Kenya trip in May 2011

As many of you have asked, I just wanted to share a little of what was accomplished in Kenya in May 2011.    I meet with some government officials in Nairobi in the first few days I was there, including the person in charge of adoptions and the full adoption process.  She is in the process of writing new regulations for adoption which will facility more international adoptions.   
 
I got a chance to visit three of the four accredited adoption agencies in Nairobi and talk with their staff about international adoptions, their processes and where they see problems in the process.  I was also able to meet with and refer a very good children's law lawyer to the agencies.  
 
Once we arrived in Mombasa, I was able to visit a school in Ribe (just outside of Mombasa on the east coast of africa).   They had a full library sitting in a room of their school, but they had never been in a library so they had no idea how to orgnaize a check out system or set up the books.  So we spent 1/2 a day, with the entire school helping setting up the entire library and making check out cards and system for the kids to check out books.   It was amazing.  
 
Then we got a chance to talk with high school girls in Ribe to talk about what they wanted to be when they grew up and how to stick with their goals and to make sure to not let pregnancy interfere with those goals and also inform them about the option of adoption if they had friends or family in a situation.
 
I realized while I was there that the African culture does not even know what adotpion is.  Even college educated people think that the orphanges are just places you can go and spend time with the kids, but do not know they are available to take home and make as part of their family after a short legal process.    Realizing this, an attorney and a social worker I have worked with in the past in Momobasa have set up a variety of educational programs for police, lawyers, judges, teenage kids, churhches, and communities to inform them about their roles in adoption, what adoption is, why it is important etc.     We have the outlines fully done and a preliminary budget made and now we are just working on getting funding to host the educational programs.   (If you want any more information on this, please contact me.) 
 
The scariest thing I walked away from Kenya knowing this time was that the "orphanages" on the coast, do not conduct any legal adotpions.   They are simply there with no regulations and their purpose is really to get large donations from the UK and the US.   I have to belieive that they would not be opposed to selling a child if the donations are not forthcoming.    Selling  a child would most likley involved a child being sold into child slavery of some type.    Our program with the police will address these issues.    These programs will begin running hopefully as early as June of this year assuming we can get funds rollling.   Which is very exciting.   I will also be following up with various agencies in Nairobi about this.   
 
Then we spent some time in some schools on the south coast of mombasa doing some educational programs on keeping kids safe (stranger danger type of things) and also discussing their dreams and goals and keeping focused on the goals.   How to avoid early marriages (11, 12 13 year old girls are being sold into marriage and/or prostitution by their parents becaues of poverty), how to avoid pregnancy, adoption and what it is and other topics.    
 
We also were able to look into various options for the dirty water issues in Tumani.   Please help us pray the right direction to take on this.  There are so many variables and the costs are extremely different $6,000-$30,000.   We are not sure where to go with what we have right now.  
 
It was a very productive trip, learned alot and we got a lot accomplished and people in place so these programs can begin their work in helping the orphaned children.    I will be going back with my 13 year old daughter and her friend and our church Fox River Christian on July 15.   
 
We will keep in touch!
 
Carrie
 

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