Asante Sana to you and your donations. This blog is dedicated to where your donations went that were given to me personally and through the Rehema website.

We left Bukura with what we could do with the time we had-with hope in our hearts that we made some lasting improvements and some smiles. I am so grateful for all the donations I received. I know it is hard to donate money when you don’t know where it goes — I can assure you that every penny is going into making the lives here a little better.

Here are just a few ways we used your donation:

Essentials for Widows: A friend that lives in the area ministers to widows struggling to raise their family, offering them not only emotional support but also practical assistance in their daily lives. I was able to provide six families with a box filled with some of the more basic needs: sugar, oil, flour, milk, tea, and biscuits — staples I hope that through this small act of kindness, we can uplift their spirits and provide some relief in difficult times.

Bed Bug Free Baby Beds: Bed bugs are a menace anywhere and hard to rid. It is especially hard here due to a built resistance to pesticides, hot humid conditions and lack of access to products. We hired a man and his sons who boiled water in a cauldron on an open fire to kill the visible eggs. He then used a gas mixture to kill the rest and then covered the wood in paraffin. It will take two more applications to ensure that critters can not infiltrate the wood again.

Hot Water: The hot water was not working in the children’s bathrooms or in the baby room. The Aunties were warming up water in pots over a fire and bringing it into the baby room to get them cleaned up with warm water. We hired a plumber to replace showerheads, fix pipes, faucets, and hot water.

Washing Machine Repair: Anyone up for hand washing clothes for 27 children on a daily basis? We hired an electrician to fix two of the machines and service a third making it quicker, easier and more sanitary to wash their clothes.

Security Lighting: We hired an electrician to fix the lighting on the outside of the buildings to provide security lighting on the grounds at night.

High Chairs and Bouncy Seats: We are in the process of ordering bouncy seats and hiring a carpenter to make high chairs for the infants. Above you can see me and Auntie Susan feeding three of them on the floor, and high chairs would surely make the feeding process much easier and more organized. With designated chairs, the infants would be able to sit upright comfortably, allowing for better digestion and interaction during meal times. Every day, the infants are brought outside in the fresh air. Having them able to lounge in a chair instead of on the sidewalk would provide some much-needed comfort.

School Supplies: Two years ago I was able to purchase school supplies including books, pens, erasers, crayons, etc. They have stretched the use of these for two years. With your help we were able to supply them with new materials for the start of school.

Asante Sana