Delivering International Support - Kimta School Kenya, Nepal Trust and History

Roary Changes lives Near and Far – We act locally – and think globally

We’ve helped fund a birthing facility in remote Nepal and supported Kimta School in Nairobi’s largest slum for over two decades

Kimta School, Nairobi, Kenya

What the Blandford Stour Rotary Club has been doing for years has been continued in the combined club. The club gas been helping children in the Kimmta slum in Nairobi, Kenya for years. The Stour Club were in at the inception and it has grown into a very significant project for VERY poor slum children both for their health, education and occupying them off the streets (trouble). We have had the first child helped at Kimta get to university!

The Early Childhood Development programme. This happens in the morning for the little nursery aged children who can’t yet go to school. It gives them a safe place to go and off the ‘streets’ of Kibera. They are also provided with one meal per day.

The ‘Girls’ Empowerment Programme’ is for teenage girls to teach them about making the right choices and to educate them. And when donations arrive, it can also provide them with sanitary towels and underwear, which, without donations they may not be able to afford. Our Ladies have been very keen on this!

The charity we were instrumental in helping set up in the Kibera Slum in Nairobi Kenya (perhaps the largest slum in Africa). Kimta provides light at night for home work, we have helped with books and writing materials over the years.

Kimta runs football teams for the young to help keep the children out of trouble and we have supplied kit on several occasions. In order to let them help themselves we have provided tents, tables and chairs for their sun business – they hire them out for weddings etc for sun protection and gives them some income. Just sent more monies to repair and expand their earning potential – self help!

With the “Virus” Kenya has curfews and it has proven impossible for a lot of slum dwellers to work – no work = no food! So over shut down we have provided nearly £2,500 pounds to help feed people and also to provide sanitary products for the girls (periods = no going to school or out!).

Our Approach to International Aid

The Rotary Club of Blandford and Stour is not a large club, but we are strongly believe in providing help to reduce poverty, and help with disease or disaster relief in less fortunate parts of the world. We are able to do this more effectively through the Rotary International network and its wonderful system of matching grants. We do this by teaming up with other clubs and pooling our contributions which are then “matched” by the Rotary Foundation and/or many other charities both within and beyond Rotary.

Rotary has several initiatives to provide speedy, effective and direct support to disaster areas throughout the world. For example the Shelter Box and Water Survival Box schemes (link to them) carry stock of these vital disaster support items ready to be dispatched immediately. These stocks are funded through donations and often Rotary clubs such as ours donate funding for a box (currently about £600) on an annual basis.

Disaster relief always requires funding on the ground and, since there are Rotary Clubs throughout the world, and often local to the disaster affected areas funding and support can be directed through these clubs, who also advise on the specific needs on the ground.

In the last few years Blandford and Stour Rotary has made a contribution to the following worthy international causes

Nepal Trust – project details below
Tools for Africa
Thailand Tsunami 2005. One of our members hand delivered our donation to some of the Rotary Clubs and charities in Phuket targeted to local people to enable them to buy building materials to restore their homes and fishing boats
2011 Malawi school project with Butterfly Space team
2013 Syria Shelter Box scheme
Philippines – 2013 donation for typhoon relief
2014 Uganbda Dentaid project
Medecins sans Frontieres several donations
Hurricane Irma – Caribbean 20 contribution to Rotary Disaster Relief Fund and also directly to the Caribbean Rotary Action group
Hurricane Dorian 2019 Bahamas. Contribution to the Rotary Relief Fund.

Blandford and Stour Rotary Nepal Projects

Blandford and Stour Rotary is a regular supporter of the Nepal Trust (link) working with our neighbour Rotary Club of Sturminster Newton. Under their leadership several projects have been funded through the matching grant system by collecting donations from several other clubs, the total collected is then doubled by the Rotary Foundation. Some of these projects are shown below:

Saakeghad Medical Birthing Centre . Extension of medical clinic to provide safer childbirth facilities.

Gairiswora Water Project – Water supply project to very remote village.

In 2015 there was a major earthquake in central Nepal causing major damage to the capital Katmandu and practically levelling many buildings in the countryside. Numerous reconstruction works for schools and medical facilities were supported by the Nepal Trust. We contributed to restoration works of the Kalika School

We have recently supported the Nepal Girls Hygiene Project, a programme of education and encouragement for girls to be able to attend school full time where formerly they had been unable or unwilling to attend during their period due to inadequate facilities and prejudice.