What’s Happening @ Dragonfly Sanctuary
CURRENT CHILDREN IN OUR HOME
We have Kamalas biological son Leomom(7) and
Soi (6) who we took in 2.5 years ago.
Soi’s biological mother died in February and left behind an
infant girl, Sanau (8 months) and 2 boys (9 and 3). We paid for
the mom’s burial and we took in Sanau and the older boy, Eric.
Eric currently resides with Kamalas mom until we finish our
house. We provide for Eric’s education, food and clothing. The
younger boy will remain with his 82 year old paternal
Grandmother until sometime in the future.
On July 13th a boy was born and left to die in a bag in a
drainage ditch in town. This child was moments away from
death when a little boy on his way to school heard a cry. Upon
investigation he found the child and called for help. The tribal
chiefs office was near by and she rushed over and got the child
to the hospital. Kamala happened to be at the Chiefs office
during this emergency and ultimately it looks like we will be
granted custody unless child welfare assumes custody. We have
named him Victor. He will remain in the NICU unit till he gains
some weight but is otherwise very healthy. His Maasai middle
name is Lepuan, which means survivor.
We also have taken in a young man, Ivan temporarily, he is 16
years old.He was living next door with his 10 year old brother,
Ryan. Their mom dropped them off without notifying the
landlord and ran off to Nairobi to try to make money. She
occasionally sends money but the truth is that the survival of the
brothers was left in the hands of 16 year old Ivan to make money
and pay rent. He would type up contracts for local contractors
for cash to try and pay rent and for food. Sadly this is how a lot
of children end up on the street. The mom just gets them to an
age that they can survive and moves on, trying her best to
support with little success. The boys were about to be evicted
and thats when we stepped in. Ivan will stay with us until we can
figure out how to afford his higher education. He and his brother
are very bright. Ivan has been accepted into Pharmacy School.
Ryan is Ivan’s 9 year old brother. After a few months of noticing
that these school age boys were not leaving their house (shack)
all day we began to investigate. My first interaction with Ryan
was him “tutoring” my kids through the fence. Both of the boys
are super bright, kind and surprisingly optimistic and resilient
considering what they have been going through. Over time we
did a lot of running around percuring Ryans birth certificate and
visiting schools. After weighing all the options we decided to
place Ryan in a local public boarding school. The principal was
very warm and kind and was sympathetic to Ryan’s situation. In
boarding school Ryan can really focus on his studies and catch
up on time lost. Right now he is a 10 year old in 3rd grade. I
have no doubt he will catch up fast and move up a grade or two.
He will be safe, fed and educated. On all school breaks he would
join us at home with our family. The school is only 2 miles
away. Believe it or not this school cost us only $750 for the year
and that includes his books, new clothes, uniform, mattress,
education AND boarding..
When we dropped him off we could tell that he was very
nervous under the bravado of excitement. I sat him down and
told him not to worry, new experiences can be scary but that he
would be ok. I told him I was his Poppa now and that I loved
him. Not a dry eye in the house.
ORPHANAGE
The orphanage mission is still alive and well but through
examples set by men who have been working in African
communities for many years we have looked for alternative
ways to serve these children .We are very grateful for Phil at
Africa Hope and Harry Oellrich and his International NFP. They
are both showing Kamala and I how best to serve communities.
EDUCATION
Through Harry and Phil’s wisdom we have seen that in most
cases a child can remain within their extended family or
community as long as the orphan does not create a burden to
another family member that may already be financially stressed.
Keeping the child within its community is always the best. They
remain with all their customs and lifestyle. To keep a child in the
family or community requires money for food, clothing and
education. Even public schools have a nominal fee. Supporting
children this way is cost effective for us and leaves room in the
orphanage where there isn’t a family option. The school fees are
paid directly to the school by us and we do scheduled checks on
their grades and home life.
Some of this work has already begun through an initiative that
Dragonfly Sanctuary called micro miracles. Friends have already
begun to generously support this important work. We are most
grateful.
SOME OF THE WOMAN WE ARE WORKING WITH:
We have come across a number of woman that have been abused and or abandoned by men who in a lot of cases are dealing with addiction issues. In a polygamist society it’s easy for men to pack up and move on just only to repeat the pattern with another woman in another town. To help these woman we are planning on building tiny homes on our property to temporarily house them and their children as they get back on their feet in a safe home community with us.
Mercy
Mercy is a really smart woman but she has had alot of struggles.
While in University she got pregnant. Her education was side
lined, then another child and finally the third child a girl was
born with cerebral palsy. Not an easy life. While caring for the
children, she was cooking dinner one night and the gas tank
caught on fire. Mercy’s chest, neck, arms and hands were
severely burned. She is disfigured. I have found that in tragedy
or despair your true character emerges. In Mercy’s case what
emerged was and even more loving and devoted mother who is
resilient and strong. In her husbands case what emerged was
darkness and selfishness . He told Mercy she brought shame to
the family so he kept her inside and isolated for 6 years. Finally
Mercy had enough and posted on social media her condition and
need for help. Through social media Kamala reconnected with
her old acquaintance. The publicity on social media around
Mercy’s situation ignited her husbands wrath and he threatened
to kill her and then he threw her out of the house with the CP
child. She was told she continues to shame the family. Mercy
ended up sheltering in a friends room (shack). We met with her
and with the support of my friend, Leymayian, we found an
organization that provides wheelchairs at cost. We bought the
little girl some clothes, provided transport to and from Nairobi
including food and lodging and we bought the wheelchair.
Through Kamalas connections we also found a surgeon that will
provide operations that will bring relief to some of Mercy’s
deformities. Mercy will be an offered a home on our property
and comfort in our extended family.
Jacklyn
Jacklyn has 3 children. The youngest is 3 . She was abused by
her alcoholic husband AND she was also infected with HIV by
him. He soon decided to move on and left her high and dry. The
older children were taken in by an NGO and sent to a boarding
school. That left her homeless with a 3 year old. She has taken
up shelter in a shack with no floor, plumbing or electricity. We
have provided food on a number of occasions. The 3 year old
boy seems healthy and is being fed. He is in good spirits.
Jacklyn is a tough case because she has been a big drinker
during this challenging time and we need to keep on eye on her
if she is still actively drinking and endangering the welfare of the
child. TBD
Jackline
This initial support was provided by generous donors through
micro miracles.
Jackline was also left by her husband. She had 6 kids and had
serious health issues. She did her best with manual labor jobs to
provide the kids with something to eat. she would run herself
ragged at the expense of her own health. In the past she had a
small grocery store but it went belly up because the store credit
she provided to her neighbors never paid up. We provided food
for them a number of times. Sadly a few weeks ago Jackline died
at the age of 40. Her children were relocated amongst her family
Momma John
Food supplies initially provided by micro miracle donors.
Momma John is another victim of abandonment by a husband
who left to start another family elsewhere. She has 7 children.
We have provided food on a number of occasions.
Damaris
Initial support provided by micro miracle donors.
Demario’s Is a local neighbor who has a son with a disability
and is in a wheelchair. She was abandoned by an alcoholic
husband. Micro miracles provided support for a large medical
bill. Kamala and I purchased a large bundle of misc clean used
clothing that she resells for a profit.
KAMALAS HEART
With the work we did with Mercy we got inspired. Through the
connection we made with my friend Lemayian, and another
connection I made with a board member at Ryan’s school who
works with Kenya’s National Council for Persons with
Disabilities we are going to play middleman with an old HS
friend and his connections with his NY K of C charities, who
provide wheelchairs worldwide. We are filling a void here in
rural Kenya to provide wheelchairs for those in need in this area.