---- A REGISTERED, CHARITABLE KENYAN NGO WITH AN OFFICE IN CANADA, RUN ENTIRELY BY VOLUNTEERS CFA WAS ORIGINALLY FOUNDED IN 2008 TO BUILD A HOME (DORMITORY) FOR 55 SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN IN MIGWANI, KENYA WHO HAD BEEN LOOKED ON AS BEING CURSED. TODAY THERE ARE TWO DORMITORIES FOR OVER 90 CHILDREN WHO ARE RELATIVELY CONTENT. TEACHERS AND CARETAKERS DO THEIR BEST TO MAKE THEIR LIVES POSITIVE. IN ADDITION, WE ARE HELPING A GROUP OF 40 MOTHERS (MUTULU VILLAGE WOMEN'S GROUP) AND A GROUP OF 90 SOULS WITH HIV AIDS (KWEETALA NA WATWAYO) TO BECOME SELF-SUFFICIENT. JIM SENKA HOUSE ("The Jim") 
PROJECT UPDATE March 2017 Recent correspondence from the Dormitory manager, Patrick Mutembe - there are now 12 teachers on the Special Needs Project and over 90 residents/students in the project. They need to up-grade their Latrine and are seeking funding for this job. If anyone would like to donate to this upgrade, they can send funds to Jamessenka@gmail.com NOTE: - All funds donated to CFA go to the children and management of the dormitory. - A summary of our activities in Migwani, Kenya over the past year- October, 2014 - 4 volunteers from British Columbia spent 2 weeks in Migwani working with the children and meeting with groups in Migwani with the goal of finding ways to help them become self-supporting. The volunteers will be part of a larger group touring Kenya with Adventure Africa http://AdvenAfrica.com/ one of our Project's major supporters. UPDATE - In November, 2013 an assessment and suggested treatment was conducted on the children at the dormitory by Worldwide Orthopedic Supplies and Services. These are the results.
Below are some photos of the Mutulu VIllage Women's group chicken coop which we recently funded. We also purchased some land for this group and they expect to be building a Women's Centre there soon. Oct. 2013
A big event took place at the Special Needs project in Migwani -
Senator David Musilla (former Member of Parliament) attended an opening ceremony for the new administrative building for the dormitories along with the Member of Parliament Hon. Mr. Kitungi and several Government officials. 500 local people attended. The original Dormitory (see below) which we built with funds mostly from residents of the Bulkley Valley has evolved into a complex for handicapped children, with teachers funded by the Government of Kenya thanks to the work of Project Manager Esther Kasina and Senator Musilla. Mr. Kitungi has pledged support for the Project as well. The bottom line - 80 unfortunate special needs children of the area are now receiving the care and developmental help that they badly needed. You can see it in the smiles on their faces below.
and this is my letter of congratulations which was read at the ceremony - > letter from Jim Senka
     Below is the dormitory we built for over 80 handicapped children in Migwani.
These children had been treated as cursed because of an unfortunate local cultural superstition. This superstition is now fading and in the children are now upbeat and happy - a big change from when we first met them at the opening of their dormitory in 2008. 100% of the funds raised were used for the construction of this Dormitory. Member of Parliament, Hon. David Musilla & the Government of Kenya have since built a second dormitory and we recently sent funds for beds, bedding, curtains and furniture for this second building. 3 teachers from the regular school (next door) began teaching the children on a volunteer basis and today, 5 teachers are funded by the Government of Kenya.
A NOTE ABOUT GOATS Child Focus Africa's activities includes providing the opportunity for donors to purchase a goat for a group of HIV Aids sufferers. This is an excellent way to make these folks lives a little better. There are many such programs for needy African people. We wish to point out that, while normal goats can be purchased elsewhere for $40, those animals are common goats that normally run free and can cause a nuisance and sometimes more harm than good. On the other hand, the goats we purchase cost $175, but they are special dairy goats which are very productive. The cost includes the construction of a pen so they can be properly cared for.
Ours is a personally rewarding project for our volunteers.
If you would like to be invovlved in making a better life for under-priveledged children, please contact Jim Senka, Child Focus Africa president / jsenka@gmail.com / Tel. 1-250-847-2597
The Head Teacher at the school agreed to allow the use of one of the classrooms as a place for these unfortunate children to sleep temporarily. Madam Kasina and her associates, including local members of Child Focus Africa provided bunks for the children and taught them what they could in their spare time. They also somehow found a way to feed them.
As the word spread, the number of children needing care grew to over 80 children. Through teaching these children, it was found that some of their handicaps were not that severe and it was with great pride that four of them were enrolled in the regular school in the summer of 2009.
Paul Kenya, founder of Child Focus Africa approached Jim Senka in the fall of 2007 for a financial donation to help build a dormitory for the Children. The story of the Special Needs Unit was very touching, and after verifying the legitimacy of the organization, Jim decided to begin fund-raising for the Dormitory.
The projected cost was $19,000, and while he didn't think he could raise that amount, Jim decided that raising as much as he could would be better than doing nothing. The full $19,000 was raised in 6 months. Jim says he’s very proud to have a lot of good friends and was very gratified to find that virtually all of them were eager to help the project in various ways. He also made a lot of new friends, who, when hearing of the project, offered to help.
The fund-raising was comprised of numerous individual fund-raising events including concerts, dance showcase, silent auction, charity bazaar booth, a bowling event, efforts of several school classes and some substantial financial donations from some compassionate individuals. The latter included a donation of $800 from " Friends of Kitui ", a Catholic charity based in Dublin Ireland. http://www.friendsofkitui.com
Our fund-raising campaign began in September ’08 with a big jump-start from local dance diva and teacher/mentor, Monica Catorc who produced a showcase featuring local dancers and raised $2,100 for our cause.
By January '09 enough funds were raised to begin construction and a ground-turning ceremony was held. The total fund-raising goal was reached (including a $2000 surplus which was used as a contingency) in June '09 and the building was completed in September ’09. Jim and Judy Senka visited Migwani at this time to attend the opening ceremony and meet the wonderful people associated with the project on the ground in Migwani.
Jim & Judy were thanked profusely, but made sure that people understood that they were merely co-ordinators and that the funds came from the compassionate people of the Bulkley Valley as well as Jim’s family in Manitoba and Minnesota.
We are very proud to note that 100% of the funds raised were used for the dormitory construction - things like our air fare came out of our own pockets. |
