Because of recent violence near St. Clare, Fr. Riwa contacted the Kenyan chief of police and asked for protection for the 850 children in his care. To his surprise, the chief appointed Sergeant Susan to the Children’s Village, which became her permanent post. Susan is a member of the Samburu tribe, where Fr. Riwa first worked as a young priest, so she was aware of Fr. Riwa and his work. Further, Susan is a veteran police officer and has served in many capacities.
One would never know how tough Susan is when first meeting her, as she is warm and affable. However, several weeks ago a small group of young men jumped over the wall and stole mangoes. Before they could get away, Susan had arrested them and taken them to the nearest police station. When asked why she was so severe Susan replied: “They were trespassing on private property today and that is against the law. I want the word to go out this is not permissible. It is mangoes today, but what could it be tomorrow? It is my duty to protect these children and I will!”
So the word is out. DO NOT MESS WITH SUSAN!
Concerned with for the safety of the girls, Fr. Riwa took action two years ago. At that time, he constructed a ten foot stone wall across the front of the St. Clare compound and along one side. This is because there are busy public roads which pass that way. However, Father did not have the money to complete the wall around the back and far side of the St. Clare compound.
But there is good news! Work to complete the perimeter wall around the back and side has begun due to increased violence in the area and in Kenya. With national elections only a few months away, people are becoming more and more agitated. Recently, several young men came onto the property to steal mangoes. Fortunately, Sergeant Susan, a police officer assigned to St. Clare, apprehended them and they were arrested. This action made it clear that the perimeter wall needed to be completed. A recent donation has made this possible, so “safety is just a few stone blocks away!”
The science labs at St. Clare Centre are almost finished and ready for us. Begun six months ago with funding from the Tom and Carol Cracchiolo family, two rooms in the parish dispensary were converted into science labs for the girls at St. Clare. These rooms are located next to St. Clare and will give the girls a chance to put into practice what they are learning in their classrooms. Most important, the girls will not develop the scientific background needed to pursue professional careers which demand backgrounds in science.
(The photos to the right and the left show the early work on the labs. The center photo shows one of the nearly completed science labs.)
When Bud and Sue Ozar returned to The Children’s Village in February 2012, they once again spent time with the girls at St. Clare Centre. During this visit, Sue explains that they saw a great deal of progress. Father Riwa continues to be so grateful for all the support and help provided by Friends of Kenyan Orphans.
On February 20, 2012, Bud and Sue Ozar were in the middle of their annual visit to St. Clare and St. Francis schools. Curious to know how the students viewed them, Sister Kathryn, one of the Adrian Dominican sisters living and working at St. Clare, asked this question of the photo- journalism class, a class composed of Form Two (sophomore) and Form Three (junior) girls:
“How has the Mission of Madam Sue and Mr. Bud Ozar influenced my life?”
Here are some of their answers.
“Where would some of the girls be if it were not for our benefactors like Mr. and Mrs. Ozar? Many would be suffering in the streets. These “guys” are full of life.”
“Whenever I see Madam Sue and Mr. Bud, I feel peace around me because they are the people who think of me. They leave their home, not to come as tourists, but to come and ensure that I have quality education, good shelter, am fully dressed and that my dreams are fulfilled. They are doing this for us not expecting no repayment from anybody, except Almighty God. I wish that when I grow up I could go to America and take care of them in their very old age.”
“When I grow up I would like to help street children, orphans and needy children. I always ask God to help me to have the heart for helping others. I am looking forward to following in the footsteps of Md. Sue and Mr. Bud.”
“I have thought of giving them a title. I did research, wrote poems, and read other books. The best title I could give them is from the set book The River Between by Ngugi Klataiongo and that title is ‘SAVIORS’”.
“St. Clare has not only helped me but the lives of hundreds of people. Truly my life is changed. At least I can see a future ahead of me, a life full of happiness and hope. Perhaps Md. Sue and Mr. Bud were sent into my life as my ‘saviors’”.
“Their mission has really influenced my life in that I wish to serve the poor when I complete my studies. When I have a profession and a paying job I plan to use some of my earnings to help St. Clare. I will support St. Clare the best that I can.” 
“Md. Sue and Mr. Bud actually came to Kenya as missionaries. Their mission was to support and uplift the life of street children and the orphans who are really mistreated and despised by everybody. They have fully dedicated their lives to serving the needy children.”
“All that I can say about them is that they are heaven sent to help us to get out of poverty. It is only a person with faith, hope determination, love and a person who has a call from God who can do all that they have done and are still doing for us.”
“I wish one day, one time in life, that I will be like them and help people like me who are really in need. They help us so that we can be the messengers of tomorrow to help others.”
“Since I came to St. Clare in the year 2006, my life has really become better. A lot of support from this couple, like building our classrooms has provided a good environment that has enhanced learning. I wonder how I would be, what kind of a person I would be if I were not at St. Clare. Maybe I would be in the street, a school dropout.”
Handy at making small wooden toys, Bob Kassin, from Shelby Township in Michigan, packaged a suitcase of these toys, which traveled to Kenya this past February. These toys were then distributed to the toddlers at the AINA House, which is the neighbor to the St. Clare Centre.
“It was our intention to give the toys to the children at St. Clare” said Bud Ozar, “but when we saw that those little children at AINA had nothing to play with except rocks and sticks, we knew instantly this is where the toys should go.” 
The AINA House was established to care for children who are HIV positive. The children live there and those who are old enough attend the local school. At AINA the children are provided the drugs necessary to suppress the HIV virus and avoid the sickness and illness, which usually accompanies HIV infection.
“You would think it was Christmas when we brought out the suitcase of toys,” Ozar said. “The little ones were so excited. They took the trucks and began to move them through the dirt and grass. The little girls hugged their wood dolls. It was their first doll and their first toy. What a moment.”
Upon returning to New Jersey from Kenya, Andy and Cathy Cahill told their families about their experiences working at the St. Clare Centre. Cathy is a Nurse Practitioner who works with AIDS children at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey. At St. Clare she provided physicals for the girls and health education.
Cathy relates “I can’t get those children out of my mind. I think of them all the time.” She and Andy told their story which resulted in their siblings all becoming sponsors for a girl at St. Clare. Through these sponsorships the Cahill influence will continue and have a positive long lasting impact. 
Mr. Mgobo, the chief engineer in charge of the building at St. Clare Centre, has sent the following report regarding the ongoing construction at St. Clare. Two postings (work on the septic system and work on the perimeter wall) will appear in upcoming posts.
ST. CLARE COMPOUND~
- Graveling work complete.
- Maaram work complete.
- Reinforcement materials delivered.
- Ballast, sand and cement delivery in progress.
- Concrete work scheduled to start on 14 April 2012.
GROUND FLOOR ~
- Tiling work going on- 5 classrooms tiled.
- Sanitation drainage being improved.
2nd FLOOR SANITATION~
- Drainage system 99% complete.
- Drainpipes added per recommendations.
- Scheduled to be commissioned April 2012.
- Remaining incomplete roof being worked on.
TOP FLOOR~
- Tiling complete.
- Toilet and bathroom drainage complete.
- Working on procurement of rubber paint.
- Cloth lines to be put up on April 28-2012.
- Fresh water pipes installed.
Before he left for the annual trip to St. Clare Centre, Bud Ozar decided to combine physical education and the art of playing into “his project” for 2012. 
You also need to know that Bright Old Bald Bud (his name for himself) recalls that he was never the “stellar athlete” in any phase of his education and vividly remembers never being picked first for any team. However, his philosophy is “if you are old enough to walk or old enough to spend the day taking care of livestock, or old enough to carry water or dig in the fields, you should be old enough to develop physical exercise and play skills during recess.” Over the years during his trips to St. Clare, “Coach Ozar” watched the girls during their outside recess time just standing around not doing anything. So he developed a master plan and sought the aid of P.E. teachers to learn games he could teach the girls where they could play without equipment.
Armed with a trusty whistle (“I still am into control,” Bud noted.), and a whole bunch of games, “Coach O” would meet various classes under a mango tree to teach and conduct fun PE games. These games were fun, great exercise and taught the girls lessons about teamwork, cooperation and collaboration.
Interestingly enough, at the same time, the St. Clare Girls’ football (soccer) team was doing very well competing against the other area schools. In fact, St. Clare had won the area championship and was leading in the district competition. If the girls won there, they would go on to nationals. One day someone from one of the other schools passed by St. Clare and saw Coach Ozar working with the girls, teaching and leading their games. This person reported this and the word went out. “St. Clare had brought in an American coach,” accounting their winning. Because of this one team actually forfeited its game with St. Clare, refusing the play.
Who would have ever guessed that Bud Ozar, the non-athlete-who-was-never-picked-first-for-any-school-team would became Coach Ozar, PE teacher and game leader par excellence? What a small world it really is! 
by Elizabeth Wanjikuu – class 6
It was a chilly morning when I woke up and ran to change to my game clothes. When the bell rang for us to go to breakfast, I was so excited that I almost didn’t finish my food. This was the day of our SPORTS COMPETITION.
We started the journey to the Kunene Primary School where the competition was held. Since we were the first ones to arrive, we waited for the other teams as we practiced. Once the first teams arrived, we learned that the starting game would be volleyball. Our volleyball team was playing strong at first, but when Kunene Primary had twenty-three points and St. Clare twenty-two, we began to lose heart. The rest of us encouraged our team to take heart and they won the game to give us the lead.
Next came game two which was netball, my favorite game on Planet Earth. We won that one too. 
[In Kenya, netball is what the Kenyans call basketball.]
Then, it was time for the football team to be on the field. (In Kenya, football is what people call soccer.) The St. Clare players worked hard so that they could win, but the girls on the other team were too tough and strong. Our team became discouraged and thought winning was not going to be possible. But our coach encouraged our girls. He told them that they should not fear those other girls and that they could win. So when St. Clare went back out onto the field the girls did not fear the other team, and ended up winning the game. We were all so happy.
During our lunch break, Mr. David encouraged us to continue to work hard and put effort into the remaining games. He told us that we were going to play the final games. We won again and were so excited. Our coach was happy and proud of us.
As we headed back to school, we were singing and dancing in the matatu (van), which really did not have enough space for singing and dancing.
We ended our day by thanking God for helping us win and for protecting us from injuries.
ABOUT
In Meru, Kenya, thousands of orphans and abandoned children live in unspeakable conditions on the streets, the victims of gross poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. THE FRIENDS OF KENYAN ORPHANS is a nonprofit organization formed to assist The Children’s Village in improving the lives of these children.
The Children’s Village is the inspiration of Fr. Francis Limo Riwa who in 1999 began to rescue orphaned and abandoned street children. Today the Children’s Village is home, family and school to more than 750 children, living on two campuses: the St. Clare Girls’ Centre and St. Francis Boys’ Home.
FRIENDS OF KENYAN ORPHANS is committed to rescuing, housing, feeding and educating these abandoned orphans. Learn how you can support this effort.