October 2011 Update
In June Mike Rutter and I (Henry Chu) visited Nguluni for the first time. Nguluni is a bumpy, 1 1/2 hour drive south east of Nairobi. The project has been under the leadership of Robert & Rose Gitau since 1989. To see their cumulative work over 21 years in one of the poorest rural areas in Kenya was inspiring and a powerful lesson of what can be done little by little over time. In the NGO world everyone talks about sustainability but how many people are committed long-term to work with a poor community to get there. The Gitau's have done that and they are still doing it.
Peering into their world we saw what they were doing to transform this rural community. Today, the Nguluni Center operates two school (Countryside & Good News), an orphanage, a medical clinic, a sewing facility, a computer lab and two small farms. The place is easonably self-contained with water, shelter and electricity. The school has about 400 children in attendance with about 55 orphans living on site. Most kids are picked by their two buses (one large and one small) early in the morning. We rode one of them and discovered they aren't anything like the ones used here in the US. First, they are much smaller, and they have benches running along the side and in the middle. There are no seat belts! Second, in this rural area getting a ride to school is a big deal as there is no real alternative. Some children travel a full hour to and from school every day.
When we were there construction work was just being completed on a new building with a dining hall and bedrooms for orphans. Previously, they were eating mostly outside even if it were raining. The children were quite happy and gathered in front of the building to give us thanks.
Update: February 2009
Dotun Modupe, Bright Hope’s Partnership Developer in Kenya, visited the Nguluni Resource Center in February 2009. This center has been greatly blessed through your generous gift. Dotun spoke with Robert and Rose Gitau, the center’s founders and administrators, and sent in this report:
‘When I arrived at the center, the village children were running around exploring the construction site of the new dormitory. There is excitement in the air. It seems the whole community is enjoying the new endeavor. Pastor Robert and his wife Rose see a new hope in their children’s eyes. They explained to me that the construction of the dormitory has boosted the children’s’ spirits because it has shown them that people do care about them, and it affirms that they have not been forgotten.’
Pastor Robert told us that enrollment in the school has increased because parents now have greater assurance that ‘their children, especially their daughters, will be safe.’ Pastor Robert explained, ‘The dormitory has increased our ability to manage the children more effectively. The girls will now be secure upstairs and the boys will have their own rooms downstairs.’ For orphaned children who have been homeless, this will be a great blessing.
‘Even the government has looked favorably upon the school,’ Dotun continued. ‘Government inspectors visited and were very impressed. They granted the center a tax exemption letter so they can buy a new tractor for the farm. The farm is a very good project. It is providing jobs in the community and extra nutrition for the students in school. The center is even able to sell the extra crops to the village, which means additional income for the school and the children.’
