NORTHBOROUGH PRIMARY SCHOOL       JULY 2009

The pupils and staff of Northborough Primary School have been supporting the Mustard Seed Project from the start. They donated toys, books and educational games which were sent out to the Mustard Seed School in February. More recently year 5 baked cakes and donated the proceeds of their sale to the project. The children have also sold and bought African jewellery and the profit went to the project. They will be selling more jewellery in the Autumn.

Currently the children are saving 1p and 2p coins in sweet jars and collecting mobile phones. Some of the children have also developed their own projects to raise money.

They have also been corresponding with the children from the Mustard Seed School and sending them small gifts which has been a tremendous boost to morale in Kenya.

Peterborough Evening Telegraph and Stamford Mercury came to school on 15th July 2009 to photograph the children handing over their jars of 1p and 2p coins. The money has since been counted and comes to £99.30. A very good term's work! Year 5 managed to collect £29.88 of that money and won the award for this term.

Year 5 also made cakes and sold them at the summer fayre for the Mustard Seed Project. The proceeds from their sale came to £22.40 making a grand total of £69.78 from Year 5 alone this year. The total from all the children's efforts this term comes to an impressive £180.20

And finally, one child from year 5, Charlotte Causey, wrote to the Queen to ask for her support. She received a personal reply from one of the Queen's Ladies in Waiting. Unfortunately her request was unsuccessful, but well done Charlotte for asking.

                      COUNCIL AGREE TO STREET LIGHTING                 JULY  2010

Following a petition by the CBO the Municipal Council has agreed to extend the street lights to the 4 main roads through the community. This will greatly increase safety in the village after dark. Mustard seed have supported the communities campaign and have led the delegation lobbying the senior council officials, the city councillors and the MP. It has been a protracted effort and although the Council have agreed the pressure will continue until the work is completed

3000 BOOKS AND A FANTASTIC DAY FOR MICHE BORA PRIMARY SCHOOL October 2010

Books Abroad, a Scottish Charity, have sent out 3000 books for Miche Bora Primary School. The books which cover the whole of the primary curriculum and age range will be a great advantage for our children. They were carefully chosen by the charity and shipped to Mombasa.

Volunteers from the Charity came to visit the school on two occasions and Donna and Catherine provided a fantastic fun day for both teachers and children. Thank you so much both of you.

NEW WELL FOR WOMEN'S GROUP     OCTOBER  2010

After a long delay the well was started in October. It is being dug by hand and will take 8 weeks to reach the water level 80 feet down. The initial 15 ft were through compacted sand but we now into the dead coral ground rock. The team think that this is easier and safer so production should increase. The top 15 feet have been lined with coral blocks.

Unfortunately we have had to cut down a giant mango tree because the roots would quickly damage the well and could cause it to collapse.The Taratibu women’s group, trained by Mustard Seed, will run the project when it is completed and they will be responsible for maintenance and repair. The laundry to be built beside the well is being designed by the women’s group and a local mason so that it meets their needs. It is anticipated that this will be ready at the same time as the well. The water tank above the well will ensure a constant supply and a gravity feed to the laundry. This should be a great asset to the community and a sound business for the Taratibu women’s group.

WOMEN START POULTRY FARMING   SEPTEMBER 2010

Tiossi Women’s group, one of the ten groups trained by Mustard Seed, has started their own poultry farming business. They started with day old chicks which are fattened over 5 weeks and the sold to hotels and on the markets. The group are building additional premises to expand the business to 500 chicks, which means 100 per week going to market. Profit on each bird is about 180 KSh. The women are clued up on the business and have taken advice from poultry experts. The shed gives the chickens room to move about freely. Compared to other local producers the birds are in immaculate condition and should achieve a premium price.

                        FAMILY HEALTH TRAINING FOR UMBRELLA GROUP      OCT 2010

Trustee Winnie Mjambili and her team of highly trained and experienced retired nurses and midwives provided three days intensive training in preventive health care to 20 members of the women’s umbrella group (consisting of 2 members from each of 10 groups) The syllabus included family planning, HIV AIDS, childhood illnesses, recognising diseases, hygiene, cleanliness, childbirth and women’s illnesses. The information will be taken back to the women’s groups and shared with all the members. Follow up is being planned.

ENTERTAINMENT AT THE COMPUTER CENTRE   OCTOBER 2010

Many changes have been made to the courses offered at the Computer Centre, as the people of Mgongeni discovered when they investigated the entertainment outside the centre last week. The local youth supplied their sound equipment and a DJ to promote an open day when anyone could attend free of charge for a short taster session.

A wide range of new courses from basic beginners through intermediate and advanced courses to the internationally recognised ICDL have been introduced. Specialist courses will also be run on demand.

The costs of the courses, which are being kept to a minimum, were a major attraction. Whilst the project has to break-even to ensure long-term viability the aim is to make training affordable and accessible to everyone.

LAND RELEASED FOR URBALAND RELEASED FOR URBAN HORTICULTURE      SEPT 2010

Said Shikely and his family, who own most of the land in Mgongeni, have agreed that members of the community can use the vacant land for recreation and horticulture until he wishes to sell it for development. This is a fantastic gesture that will have many benefits. The land will be cleared of 40 years of rubbish that is a constant source of disease. Families will be able to grow vegetables to provide a much better diet and relieve hunger. Some people will grow additional crops to sell to the community and at local markets to supplement their income. There are plans to build a netball pitch and 5 aside football pitch plus a safe play park for younger children.

VOLUNTEERS RAISE £300 FOR MUSTARD SEED         May 2011

Volunteer Naomi Rose Davis and her friend Lorna Tallowin spent three days baking and decorating cakes to sell at Stilton Cheese rolling on May 2nd this year. It all turned out to be well worth the effort however as the cakes went like, well, hot cakes! The volunteers also sold jewellery which had been made in Mombasa by local craftsmen.

This was a very successful day which was organised entirely by the volunteers themselves. A big thank you to Naomi and Lorna for all their efforts.

CELEBRATIONS AT THE NEW WELL           March 2011

The long awaited well was finally opened in March and was an excuse for a great deal of celebration and merriment including killing a goat for the feast.  But what a lot to celebrate. The water was deemed to be the purest in Mombasa and completely salt free. The well which had been paid for by Star4Africa is to be run by one of the women's groups, Taratibu. They will pay Mustard Seed Project a peppercorn rent and will charge for the water in order to pay for any future repairs and to get an income.

The water situation in Mombasa is becoming desperate. Very little well water is suitable for drinking as it is salty due to the proximity to the coast. Drinking water is piped in from a lake that is drying up. The pumps and pipes were put in by the British many years ago and need repairing. As a consequence piped water only reaches Mgongeni two or three days a week.

We hope to build another well in the near future if/when we get the funding from the CDF (Community Development Fund) in Kenya. Mgongeni needs at least another 3 wells if women are not to walk great distances to collect water on their heads and damage their spines.