St. Clare lost a friend and a benefactor this week when Beatrice Antonietti died in a car accident in Switzerland.

Mama Beatrice was a woman of extraordinary energy and compassion. Each year she visited the Children’s Village and spent her time with the children.  She treated them to adventures such as trips to the Indian Ocean, camping and to game parks, a treat which most Kenyans never enjoy.  She was the sponsor for many of the children and encouraged her friends and family in Switzerland to become sponsors.

At the time of her death, her bags were packed and her ticket purchased for a return to the Children’s Village.

We and the children will remember her as a powerful woman whose infectious smile and sense of humor were enjoyed by all.

Mama Beatrice, we know you have returned home to theLord. No longer is distance a problem for you. No obstacle can impede your love and commitment to the children at the Children’s Village. We will miss your encompassing smile, your warmth, your hugs and your understanding. But we know you are not far and we can always turn to you.

Sarah Wachiru is the administrator at St. Clare and she writes:

“Its really  a great loss to us and especially to the girls, She had a personal touch with the girls, and whenever she was visiting, she would bring with her gifts  like dolls, teddy bears, caps, candies and spend all her days with the girls, chatting, giving them stories. She would wait under the Mango tree for hours until the girls were out of their classes and the little ones sat on her laps. the girls were always assured of a trip every time she visited. She had planned to visit this September but God had his plans. We know that she is resting with the Lord.”

With you at our side as our patron and guide, we will do great things. Mama Beatrice, rest in peace.

As the St. Clare Centre grows, room by room, Fr. Riwa invites more young girls to the safety and care of St. Clare. That means more children to clothe, feed and educate. The major way this is accomplished is through sponsorship of a young girl by families, schools, colleges and individuals throughout the world. It only costs $480USD to support a young girl for a whole year.

An important part of the sponsorship program are the letters exchanged between the young girls and their sponsors. Here the chidlren are gathered around their English teacher, Mr. Ken, as he assists the girls to write their letters to their sponsors.

If you wish to be a sponsor, just check out the details on this website or contact Ms. Pat Harrington (the US coordinator of the Sponsorship Program) at fsponsorsofkenyanorphans@gmail.com

In just two years St. Clare arose from a concrete slab shown here to the three story building also shown here. While many local Kenyans worked on the construction of St. Clare,today we thank and honor the REAL BUILDERS … the people who donated money to make this dream a reality. While the building is not yet finished, it has come a long way thanks to these “builders.”

If you see these “builders” please say “thanks” for the miracle they have constructed.

The Building Team in 2009

$55,000 Plus

• MISSIO: Cologne Germany

$35,000 to $55,000

• Tom and Carol Cracchiolo Foundation
• Jack and Peg Horrigan

$1,000 to $9,999

• Dr. Leo and Isabel Brown
• Martha Buckley
• Church of the Resurrection Parish (Dubuque, Iowa)
• Dr. Luisa Di Lorenzo
• Ronald and Patricia Evans
• Faith Works Foundation
• Carol Foht
• Carol Fowler
• Sandy Hagenbarth
• Rev. Joseph Hauer
• Jerome and Caolyn Halleran
• Dolores Horrigan
• John Carroll University
• Dr. Judy Macy
• Rev. Neal Lambert
• Paul Lavins
• Valerie Mace
• Michael and Christine Mahoney
• Kathleen Manning
• John and Ariel McManus
• Ursula Michel
• Susan Montgomery
• Nativity of Our Lord Parish (Detroit)
• Ellen Nickolai
• Laurie and Robert O’Connell, Jr.
• Dr. Robert and Mary O’Connell
• Dr. Gaetano and Marjorie Paone
• Robert W. Baird and Co.
• Robert F. Roney
• St. Ambrose Parish (Grosse Pointe Park)
• St. Ignatius Catholic Community (Detroit)
• The LINKS Foundation
• Jan and Judith Baxter
• Francis and Richard Walden
• William F. Price Foundation

$500.00 to $999.00

• Lugene and Keith Berning
• Marion Berry
• Mark and Patricia Daniels.
• Terry and Dean Devenzio
• Judy and Mike Ehleman
• Kathleen Fitzgerald
• Elizabeth Flaherty, OP
• Kathleen Ford
• Alice Jennings-Edwards
• Judy and Bob Jogan
• Pauline Joyce
• Sharon Kress
• Rev. James Mayworm
• Kathleen Hazen McCann
• The Men’s Fellowship
• Theresa Montgomery
• John and Stephanie Ottavi
• Dr. and Mrs. Vince Parisi
• John and Marilyn Parker
• Maureen and Scott Pence
• William and Lynne Pfannes
• St. Edith Church (Livonia)
• St. Paul Church and School (Grosse Pointe Farms)
• William Stewart
• Russell and Katherine Sullilvan
• Dr. Robert Sutherland
• John and Ann Szurpicki
• Michael and Paula Weibel
• Andrew and Dianne Wright
• Dorothy Zimmer

The Building Team in 2010

$25,000 Plus

• St. Andrew Parish (Rochester Hills)
• St. Mary of the Hills (Rochester Hills)

$10,000 to 24,999

• Jack and Peg Horrigan
• The Family of Christa Marsik

$1,000 to 9,999

• Mareda Babcock
• Richard Baks
• Mary Ruth Becker
• Dr. Leo and Isabel Brown
• Christopher Bryant
• Joseph and Janet Dolan
• Susan Dugas
• Ronald and Patricia Evans
• Sharon Gunton
• Sandra Hagenbarth
• Dr. Dan and Diane Henry
• Dolores Horrigan
• ISO Sorting and Packaging
• Sharon Kress
• Paul Lavins
• Mary Leisure
• Dr. Diane and Wolf Maennie
• Valerie McDonald
• Ursula Michel
• Dr. Robert and Mary O’Connell
• Our Lady of the Lakes Parish (Waterford)
• Dr. Gaetano and Marjorie Paone
• St. Mary Parish
• Theresa Risk
• Kathleen White

$500 to 999.00

• Karen Ahearn
• Edwin and Nancy Bandstra
• Ed and Fran Benz
• Mary and Gerry Black
• Christine Bonner
• Catherine Bowe
• Christine Brisson
• Hugh and MaryEllen Buchanan
• Corpus Christi Parish (Detroit)
• Carol Foht
• Edna Foster
• Elizabeth Benz Hilldebrand
• Philip and Linda Isola
• Stephanie Jenneman
• Judy and Bob Jogan
• Pauline Joyce
• Lisa Juriga
• Susan Kachorek
• KathleenManning
• Alice Ann Noble
• Sacred Heart Parish (Auburn Hills)
• Anne Marie Scheff
• Lucia and James Smith
• St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish
• John Trombore
• Michael and Paula Wiebel

The Building Team in 2011 (January to June)

$25,000 to $75,000

• Mrs. Marianne Bruckmayer (Germany)

$10,000 to $24,999

• Society of the Propagation of the Faith
• St. Mary of the Hills Parish
• Anonymous

$1,000 to $9,999

• Christopher Bryant
• Moira and Richard Keefer
• Lou Brown Jewell
• Bernadine Biske
• Anton Guilding
• Nancy Krantz
• Sandra Witkowski
• Ray and Mary LeMay
• David and Cincy Brandtner
• The Conrad Hilton Foundation
• Frank and Dorothy Danchetz
• Paul and Evelyn Grandgenett
• Igatius Fadanelli
• Richard Baks
• St.Gerard Catholic Grade School (Lansing)
• Dr. Leo and Isabel Brown
• Judith Benkert, OP
• Jan and Judy Baxter
• Valerie Mace
• Fr. Neil Lambert
• Ursula Michel

$500.00 to $999.00

• Dolores Horrigan
• Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Grade School Student Council (Limerick,PA)
• Jenny Sykes
• Fred and Kathy Partlow
• St. Matthew Catholic Church, Charlotte, NC
• Mary Ruth Becker
• Tim and Marie Konieczny
• St.Ignatius Catholic Community (Detroit)
• TheNetwork for Good

If we missed your name or misrepresented yourdonation, please excuse our oversight. There were hundreds of other “builders” who gave $10 to $499, to many to list here. All were critical to the building of the St. Clare Girls’ Centre for it was built one stone at a time.

The top floor of the St. Clare Centre will house the main sanitation block (toilets, showers and wash area) for the girls. Through generous donations from Mrs. Marianne Bruckmayer in Germany, Dan and Diane Henry in Utah and Madam Hew this last major structure is finally becoming a reality.

The stone walls are now being covered with plaster, inside and out, as these photos show. Once this is completed it will make a major difference in the cleanliness levels at the Centre.

The next step is to install electric and pipes and connect the pipes to the new septic system in process of being built.

Step by step, the St. Clare Centre is taking shape.

This is not an archeological dig but the site of the septic system for the St. Clare Centre.  26 men and one woman dug this hole by hand, shoveling it up four layers; from the ground to a scaffold, from the first scaffold to the second, from the second to the third and finally out of the hole.

In the middle of the bush there is no sewer system to which St. Clare can connect. So they must have their own septic system to avoid cholera and other diseases.

This job was done in six weeks in very hard clay and very hot sun.  Through generous donations we have secured funds to do this first part of the job which is the digging of the hole. Now they will pour one large cement tank with four compartments through which waste will pass and exit as grey water usable for the fields.

We have requestedthe Raskob Foundation for the funds to do the mechanical phase which is the phase which follows the cement tanks and includes the pumps and pipes to process the waste within the cement compartments.

This is a major step forward and a huge challenge met.

The secret to our ability to keep administrative costs at the 2% mark is due to the all the wonderful volunteers who step forward to grab an oar and move us forward.

Sharon Cure has been a wonderful gift in the fund raising work of Friends of Kenyan Orphans. Very quickly Sharon has become the backbone to our little Grantwriting Task Force.  Direct, assertive, great sense of humor and persistence are skills she brings to our efforts.

Recdently retired from the Karmanos Cancer Institute, Sharon brings her years of administrative experience at Karmanos and her years of fund raising leadership at the Grosse Pointe Academy to the table.  Combining her skill with wonderful energy, Sharon has helped us look for new sources to support the completion of the St. Clare Girls’ Cetnre.

Thanks Sharon. You make a difference.

Sue Morgan, a teacher from CA visited the Children’s Village and offered these insights on a blog back to her friends in the States.

Under the Mango Tree

So many starts and stops. I finally have wifi in the yard of the girls’s school at the Children’s Village in Meru, Kenya. I am sitting under a very mature mango tree which gives terrific shade and assists in keeping

So after many starts and stops I finally have wifi in the yard of the girls school at the Children’s Village in Meru, Kenya. I am sitting under a breezes, which are cool this AM, blowing around me. There are quite a few yellow dragonflies that are hawking around the area and I am surrounded by small hills that vary in elevation.. some 500-1500 feet about me.. but Meru is
at an elevation of 1800 meters (approx 5,000′–so think Denver but without themajestic Rockies.. more rolling treed hills…and Mt. Kenya, all 17,000+ ft of her is invisible from here… mostly due to the smoky haze that normally cloudsthe air. It is not far  from here, but you would not know it. 

First impressions…beautiful… green…deep green, light green, lemon green, reddish brown soil..more red than brown… think siena……. smiles and friendly faces everywhere. Openness, acceptance, love… omg love and non-judgementalness

These children are amazing. Kara and I have worked with the 14-15 year old girls for a total of about 10 hours over the past 3 days …. designing andmaking dolls… the process is simple but time consuming and they are ever focused… willing to work hard and always getting right down to it.. Their English is good, although more England English than American, so we have to explain certain words and phrases…and their pronounciation is at times tricky for us to understand but when we both speak slowly and clearly we comprehend one another very well…. their willingness and happiness to work at this is
inspiring.

In July the FRIENDS OF KENYAN ORPHANS welcomed Mrs. Elizabeth Horrigan Rahtz and Dr. Glenda D. Price to the Board of Directors.

Glena Price, is the former President of Marygrove College. Prior to assuming responsibilities at Marygrove, Dr. Price was the Provost at Spelman College in Atlanta.  Following her retirement from Marygrove Dr. Price served as the Interim President  of the Michigan Colleges Foundation. Dr. Price has held positions as faculty and administrator at several academic institutions, including her beloved  TempleUniversity in Philadelphia. Presently Dr. Price serves on several other boards including Compuware, Focus Hope, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Michigan Colleges Foundation.  Dr. Price traveled to Kenya with Friends of Kenyan Orphans as a representative of L.I.N.K.S offering workshops to the clergy and school personnel. Her valuable experience, dedication to Friends of Kenyan Orphans and lived skills make her a most valued member of the Board. Dr. Price has taken on the added role of representing the Board as the chair of our Fund Development Committee. Welcome Dr. Glena Price.

Mrs. Elizabeth (Betsy) Horrigan Rahtz founded HRL in the mid 90′s after a successful careen with American Express and CoreStates Securities.  Betsy’s investment experience began more than 25 years ago with her role as a fixed-income trader. It was in this capacity Betsy cultivated her expertise in compliance and risk management which is the bedrock of the HRL consultancy. Through Betsy leadership HRL provides valuable resources to clients in the areas of regulatory compliance, content development and training and presentation of capabilities. Betsy holds a BSBA from Georgetown University and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.  While Betsy has yet to visit the Children’s Village in Kenya, she, her husband Jimmy and their three children have rallied the Pittsburgh community to provide clothing and resources to the Children’s Village for the past four years.  Betsy has a great heart for the Children’s Village and her expertise in management and administration makes her a wonderful asset to our Board. Welcome Betsy.

Finally, I suggest some possible long-term solutions to Kenya’s problems: the greatest
promise for Kenya’s future and the potential of its economy lies in the
practice of agriculture and agro-based industries. This potential should be
tapped through irrigation. Dams need to be built with floodwaters channeled
into them for use during the dry seasons. Kenyans also could sink boreholes and
wells. Solar power can be used to produce cheaper electricity for pumping water and running micro-industries. Government leaders should not only talk of fighting ignorance, disease and poverty, but should act on plans to change things.

Father Francis Limo Riwa talked of fighting the above-mentioned vices and he
has really done much to accomplish his promises and mission. He has drilled
boreholes, built schools and a dispensary. Why can’t government leaders follow
the example of this man of God? He talks less and acts more. This man of God
uses what he has to help the poor who are despised in society. It is safe to
say that if all Kenyans were like Father Francis Limo Riwa, this country,
Kenya, would be blessed and the richest country in Africa.
What can the government do to accomplish this? The government needs to invest
more in educating children and inculcating good morals in them. Only good,
well-prepared and dedicated teachers should be hired.

Irene is pictured here with her Form II classmates.