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Our May 2018 newsletter is out! 

We always welcome your feedback! Enjoy the read.

Summer fun and fundraising - Part 1

We are extremely fortunate to have received very generous donations from two separate sources over the summer.

The first donation came from a fabulously fun (and luckily not too hot!) tennis fundraiser and dinner in June. This was organised by past Karen residents, Clare and Hugo Norman (now living near Winchester, UK), who drew together a great bunch of tennis players, who were equally good at digging deep into their pockets to help raise the phenomenal and record sum of 2,200 GBP.

Clare had prepared the most delicious dinner, and with free flowing drink and "on the ball" entertainment thrown in, the evening was always going to be a huge success. Many thanks to Clare and Hugo who really went the extra mile for us - and to all those who paid and played!

 

Making the most of our Post-KCSE students

Last week we completed another good communication skills training course for our fourteen post-KCSE students, together with five from Karen Street Children's Trust. 

The three day course covers good communication and presentation skills; English grammar; letter and CV writing; emailing and texting: time management; social media; and good etiquette - with a good amount of the course spent role-playing and presenting. A lot of fun was had by all and the students all leave with their comprehensive documents, which will help them in the future! Certificates were presented to the students at the end of the session, by Pop Gunson and Romi Grammaticas. We wish them all the best of luck now with their tertiary education, and will be supporting them through the next exciting stage of their lives! 

 

Ready to Party!

It has been a busy couple of days but we are ready to party! Thanks to our sponsors, the fundraising team, four of our students with lots of puff, and to all those at Karen Country Club for setting up with us! Should be a great evening! The Band are busy doing their sound checks as I write this...

Why not send out a festive FDC Christmas Card this year?

Thinking about the festive season yet and the sometimes slightly erratic Christmas postal system? We have just printed our two new Christmas card designs which will be on sale from next week in various Karen shops or via a committee member. They cost Ksh 100 each or Ksh 500 for a pack of five. Give us a shout and get writing!

Visiting and Volunteering - Part 2

Signs of the Times

Next on our list of visits was to catch up with a new FDC student, Alice, at the Karen Technical Training Institute for the Deaf.

We were there to pay her term's fees and were lucky enough to sit in on a class for her food and beverages course - on table setting, presentation and serving. 

She has settled in well and has made a great group of friends, with whom you see her 'signing', in a group of four, above! We hope that she will go on to find a fulfilling job at the end of her course. She deserves to succeed, demonstrating to us and her teachers, huge amounts of cheer and enthusiasm!

Hard workers

Duncan and Dennis were last, but not least! Like Wilberforce, they took their KCSE exams in November and are now working to earn some money for living expenses, to enable them to do their volunteering work at a special needs school in Waithaka. They have 'networked' with friends in the area and found jobs on a building site in the Lavington area - doing 'finishing work' on 'new build' homes.

Dennis, above and right, is hoping to then move on to a catering course for his tertiary education, whilst Duncan, bottom left, is keen on pursuing a career in mechanical engineering and is hoping to either win a place on an internship at a well-known automotive company in Nairobi, or to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering.