The Lewa Projects

June-July 2009

Report by: Sarah Curry

Overview

The Lewa Projects…• Were founded by

Phyllis Keino• Are located in

Eldoret, Kenya• Have been supported

by Christian Relief Services and Bread and Water for Africa for almost 20 years

Phyllis Keino

The Lewa Complex

The Baraka Farm Kipkeino Primary School

The 500 acre Lewa Complex includes the Lewa Children’s Home as well as the Baraka Farm and

Kipkeino School

Mission Statement

The goal of the Lewa Children’s Home is to provide a safe, nurturing environment for children that have been either orphaned or abandoned in the local community (the Uasin Gishu district) by providing its children with nutritious foods, a first-rate education.

The Lewa children are not just residents of an orphanage, they are part of a (big) loving family.

• Founded in the 1970s by Phyllis Keino and her family

• Currently cares for 110 children, ages 0-20+ and sponsors 76 more in the community The Lewa Children’s

Home

About the Home…

• All of the Lewa children receive: – Shelter– Food– Clothing– High-quality

education– Health care

• …and a whole lotta loveBaby Salim

About the kids…

• Most come to the Home through the local Hospital

• Phyllis is the legal guardian of every Lewa child

• They receive support until they’re grown and on their own two feet

Meet the kids!

Samson

Moh

am

me

d

Edwin and Marcus

Elizabeth (a.k.a. Baby Liz)

BernardJu

ne (

a.k

.a.

Lad

y)

Ch

risti

an

Norm

an

(a.k

.a.

Ch

ich

i)

Tara

Tilda

Me and Kipchoge

Outreach Programs

• To give back to the community, the Home also sponsors kids at the nearby Kapsaret IDP camp with school fees, supplies and food

• The Home even built a nursery school for the camp’s youngest school children and continues to pay the 2 teachers’ salariesChildren at their

home in Kapsaret

Kipkeino Primary School

Located across from the Home, this school provides education to the Lewa kids as well

as children from the local community

About the School…

• Consists of Nursery through Class 8

• Run by School Administrator Paul Scott of the UK

• Currently teaches 288 students

• Employs 15 teachers and 40 non-teaching staff

Rose and Brian on their way to school

More about the School…

• The curriculum includes:– Math– Social Studies– Science– English– Kiswahili– Religious studies– Art– Physical education

Sports!

As an International Olympic Committee-sponsored

school, sports are very important at Kipkeino. Students showcase their athletic abilities once

a year at the school’s famous “Sports Day”.

History of the Baraka Farm• Founded in 1988 to provide income for the

Lewa Children’s Home– On the same 500 acre plot as the Home and School

• Taken over by Dutch manager Jos Creemers in 1994

• He shifted the focus from crops to animal husbandry

• The farm is now broken into 5 parts:– Animal husbandry– Dairy processing– Forestry– Horticulture– Water projects

Jos Creemers, Baraka Farm manager

“Everything we do here is for the children.”

Animal Husbandry

• The farm has 2 cattle herds:– Dairy (150, 65

being milked)– Boran (beef, 50)

• Also currently has a herd of 75 sheep which are both sold and used for meat

Dairy Processing

• 65 dairy cows output an average of 1,400 liters of milk per day– The Home/School use

approx. 300 liters per day, the rest is either processed or sold

• The Baraka Dairy project produces:– High-quality milk– Fermented milk (“mala”)– Flavored yogurt– Cheese

Forestry•The farm also plants and raises sapling trees as well as flowers and shrubs both to use around the School and Home and to sell to locals

—Trees act as a natural boundary for the Lewa complex and also help prevent soil erosion

Horticulture

• The Farm grows the following crops: Maize, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, peas, beets, pineapples, oranges, and mangos (among others)– Only a fraction of these

crops are used by the Home/School while the rest are sold for profit

Water Projects

• In order to provide water to the Lewa complex, the Farm has built two large dams and one water well (pictured)– Kenya is currently

experiencing severe droughts that will prove to be a major challenge to the Lewa projects in the coming year

Thank you Bread and Water!

Bread and Water for Africa (US)Bread and Water for Africa UK

Pain et eau pour l’AfriqueWasser und brot für Afrika

Donate now to help us support these very important Lewa

projects!