AGM - Tuesday 12th May at 3pm

We would like to announce that our AGM will be held on Tuesday 12th May at Mahali Pa Watoto School, Karinde, (off Dagoretti Road) at 3pm. Refreshments will be served afterwards. We do hope that many of you will be able to attend as it is a great opportunity to meet committee members and students alike!

DIRECTIONS TO MAHALI PA WATOTO SCHOOL

• Take road from Karen roundabout to Dagoretti Market

• Past the road bumps outside the Bible School, the road curves to the right.

• Shortly after the curve there is a sign “FREE PENTECOSTAL CHURCH” on the right. Take this rough road, which goes uphill and past a number of kiosks. There are three or four turnings to the left. Take the one with an FDC sign (which we will put up that afternoon).

• A little less than 100 yards along there you will see the school on your right. No sign, but quite obvious.

Sun Salutations for FDC

Our huge thanks go to Oriane Torode who yesterday raised 25,900 Ksh for us with a morning of 108 sun salutations on her birthday! As Oriane described it "this is a wonderful way to empty the mind and fill the heart". Many thanks to all those who attended and gave to FDC. And Happy Birthday to Oriane!

Marching On

This term has been an incredibly busy one! Catherine assessed many potential new Form 1 intakes and we are delighted to report that we have four new students who have joined secondary schools in Form 1 (David, Solomon, Jackson and Dorcas), and one maturer student (Ann) who is joining St Columba's Technical Training College in Kitui. Well done to Catherine, for the assessment process and home visits undertaken. These are not easy decisions when there are so many worthy candidates to chose from. This new intake brings our numbers up to 61 students - 30 girls and 31 boys. 20 are in secondary schools, 25 are doing tertiary courses and 16 have completed KCSE and are looking at their next options.

We are so pleased to announce that our 14 Form 4 students, who took their KCSE exams in November all did well. Particular praise and mention must go to Mercy Kalekye and Dennis Chomba who both achieved A minus grades, which is a great achievement - we are so proud of them after all their hard work. There are always a few personal disappointments but it is worth mentioning here and reminding them, of the hurdles that a number of them have overcome to get this far! 

We are now following up on a number of kind offers to provide work experience, placements or even permanent jobs for our students. Many thanks to all those who are part of this initiative. The exposure these students get from spending time in companies and different departments is invaluable!

Please remember that if you would like to buy Easter cards, you can buy them from FDC - on sale in KPS, Siafu and at the Karen Club shop. Ksh 100 per card.

Last, but not least, we had a terrific end of term and prize-giving in December and are delighted to report that the following students won awards:

Academic prizes to:
1. Dennis Chomba, Francis Kioi
2. Mercy Kalekye
3. Christine Wanjiku
4. Rosemary Nga'ng'a
5. Catherine Muraguri and Grace Wamaitha

Most improved student:
Stephen Njihia

Maths improvement:
Alfred Ndundiro (From a D- to a B-)

Most helpful student during the year:
James Odhiambo

Initiative Prize:
Brian Gitu - chosen to audition for a play with Nation TV
Duncan Wataka: who has lived on his own since clearing Form 4 and done all sorts of jobs to earn his living, while he waits to join tertiary education.

Happy New Year! 

Friends of Dagoretti Children would like to wish all its students, friends and supporters a very Happy New Year - with good health and much happiness and success during 2015!

FDC's Fabulous Fundraiser of 2014

Many thanks to all of our sponsors and to all those who attended our annual fundraiser at Karen Country Club, which went off so well again – we were incredibly lucky with the weather as we were all packed into the tent like sardines, and Alastair Addison once again worked his magic with the auction and the band played on into the small hours – keeping everyone entertained! Fundraising at its best – and we think it is true to say that everyone really enjoyed themselves!

Readers will be pleased to hear, that thanks to the auction and raffle, we managed to raise a very respectable sum of money – matching last year’s total of Ksh 1.4M! This is a great achievement and brings some peace of mind to our treasurer, as the cost of education continues to rise! 

It only remains for us to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

All the best from the students and committee members of FDC.

Many thanks to the following:

Karen Country Club; Wines of the World; Soul Syndicate; The Cake Lady; Alastair Addison.

Sponsors:

Governors' Camp; Hemingways; Air Kenya; Safarilink; Emakoko Tented Camp; Rea Vipingo; Patrick Mavros; Karen Rowe; Crista Cullen; Stuart Cohen, The Talisman; Joss Taylor; Neil and Linda Cuthbert.

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...

Fundraising and Features

We are pleased to report back that tables are filling fast for our big Fundraiser on Friday 28th November at Karen Country Club, 7.30 pm by the pool. We are still taking bookings, so please contact us if you would like to buy a ticket or better still, organise a table! It is shaping up to be a fabulous evening with some great auction donations and lively entertainment by The Soul Syndicate.

We have also printed a new Christmas card design as they have been selling like hot-cakes! These are available in various Karen shops, at the Karen Country Club shop or via a committee member. 500 Ksh for a pack of five! 

Last but not least, we are thrilled to see an FDC photo on the front cover of the Karen Country Club Charity Golf Day magazine, and an article on Duncan Wataka on page 4. Copies of the magazine can be picked up at the Club and once again we would like to thank all our supporters for their continued interest and donations over the years - be it through corporate or private donations, attending our fundraising events or buying our cards, notelets, aprons and bridge pads! It all makes such a difference to our ability to fund the students (currently 56) through secondary and tertiary education. 

Our Year 4s have just taken their KCSE exams and we wish them the best of luck in getting the good results that they deserve!