, 6 Sep 2011 13:33:38 +0000 http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=64
Our walk will be starting at 10.00am from the Ilsham Marine Drive end of Ilsham Green, Meadfoot . Refreshments will be served at the Park Hotel Paignton at the end of the walk.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/anne

Tel 01803813211

Look forward to a fantastic day together x



]]> General http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=64 Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:47:58 +0000 http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=63 While there we also had a meeting with friends and ex work colleagues of Janet’s who also support the charity. We were met with such kindness and compassion for our cause
On our return we had many e-mails thanking us for speaking to them and they were impressed at how much the charity has achieved especially in regards to our aims and objectives in helping the people to become self-sufficient and to give the children a chance to have an education.
These very kind people are also keen to help were they can and are looking in to raising enough funds to complete our rain water harvesting project.
On 1st July our farm in Bumala was chosen as the best kept and productive farm in the area. Dignitaries and the area commission came to see the farm, and they were greatly impressed, especially as the farm is also a training and teaching school.
Our passion fruit trees are growing and some of the bananas are ready to pick. Other vegetables are also ripening.
Although are farm is now successful, Peter is very concerned about some of the grandparents of our children, they are becoming too frail to care for them, we are finding more children are being neglected through no fault of the families as they do not have the means to care for them,
The charity is doing all it can to ease the suffering by providing food and taking those children in to the safe house who are in the most need. We will not be able to take all as the home will soon reach its capacity. We pray that we can continue to assist where we can, but funds determine what we are able to do.
The money raised from the charity walk on the 20th August will go towards providing food and medical help.

Please see details of the walk on the events page. you can donate through the link or come and join us!
]]> General http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=63 Sat, 9 Jul 2011 21:58:40 +0000 http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=60 The water harvesting project is nearly completed, we need to raise around £1500 to build a concrete water tank to conserve the water that comes down from the mountain and from the safe house and home roof, this will then be used for irrigation rather then the clean borehole water that needs electricity to pump it.

The farm makes its own manure from the goats and plants, this is very good for the bananas and passion fruit.

Our sponsored walk on the 20th August is to raise money to complete the harvesting project and the children's needs, please join us and have some fun, more details on our event page

]]> General http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=60 Sun, 5 Jun 2011 20:19:01 +0000 http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=59
USAID. Peter was approached a few weeks ago by a representative of this organisation from the USA, they noticed the Bumala Trust farm when they were travelling from Lake Victoria to Kisumu, and went to see him, they were very impressed with the cleanliness and crops that we are growing on the land with the help of the widows and committee members in Bumala, they are sending a consultant from Kitali to discuss planting soft fruits, Tomatoes and other vegetables, building greenhouses, training 4,000 local people in farming methods, and how to conserve water with water harvesting, all this will be funded by USAID to assist the local community to help themselves, which is what our charity is aiming to do, we are very grateful for this helping hand, as funding is very difficult to obtain now. It is so much better to train people then to just give out a sack of maize then disappear as so often happens in poor areas.

Another organisation who are willing to help us are Kenya seeds, they are fertilizing, ploughing and sowing, maize, cotton, beans and rice as a training project, on the farm, when the experiment is completed the produce will be left for the Noah’s Ark Committee in Bumala to distribute to the most needy .

We are all pleased that the Kenyan agricultural organisations are willing to help their own people, in the aims of self- sufficiency, There is still so much poverty in the area, so this help is much needed .

Peter has collected Sharron, Belinda and Austin from their boarding schools for the Easter break, Sharron who is our special needs child loves her school and is head girl of her year, the principal of the school is very pleased with her conduct and says that she is a very caring and considerate pupil. Peter says she is very happy and is doing well.

Belinda is one of our HIV+ children, she is on medication and has done very well in her class, even though has had time off due to her ill health.

Austin who is at ST Oda School for the blind is no 1 in his class, he is a lovely boy always smiling. He loves singing and playing in the school orchestra, he is learning to play the organ.

Maurene who is undertaking a beauty and hairdressing course is also doing very well; her term report was very good.
The Trust helped Harrison with school fees for two years; he has since left school with a good grade and is now working in a school in Nairobi as a trainee teacher

The fish pond that the Fisheries office funded is now finished, it has been stocked with 1000 fry, within 8 months the fish will be big enough to sell, then the pond will be restocked again.

The children love to look after the animals on the farm; they have an egg each on Sundays when all the children meet together, the honey will be harvested again shortly.

All the farm has now been fenced, this will deter unwelcome visitors, cattle and keep the projects and our animals safe
]]> General http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=59 Sat, 16 Apr 2011 19:18:47 +0000 http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=58 The farm manager is teaching the children how to care for all the animals. The cow shed will be able to hold 7 cows and the goat shed 100, these are not mountain goats they will go to the mountain to graze and then come down at night to the sheds.
The district fisheries officer has had a large fish pond constructed near our borehole this will hold 1000 fry. It has been funded by the government sponsored fish farming enterprise, when the fish have matured which takes about 8 months we can sell and restock. These fish will eat mosquito larva, so will help to stop them breeding.
]]> General http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=58 Sat, 26 Mar 2011 21:12:09 +0000 http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=57
Water is now freely available to the local community, Peter Weyama, our chairman in Bumala has installed a tap by the borehole and a tap by the tarmac road, this water will be given freely, and the costs of the electricity to pump the water will be paid for by the generosity of the Devon Peace Group. Maintenance of the pump will be borne by the committee in Bumala who are also monitoring the water so it is not misused.
We are hoping that Bukhakhala Primary School in Bumala will soon be connected to this water, this will enable the children to have water for washing their hands, and drinking.
Children go all day without food, if they are fortunate they have a breakfast at their homes before they leave and may get something before they go to bed, we would dearly love to be able to be in a position where we can provide a meal at the school for all the children. No child can study hard if they are hungry. Please contact us if you would like to help fund the costs of providing food for these children

All our projects are doing well. We have 23 bee hives and these have been producing enough honey for our children’s needs, we will shortly be able to sell and supply this honey to the local area and beyond giving income back to the farm. The Torbay Beekeeping Society are keen to help our charity, a few members of the society are interested in visiting Bumala later this year to help teach our farm workers and youngsters how to make beehives and how to harvest more efficiently .

Peter is now purchasing fencing to begin fencing and protecting the mountain. This will stop the neighbours and their cows wandering onto the land and ruining the re-forestation project, we have many saplings that have been planted and they need to be protected. We also aim to have mountain goats to keep the shrub down so the trees can grow.

The Kenya Research Centre have supplied us with nearly 1,500 virus free banana suckers, at their expense. Our banana’s had to be destroyed due to a virus, this virus is destroying many plantations in Kenya and Uganda. Our new suckers are growing very well; the Institute is also giving expert and technical advice, and supporting us for 3 years. We are now a training centre in the Bumala area growing different varieties of bananas. Some of our widows will also be given training in animal husbandry and agricultural methods,

The children’s poultry farm project is doing well, with the help of our trained manager and poultry advisor, the children are learning how to collect the eggs, feed and care for the chickens. We have built two chicken houses and have a brooding area. More funds would enable us to extend the area, so that eggs and chicks can be sold.

We have several children at boarding school doing very well. One orphan we supported is now at University, and one of our orphans has just completed an apprenticeship in panel beating and motor mechanics. He is now setting up his own business with the support of the Rotary club in Sissach, Switzerland. Several of our children have recently left school and are now going into training, which the charity will be funding. They will have attained skills in hairdressing, carpentry, mechanics and shoe making.
Maureen has just left school and is training in hairdressing, K2 Hairdressing salon based in Newton Abbot, donated equipment, which will help Maureen in her apprenticeship.

Several schools in the area very kindly support our charity. Kingskerswell Primary School is raising funds to build a nursery classroom, and Decoy Primary School has funded 2 classrooms which are now complete. Many thanks to them for this support, and the continuing support they are still giving to our charity. Bradley Barton Primary School is supporting an orphan through his schooling and Christow Primary School is raising funds to help another orphan. Warberry and Bishopsteington Primary Schools are also willing to support our charity. The West of England Blind School in Exeter donated some items to our Austin our blind orphan, who goes to St Oda School for the Blind, which is about 1 hours drive from Bumala. It is very heart-warming to see and speak to the children at these schools when we visit them; they are very interested to hear about the lives of the orphans in Bumala.
.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

SATURDAY 20TH AUGUST SPONSORED COASTAL WALK
START 10.00AM, FROM THE GREEN, ILSHAM ROAD TORQUAY, WALKING ALONG THE COASTAL ROAD TO PAIGNTON HARBOUR. FANCY DRESS WOULD BE WELCOME. PLEASE CONTACT ANNE JENKINS FOR MORE INFORMATION AND SPONSOR FORM. 01803 813211

African Charities together (ACT): We’ve joined four like-minded local charities in a recycling programme. We have two clothing banks, situated in B&Q Newton Abbot, and Woodhome Car Park Buckfastleigh, These have the ACT logo on them; please use these banks for unwanted clothing, and shoes. Our first recycling collection of shoes at the end of 2009 raised £300, enough to have 50 pairs of school shoes made for our children in Bumala; we also had another shoe collection from three schools in the Torbay and Teignbridge area that raised £155, this will enable us to have more shoes made for our new orphans.
]]> General http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=57 Sat, 5 Feb 2011 12:27:14 +0000 http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=54 Her trip was very successful and she is happy to report that The Margaret's Haven safe house has been painted and is now being furnished with the items bought from the money raised by the Auction we had in September.
The round house has now also been completed which will give shelter to the children and will have a library installed. Water is now freely available to the local community and Peter Weyama is installing a tap also on the main tarmac road for those who live further away.
Our projects are doing well. With the help of the Kenya Reearch Centre we have now 1000 new banana suckers, which means we should have bananas next year, they are also willing to train some of our widows in animal husbandry and agricultral methods.

We have a new project which the children are eager to participate in, which is a poultry farm. each child has a chicken to care for and we will be building new sheds and brooding areas, we are getting help from the Poultry advisor so it will be done correctly.

We are also hoping to get funding to extend a pipeline from our borehole to the local school so they can have clean water as well.

Please contact us if you would like to help in funding either of these projects or send a donation through our virgin giving site.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy and Peaceful New Year


]]> General http://bumalatrust.co.uk/blog/index.php?itemid=54 Thu, 2 Dec 2010 16:07:51 +0000