What Make Me Smile Kenya reached due to your help in 2013:

1. Miwani – Lunch – Program

Our 10 initial MMS girls are now under foster care and live at our former „Mama’s“ place or at their foster parent’s home. Since January 2013 the ten girls and additional 11 vulnerable children receive a daily Lunch and medical care in the former “Children house Miwani” and scholarships through MMS Kenya.

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2. 2. Support in Schools

The „Waluka Primary School” managed to do new sustainable agriculture projects for lasting lunch programs for more than 800 children.
Furthermore MMS managed to support other local schools, namely: „Miwani Estate Primary School“, “St. Mary’s Mayenya Primary“ and „Kasang’any Primary School“. Our Volunteers gave them a hand in the kitchen and helped them to teach the pupils. Besides that we plan to organize Lunch-Programs in these schools.

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3. 3. Scholarships

• Eric Ochieng

Eric worked as a popcorn-seller to be able to afford his sister’s school-fees. Due to the help of the Make me Smile Festival he managed to start his last year of his masonry education.

• Dennis Otieno

Maximilian Ullrich met Dennis, living on the streets. Make Me Smile helped him through the donations of the Make me Smile Festival to fulfill his dream and to start an education as an electrical engineer.

Furthermore 22 children in Primary Schools and 17 children in Secondary Schools received scholarships through MMS Kenya.

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4. 4. Girls Empowerment

We organized Workshops for 64 Make Me Smile Social workers and Community Health Volunteers (CHV) to train them how to make reusable sanitary towels.
Thanks to the Make me Smile Festival we could get enough material and sewing machines to produce reusable sanitary towels for more than 800 girls. The Social workers and CHVs pass their knowledge on to further girls and women in several regions. Through selling the sanitary towels they can even get an additional income.

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5. Mentoring Program

We organize awareness programs with adolescent groups and youths to provide space for exchange and generate consciousness about HIV/Aids, Prevention, Family Planning, Health and Hygiene Issues. These topics will be performed in plays, poems, songs as well as discussed in groups.

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6. Outreach Programs

Whitney Akiniy

Whitney suffered from a stroke when she was nine years old. Since then she is blind and paralyzed. With the help of the Make me smile Festival were able to enlarge the business of Whitney’s family. Besides from fish they sell fresh vegetables and fruits. We also help Whitney by providing physiotherapy, medical support and if necessary an operation.

Mollyn Wanjiku

Mollyn was born paralyzed from the waist down. Due to a tragic incident, Mollyn got pregnant with Clinton before she turned 16. Clinton was also born with a walking disability and could never practice walking, since his mother could never leave the house. Since 2013 Clinton is attending physiotherapy. Both Mollyn and Clinton get medical support.

For Christmas Make Me Smile presented Mollyn with a “Bicycle-Wheelchair” and a modern walker for her baby, Clinton. Mollyn is now able to take part in social life and even look for possible work.

Joyce Atieno

In this case we unfortunately have some sad news. Joyce suffered from hydrocephalus and passed away in August 2013. She was four years old. Make Me Smile still supports her family.

Alfred

Alfred is HIV positive and a single father with five children. Alfred’s shelter was in a very bad condition. It could not protect him and his children, much less be a home. Due to the APHIA PLUS Program he got a new house for his family. Thanks to the Make me Smile Festival we helped him to start an agriculture project to sell vegetables.

Anjiko Muhai

After the death of her sister, nine years ago, Anjiko became blind, mute and physical limited.
In 2013 Anjiko received essential medical support and we helped her mother to build up a little business. She is selling vegetables, fruits and kenyan specialties. It is an additional step to enable Anjikos family to stand on their own feet.

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7. 7. Training in Psychosocial Support

In collaboration with FICE Kenya and the help of Mag. Hermann Radler (Founder of Therapeutic Communities) we gave trainings in psychosocial support, children’s rights and –development. We taught them how to deal with mistreatment and grief due to the loss of a parent because of HIV/Aids. 45 social workers and community health volunteers participated in these trainings..

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8. 8. Training in First Aid and Nutrition / Caregiver Training

Dr. Wanda Galecki is a doctor from Columbia and lives in Austria. She held several trainings in First Aid and Nutrition. Furthermore she organized with Mag. Irmgard Ullrich awareness programs about family planning, health care and economic strengthening.

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9. 9. Support of Kenyan Widows

The local self-help group of widows, Chiga Good Choice, combined their creativity, skills, sustainability and hard work to produce beautiful art and utility objects through hand crafted work, using recycled and natural materials to sustain themselves and their children and economically strengthen their community! MMS Kenya supports them in their cause, by buying their beautiful products and offering them at their charity events. This year they even paid school fees for the most vulnerable child in their community.

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10. 10. House-Renovation

With the support of APHIA Plus we renovated 18 houses or rather rebuilt them after a flood disaster. Now they live in a safe home!

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11. 11. VSL (Village Savings and Loaning)

In collaboration with APHIA Plus we organized five trainings in “Village Savings and Loaning” (savings club with microcredit distribution) with 35 participants each. In this way we want to strength five communities and help them to become independent.

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12. Greenhouse in Miwani

Due to a donation of USAID we were able to build a Greenhouse in Miwani, next to the childrenhouse. In this way we support self-preservation and we can offer our children of the Lunch Program fresh and substantial meals. Leftovers will be sold for good prices to the community to support even more local lasting projects.

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13. 13. Volunteer Program

This year Make Me Smile Kenya welcomed 15 Volunteers from Austria, Germany, Luxemburg and Swiss. They came within an internship or just for voluntary work and rendered great assistance.
Our volunteers helped us in many projects and spread wonderful smiles to many people and children.

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14. Success Stories due to the collaboration with USAID and Path Kenya in 2013:

• Access to Education

By paying a part of their school fees, 270 vulnerable children were able to visit Secondary Schools. Furthermore we enabled seven youths to do Vocational Trainings.

• School Uniforms

We distributed school uniforms to 2652 children. Due to cooperation with a few local tailors, we did not only spread the smiles to the children’s faces but also to the whole community.

• Blankets Distribution

In 2013 USAID donated 2025 blankets. We distributed them to our children and their families so the will find their sleep even in cold nights.

• Mattress Distribution

On 8th of January 2013, Make Me Smile received 761 mattresses from USAID to enable our OVCs dreamlike nights.

• Health Insurance

165 families now have a health insurance due to “NHIF Cards” (National Hospital Insurance Fund).

• Agriculture Training & Fruit Trees Seedlings

USAID donated Fruit Trees Seedlings to 760 households to support their self-preservation. Furthermore we organized trainings in sustainable agriculture for 280 caregivers from which many successful agriculture projects were born.