Having been absent for a while posting here it is now necessary to pen down a post again. I pray and hope you all will read it. All lines. Especially the end is important.
Turmoil and recover
The absences of posts and activity at Agaptivity that's been for a while now was out of necessity. There was a need of recovery and contemplation. The beginning of 2016 started off pretty well but then tumultuous things happened that really took the edge of the momentum and positive attitude towards the future that we had regarding our project for the orphans at Kisumu Kenya. Things were bright and for the first time we actually had a financial buffer, not big but a buffer. A buffer that enabled for us to breathe out, relaxing from constantly chasing money or having constant fires to put out due to situations like lack of food (hunger and starvation), diseases (malaria, typhoid, cholera) or accidents. From both diseases and accidents follow costs for medicine and hospital bills and all this strains the funds for the daily need of food, water and sanitaries.
The wall
I who writes this down, chairman Ted Sjovall, have spent countless of hours and much energy on Agaptivity. Things have being going well even if it has meant very late evenings (nights) and else. It has been both fun and rewarding. When my strength started to go down Caroline Silvaro stepped in and als our secretary Bertil Hjelm and they have contributed greatly.
Finally however it was as if "reality catches up". We still need more members and more people helping out. We're not talking about full commitments like engaging in the board of directors or such, but rather helping out during event where one can pull things off in ones own local or regional area (like collecting bottles for refund).
Eventually I hit the wall (as we say in Sweden, being burned out is another expression). The many hours and the input of energy took its toll. In all this I have neglected other things that interests me, hobbies..., and the exhaustion that eventually kicks in affected both my mood and health and thus the people closest to me. It was time to put the foot down.
A defining moment
One thing in all the turmoil in the midst of the reality catching up was the home of the orphans, their center that we managed to build up. It was nothing extravagant, rather the opposite, something very simple. However - it was a home. They had a roof over their heads, it was a shelter and they had access to water through a well we borred and they also had a latrine. Water and a latrine is A and O when it comes to protection against all kind of diseases we are spared from.
You are noticing I'm writing in past tense, right? Yes. The land that the center was built on was donated to Wycliffe, or rather the congregation he's the pastor of. Not a big piece of land but big enough for the need of the orphans. Sadly it turned out that the legal documents weren't the right. One day it turned out that the daughter of the old widow who donated the land had sold it to a more affluent land lord. This land lord more or less told the orphans to 'beat it'. With the help of a lawyer friend of Wycliffe we managed to postpone the departure for four weeks giving us time to see if we could prepare for having the legal system have it saying on this. The first thing this land lord pulled up was a suggestion we should rent the land and the center! What?! Rent the very property donated and the center we built, paying more money than we put on providing food for the orphans!? That is just out of the question. It is not to consider even being a question.
At the start of the last week before the departure the demolition crew arrived..... Well, we understood already ahead of that, that it was a game lost. Kenya is, as I've heard, the third most corrupt country in the world. How could we ever put up against a land lord with a thick wallet in such a system? Especially when the demolition guys showed up before their time. It was a sign. No, it was just a matter of leaving.
Since then the kids have lived on the church premises. They spend daytime outside and sleep indoors at night. They do not have access to clean water but have to move kilometers away to fetch it. Many kids drink what ever water they find and also, they do not always have the means to purify the water properly, boiling it and using chlorine.... Today they do not have a latrine.
So, with lack of food and these circumstances it is all set up for diseases and misery.
Death visits
And sure enough. Diseases have visited. At times everything strikes, malaria, typhoid and cholera. The last time all three. One of the orphans, Teresa Auma have now gone to be with her maker. She's no longer among the orphans.
The funeral is scheduled on Sunday. Everything need to be taken care of rather quickly due to the climate.
It is all so sad....
However, we at Agaptivity, and all you members and donors who have contributed shall NOT feel bad about this, don't let your conscience down. OK? We have all done what we thought was possible. And we who have engaged in and operated Agaptivity could not have done more.
New start
Now it's time to move on. Move on to our best abilities. Until now Agaptivity's activity have for a while been limited to transferring what ever means have come in. The summer is here and we all should enjoy our holidays and time off. But I do feel it is time to look forward, towards falls at least sort of mentally thinking and planning.
Agaptivity need, or rather them who we help need:
- More members and donors. What can we do to reach out to get more people contributing? What are your thoughts and ideas on this? Let us know!
- More people engaged.Yet again, as mentioned above, we do not expect people being part of the board of directors and such. We're thinking more in terms of ambassdors for example, where people can help out in there local or regional area during events or coming up with their own ideas. Contact Caroline regarding this.
Right now we need this - We need your help
Right now we need to solve an acute situation. It's about taking care of things like hospital bills, medicine costs, funeral etc.... At the moment we are talking about:
- Hospital bill – $233
- Mortuary - $88
- Transport of the body, coffin etc – $163
Wycliffe will get back with the final figure.
Also, they have been out of food again for a period of time. There's been a few such periods ranging from 4-5 days or more since a while back. The final amount above is $484. That is almost what it takes for food and sanitary items for a whole month for the 69 orphans plus Wycliffe and his family....
I hope we can raise as much as possible. If we could reach $642 we would also be able to help out with food and cover the cost of money transfer.
Please help - donate
Find all PayPal info here
We hope for you support!
Kind regards
Ted Sjovall
Chairman & Director
Bertil Hjelm
Secretary & Vice Director
Caroline Silvaro
Project Coordinator
Do you have any questions or thoughts? Do you have ideas on how we could be more effective? Would you like to help us in any way? Do not hesitate, contact us! You will find all contact info here
