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Mass. Human Services Co. Raises $10,500 for Kenyan Special School

Members of the Kenya Outreach Project by a human services company, Advocates Inc. during a fund raising dinner dance in Westborough, Mass. H.Maina/AjabuImages

By Harrison Maina, Ajabu Africa News , Posted October 6, 2010. updated 10/7/10, 8.00pm

WESTBOROUGH, Mass., A group of Kenyans and other Africans working at a human services company in Massachusetts and their friends have helped raise over $10,500 towards Kiriko Special Unit, a mentally handicapped children’s school in central Kenya.

Calling themselves the Advocates Kenya Outreach Project, the group held the fundraiser at the Knights of Columbus hall in Westborough, Mass., last Saturday, with close to 100 Kenyans and Americans in attendance, raising about $4,500 in cash.

The new initiative had raised another $6,000 in cash a few months ago, that has already been sent to the school to complete some projects.

The Kenya Outreach Project was born out of an idea of by one Kenyan, James Irungu, who works at Advocates Inc, a large human services company that employs a large group of Kenyans, especially from the Worcester area in central Massachusetts.

“James Irungu decided to contact the directors of the company to see if they had any used computers that could be sent to Africa to help disadvantaged children to learn,” said Grace Muchiru, one of the Kenyans heavily involved with project, and who works as a shared living cordinator at Advocates Inc..

“Irungu then asked a few other Kenyans working for the company to help, and together, we searched online and found Kiriko Special Unit as a school we would like to assist for our project,” added Michiru.

Muchiru added that since the formation of the Advocates Kenya Outreach project, many Americans have come to help out.

“When James approached Bill and we heard his idea, we thought it was really good one. It gave us a chance to do something to give back to the Kenyan community who form a good part of our workforce,” said Eric Millen , a clinical director at Advocates Inc.

He said that Advocates Inc. is a human service group which has been serving the community of East and Central Massachusetts with their human services needs for the last 35 years.

James Irungu, Kenya outreach project director

Eric Millen, clinical director at Advocates Inc.

Grace Muchiru, shared living cordinator

Flanked by two of his children, Bonnie said that the Kiroki special school project gave them great joy to see their small contribution go a long way at helping children in Africa that suffer similar challenges as other developmentally disabled children in the USA.

Before Saturday’s funds raiser, the project had previously donated $6,000 in cash towards building a water tank for the school which is already completed.

They have also donated many books and a lot of stationary, as well as CPR and first aid equipment.

“I thank God for what we have been able to achieve so far. It is going on very well. I did not think it will pick up that fast,” said James Irungu, the pioneer of the project.

However, Irungu cautioned that there was a lot of work that remained to be done, and appealed to more Kenyans to help them with more donations.

“There is a big problem because the school has only four direct care workers who take care of 76 students. This is very tough for the workers to help the students well with their showers, feeding etc,” added Irungu.

“Today’s event is aimed at fund raising money to start an income generating project for the school so that it can be on it’s way to self sustainability,” he said.

Kiriko Specia Unit: Fresh soil is seen at the site of the new water tank that was constructed with funds from the Kenya outreach project. Pic by Grace Muchiru

Irungu thanked the Kenyans and other donors who responded to the call for the fund raising on a short notice. He also thanked the directors of Advocates Inc for agreeing to help them make the project a reality.

Recently, one of the projects directors, Grace muchiru visited Kiriko special unit to view the progress of the initiative.

A video and photo presentation of the progress gathered by Muchiru was shown at the event, to the delight of donors and guests who could see how their money was put to use.

The event was organized in a dinner set-up with no formal contributions asked. However guests who had paid $20 for the dinner as their contribution were encouraged to donate anything they might have if they so wished.

"Let's get the word out as much as we can to make more people aware of this project", appealed Lilliana Mangiafico , a grant writer at the Advocates Inc., as she thanked the guests who responded to the fund raising call..

Speaking during the event, Harrison Maina, the Ajabu Africa news reporter who was present to cover the occasion said that he was shoked to learn of the project at Kiriko Special unit , which, he disclosed was actually located less than 2 miles from his rural home in Thika district in central Kenya.

Lilliana Mangiafico

“This now takes personal dimension for me,” said Maina. I will do everything I can to help out,” he added.

Maina echoed the words of the new Kenyan Ambassador to the US who, during a recent visit to New England, he said there was a dire and urgent need for Kenyans in the Diaspora to think of what they can do to help children in their own villages back in Kenya since they are becoming aware of the opportunities that are present.

“Most of us Kenyans work in the human services field and as nurses here in the Diaspora. Imagine if every Kenyan approached their employer just like the Advocates for Kenyan people have done".

He decried the archaic practice in Kenya parents who give birth to children with special needs tended to hide them indoors for many years making them suffer unnecessarily, simply because they have no one to help them provide the necessary care or teach them how to care for such children.

He also said it was wrong that some Kenyans discourage their average countrymen in America who have a heart top help those in need back home by jumping to wrong conclusions that the they are doing so with a goal of misappropriating the money for personal gain, while they themselves are not taking up the challenge.

Maina praised the Advocates for Kenya project as a good example of Kenyans engaging Americans that they interact with at work daily towards providing resources to have such children have someone to take care of them professionally.

"They need all the support we can give,” said Maina.

Maina has his own charity (Shining Hope Foundation) operating from the rural primary school he attended, a few miles from the Kiriko special unit.

A young Kenyan American is trained on how to donate to charity

As he finished making his comments, tables were turned on the Ajabu Africa publisher when one guest put down a $200 wager as a challenge to Maina to figure out how to beat that mark since he had a special connection to Kiriko School.

Caught unawares, the Ajabu Africa publisher took the basket and continued to solicit for funds from Kenyans and Americans present, and a village mate, Paul Karanja of Manchester, NH, who was present at the event.

Maina managed to raise $1,000 in a few minutes, which added to the general contribution for the night of $3,500, came to a total of $4,500.

“We actually did not expect to raise $4,500, especially being our first fund raising,” said Irungu, thanking all guest present, including Advocates Inc personnel and their friends, Ajabu Africa.com, the Knights of Columbus at Westborough.

Other speakers present praised the efforts by Advocates for Kenya Inc for initiating the project to help the special needs students at Kiriko special unit.

“I congratulate you for this very good project,” said Charles Kagunye, a director with a another Boston based charity group that runs a project in central Kenya, Boston Kenya, popularly known as BOSKEN. The group’s main projects are located in Kairi village, about 20 miles away from Kiriko special unit.

Guests dance during the Advocates Inc Kenyan Outreach project fundraiser

Kagunye added that Kenyans should not be negative when they see other Kenyans doing more different charitable projects in Kenya”.

“We should not see the many different projects as competition because there is a lot to be done and no one single organization can meet the need there is,” said the young Kenyan who is a nurse by profession.

Others who encouraged more Kenyans to participate in charitable projects included Paul Waithaka of the Kenya monitor and Mercy Maina of the Afya Njema charitable project, which is collaboration between several Kenyans in Boston and the University of Massachusetts Boston.

The event ended with a spectacular dance where Kenyans and American folks present danced to sweet melodies form DJ Sam of Boston.

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Kenya Outreach Project dinner dance- Pictorial by Ajabu Images