MMS – Aphia Plus/USAID

  • Coordination and Management of the MMS – Aphia Plus/USAID Head Count, taking all informations from the caretakers of and the 3155 children in the programme, together with the children’s pictures at 4 different locations, to come up with a comprehensive report on the situation in the different areas of operation and how to address each individual area’s community’s needs.

  • Organization of MMS – Aphia Plus “Shelter Improvement Programme”, in which Caregiver Households were supplied with new iron sheets for their roofing. 11 out of a total of 18 shelter renovations in Western Kenya, funded by USAID, were granted to Make Me Smile’s supported Caregivers. Make Me Smile gave additional support in the house construction to a very vulnerable blind widow.

  • VSLA (Village Saving and Loaning Association) Training of two Groups (approximately 40 People each) and successful implementation of VSLA (Village Micro Credit) Programmes.

Make Me Smile Kenya’s 2nd Phase Volunteer Programme

  • Establishment of Make Me Smile Kenya’s 2nd Phase Volunteer Programme and all the necessary requirements (Volunteer House – rented, renovated & furnished, MMS Bus etc.).

  • Acquisition, application and coordination of further volunteers.

  • Linked the Social Workers and CHV (Community Health Volunteers) of the MMS – Aphia Plus Programme with MMS Volunteers (Social Work Students) for exchange on this field.

MMS Childrenhouse Miwani

  • Created contact between Children of MMS Childrenhouse Miwani and Italian Montessori School “Facciamo un Nido” – donation of cloths to MMS and exchange of letters.

  • Extension of sustainable farming activities at MMS Childrenhouse Miwani together with MMS Volunteers – planted Sukuma Wiki in Sack and on Field + Green Grams and Cabbage.

  • Held 1st MMS Awareness Girl Talk / Mentoring Programme with 38 adolescent Girls assisted by MMS Volunteers (Denmark), Christine (Deputy Principal at Girls Vocational Training School “Darling” and Brenda (MMS Staff)

MMS School Support

  1. Kasang’any Primary School

    Make Me Smile Supported the school with a donation of 10 School Desks/Benches for several classes. They were built on the school compound by a carpenter among the parents in form of a work shop, instructing the students and parents.

    Following Requirements to help their students were part of our Discussion:

  • Improvement of Education through different approaches. – A Scholarship in Secondary (High) School for 1 Student with a poor background was promised.

  • Introduction of Sustainable farming methods (+ water storage) to establish a self reliant lunch programme for the children.

  • Drafting a concept for an awareness raising programme to educate the children and community about Family Planing, HIV/Aids, Prevention, Adolescence, Health and Hygiene issues.

  1. Miwani Estate School

  • Organized Exchange/Awareness Talk for all Adolescent Girls in Miwani Estate School with Orongo Widows and Orphans Group. Menstruation Sanitary Towels.

  • Distributed Reusable Sanitary Towels for over 200 Girls in the School.

  • Discussed issues to renovate sanitary facilities

  1. Waluka Primary School – Coordination with Danube International School Vienna

  • Organizing a practical learning tour/visit of School committee and parent representative to a school with a successful self reliant lunch programme.

  • Drafting a strategic plan for the school’s achievement of their sustainability and independence of their lunch programme for the children trough financial and material parent contributions and many small scale income generating activities.

  • Improvement of their sustainable farming programme, the children’s diet
    (+ Sukuma Wiki) and plan for a new energy efficient & smoke-free kitchen.

Cooperation with Danube International School Vienna

  • Coordination of the annual DIS Students Volunteer visit to Waluka Primary School, organized the volunteer’s participation in the construction of the new energy efficient kitchen in Waluka and a new cemented fish pond in the MMS Childrenhouse Miwani.

MMS Outreach Support

  • MMS OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children) Support – Saved the life of a child with medical complications through providing nutritional & medical Support and paying for a CT Scan, hospital admission fee and other charges.

  • MMS Living Support – purchasing sacks of grains (maize and beans) and seeds etc. to enable the start-up of sustainable farming for a bed ridden HIV positive man living with five vulnerable children.

  • MMS Farming Support Group – 12 Community Health Volunteers and Caregivers have initiated a very successful sustainable farming programme, including Maize farms and rather large scale Rice fields! Make Me Smile decided to support them in the realization of further measures, in order to enable them support their community.

  • MMS supports a Widows Self Help Group, who sells hand crafted art and utility objects, made from recycled and natural materials, thereby setting an encouraging and inspiring example! To help them sustain themselves and economically strengthen their community, MMS arranged the purchase of over 300 of their hand made products by the Austrian Bank “Volksbank NOE SUED”, which they will give as presents to their customers on World’s Savings Day.
    Furthermore, we offer the Widows’ products at our charity events to continue bringing back the Smiles!

Other Activities

  • We forwarded all Accounting details to an Austrian Auditor to achieve Tax Deduction for donations to MMS International’s Projects (MMS Kenya).

  • Revised internal Concept for MMS Kenya’s future plans, goals and projects, as in
    “MMS Kenya Project Description September 2012”

Yours sincerely,

Maximilian Ullrich                                                                                                         Founder and Chairman of Make Me Smile Kenya