2017 started with lots of things, one of them being drought! January through to the beginning of March is usually expected to be a dry and hot season. However, this time, it was an extremely hot and extremely dry season that brought the worst drought we have ever experienced in the Northern part of Kenya. This year’s drought was declared a National Disaster and Kenyans who weren’t being hard hit by the drought were asked to give to their fellow countrymen. Organisations like Kenya Red Cross, World Vision among others called out to the masses to adopt a family for a certain amount of money or purchase cereals, vegetable oil and rice among other foodstuff for donations that would be distributed to the communities up North.

So what do you do when people you know become part and parcel of this National Disaster? Only what you can do, help.  That is what Kubamba Radio and Tin Roof Foundation did. Tin Roof Foundation has a partnership with Mt. Kenya Baptist Ministries in Nanyuki that works in planting churches in remote areas in Northern Kenya. They were our contact to the village of Laisamis through Pastor Katonga. The plan was to raise enough money for 100 families which would be Ksh. 357,000 total, play a part in the drought relief. Therefore, we set out by asking our fellow Kenyans listening to the radio, those on social media and around us to help meet the target by sending in money and also by praying for the families. Through this, the message for help managed to catch the ear of those in the diaspora and also those in the Volkswagen Anonymous Club-Kenya who gladly took part in sending money and journeying with us all the way to Laisamis, respectively.

This fantastic partnership enabled us to raise about Ksh. 600,000 with about 57% coming from within Kenya. This was used to feed approximately 300 hundred families in the villages of Laisamis, its neighbouring villages and other villages in Baragoi, Wamba and Suguta Marmar.

We could not have done this on our own. Every single individual who gave their time, money and resources to this project made it happen. This was one of the examples that Tin Roof uses to illustrate that East African Problems can be resolved by East African Solutions, if we just put our minds to it!

Check out Kubamba Radio presenter Tina Nzuki’s video about the experience and why YOU should get involved with the next Simply Do Good deed.

Post by Barbara Muthoka, Operations Administrator
(photos by Tina Nzuki, Kubamba Radio Presenter)

Wilberforce Otieno is a young man who has a passion for doing good and has joined forces with SDG Kenya to encourage others to do the same. Having set up a Nakuru chapter, he then connected with a group of young people in Coast who were interested in being part of the movement. We asked Wilberforce to go and meet with the group, talk to them about the work of SDG and join them as they carried out their first SDG “deed”.

This is what Wilberforce told us about the deed…

​“On the 16th-July-2017 we arrived at Mji Wa Salama Children’s Home in Mombasa and we were well received. The children assembled in a hall where we got to have an opening prayer from one of us then we introduced ourselves. We had fellowship with the kids then went for games.

After games they were assembled into small groups and we divided ourselves to each group. We then had a session on childhood development in Christianity. After an hour we came together and had a bible trivia challenge with each group bringing their best for competition. The session ended and we had a dancing session where kids showed their talents.

We then went to the session of snacks and the kids lined up for the refreshments. We made sure all the kids had gotten the snacks and shared with them as we gave them words of encouragements.

We concluded with a prayer and bid them goodbye as we departed the home.”

Check out our video to find out what motivates Wilberforce to help others.