Kyanja

We went to AFC's facilities in Kyanja today. The facilities include an office, kitchen, classroom, counseling center, playground and clinic. The facility serves over 30 orphans (group picture with kids in yellow shirts) ranging in age from 2 through 7 supported by Holt, as well as about 800 residents of Kyanja.

The children worked on an art project where they each drew pictures with crayons of anything they wanted. The pictures were an menagerie of planes, trucks, cooking pots, trees and birds; all beautifully done (picture attached).

Sherie played "cats cradle" with one of the older helpers and had the rapt attention of many of the children (picture attached).

The kitchen is a small area that is walled in by bricks just like the ones we helped make yesterday. A small fire pit was in one corner with a pot on top. The cooks worked on braiding grass mats while the food was cooking. Lunch for the children consisted of a porridge of millet and soy. Lunch for the staff was a bit more elaborate -- steamed plantains, peanut sauce, eggplant, rice, chicken in broth, beef in broth, and yams. A virtual feast.

The children are so beautiful here. Each one has a smile that can light up the world.

In addition to helping the children directly, AFC provides a "micro-finance" program for their guardians. This is a program that provides loans to groups of women (groups of 5) to help them start a business to support their family. Payments are made weekly and the women are encouraged to save 20% of their earnings from their businesses. Many women have been able to move their families from grass huts to brick houses, thanks to the program. Three women that were at Kyanja today had started businesses in selling undergarments and food products, as an example.