Hey wonderful people

How are you all............I made all the efforts and now able to communicate with you - through the support of one dangerous character by the name Jere....thanks Jere. I followed your instructions and got further instructions from the comp / internet and voila............here I am!! doesn't it feel great?? it does and i invite all of you wonderful people to subscribe / communicate in this forum.our ultimate plan is to come up with a website and this is a great start. we are still compiling the report of the FLTP phase 1 that ended on sunday - AND it was full of many blessings!! I shall get to you

Greetings to you all the fish Group Members

Let me take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to you all. Am so much honoured to be part of this great group with these great people. I was enrolled a fish member and leader on 10/08/85. Maurice Okumu and I started Magadi boys fish group on the 11/08/85. In my opinion as someone who grew up in Kisumu Fish group is one of the best things ever to happen to the Kisumu youth. The fish group has been important in my family and personal life. When I joined nurse training in 1990 the fish and the Pandipieri Community Health workers gave me a wonderful send off. When my brother Josiah was ordained the Fish played a very important part in 1997. During my wedding on 16/12/2000 the Fish group did all the organisations and arrangements that made it all possible. When we lost our mum in 2002 the fish were there and gave her a very good send off, even during mum's illness several fish member supported us as a family in various ways. Recently when we lost our elder brother the fish were there and helped in various ways and gave him a very good send off given that he was a fish member as well. Am truly grateful for the group and cannot express my gratitude enough.

Thanks for this site as it will help us all keep in touch with each other and know how everyone is doing. I hope we will all contribute to the site and keep it alive. For those who do not know me I currently reside and work in the United Kingdom, two of my younger brothers are still current members of the Fish Group.

Vocations from the Fish Group

As we continue to go SIGALA GALA, SIGWEYA and PAKRUOK for the birth of the son of "wuod Guardian", Vincent Omondi, we thank the Lord for the life of each one of us and for the christian growth we have achieved as fish members which make us be different wherever we may be.

We pray for our beloved brothers and sister who shared life with us as fish members: the married, the religious (Sisters, brothers and priests). In a special way, we pray for the last fish member (the one I know) who joined the novitiate in Mozambique (Consolata Missionaries). I mean, Joseph Omollo of Manyatta. We pray for young men and women who are descerning their vocations (married or consacrated) that the Lord may give them the wisdom to respond to this call. We hope more young people will follow us to serve the people of God as men and women consacreted to love and serve. Pray for us...













It will not be good to forget to pray also for our leaders (Church, government and Fish) that with wisdom they may know how to guide the people of God.

I conclude this note by inviting more Fish members to participate in the forums and keep us all informed of their whereabouts.

Blessings to all.

Fr. Gordon,
Consolata Missionaries - Spain.

great news………….

Vincent Omondi Were has a big smile playing over his lips……..literally……. ladies and gentlemen. His wife has just landed him a bouncing baby boy!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations Wuod Guardian. Here is another fish member that will take after the footsteps of his father and perhaps the grandfather??!!!! Bravo!!! Hey guys join me in welcoming the new life into our midst. Sigalagala…….ululations………..



Posted by Charles Lwanga

UPDATE APRIL 2008: WORKING WITH STREET CHILDREN AT MKOMBOZI IN TANZANIA

Introduction: The purpose of this brief document is to update you with information regarding my employment and work experience with street and vulnerable children and youth and their families in Northern Tanzania. Though I got appointment letter to work at Mkombozi in September 2007, I reported in mid January 2008 after a delay of two weeks due to post election violence in Kenya. The organization was started in 1997 Kate McAlpine, a British volunteer. Physical location of Mkombozi’s main activities and offices are in Arusha (street based) and Moshi (residential and street based work).

Mission: Mkombozi works with about 1,000 street and vulnerable children and youth, their families and communities in Northern Tanzania. It seeks to help them grow in mind, body and spirit as well as build a more caring society for all supported by the rule of law. It challenges the status quo and acts as a catalyst for civil society organizations in developing relevant and sustainable programs that ensures their participation while facilitating human processes that seek to improve lives of street and vulnerable children and youth in Tanzania.

Programming Summary: Children’s Program: Street work (mobile school, street banking tool kit, legal aid, health), education for street and vulnerable children and youth (non-formal, primary, secondary, vocational and university), family reintegration (home visits, follow ups), self-actualization (recreation, sports, leisure), self-reliance (group housing, small business skills training, employment linking, small loans and grants), temporary shelter (food, medical, clothing, accommodation), fostering, psychosocial support (counseling, mental health) and mentoring.
Community Engagement (local authority, ‘budget trucking’, schools, communities), Advocacy & Research (litigation, 50% campaign, street census, resilience research), ACTT (Affordable Computer Technology in Tanzania – refurbishment, maintenance & sale, creating IT centers in schools, computer training), Governance, Management and Administration (Board of Trustees, Senior Management Team, Human Resource and Finance).

Mkombozi’s Transition & my Role: The current Director/founder (Kate McAlpine) leaves the organization in December 19th to start up a consultancy (Roho) in Arusha. Since the beginning of 2008, new systems and structures have been put in place to accommodate this change. Initially, I was employed as Children’s Program Coordinator based in Moshi which later changed to cover both Arusha and Moshi. Meanwhile, my role has been adjusted to a new position of Programs Manager and a member of Senior Management Team (SMT) which is led by the Director who reports to the Board of Trustees. I supervise Children’s Program Coordinators (Senior Social Workers, Street Educators, Day Supervisor, Night Supervisor), Community Engagement Coordinator (Fostering, Safe School, Giving Home & Livelihood Officers), Quality Assurance Coordinator (M & E, Research & Child Protection Officers).
Other members of the SMT are the Finance Manager, Human Resource Manager, ACTT Manager and External Relations Manager. Mkombozi’s staff capacity is 70 people and includes 3 Kenyans, 1 Indian, 1 British, 1 Danish and 1 Canadian. In addition, there are 2 short term (6 months) & 2 longer term (1 year) volunteers from USA & Canada working in the organization.

Plans: I currently work for 3 days in Moshi and 2 days in Arusha (1½ hours drive apart). Immediate plan is to settle with family in Arusha. Future projection is to undertake Doctoral Research after finalizing my contract with Mkombozi depending on the availability of funds and acceptance by a relevant University.

Collaboration: The level of professional and practice commitment of Mkombozi is a primary motivation for me to work in the organization. It is also on this basis that I would like to invite and encourage your friendship and partnership in our work: professional, ideological, information & resource exchange or any other forms of collaboration that befits your current undertakings. Please be encouraged to visit our very extensive website at www.mkombozi.org as well as our offices in Arusha and Moshi in Tanzania.


posted by Jeremiah on behalf of Alphonse Omolo

National Healing

finally The president and the Prime minister have embarked on a heal the nation tour. I know there are many thorny issues to iron out. but all in all i wish them every success and every wisdom. I hope they will find back that energy with which they criss crossed the nation seeking out voters. I hope they will be as energetic and enthusiastic and that they will give us a new reason to see each other as one people. All the best our dear Principals!


...prayers of my kids ...

...Lord help those mungiki who are angry so that they cannot be angry ...
...Lord help those children who are just outside
...and father bless those people who were crying so that they are quiet
... saint Mary ... pray for us
...saint John ... pray for us
...saint Dad ... Pray for us
...saint mum ... pray for us
...saint aunty ...pray for us

So you see am already a saint way before my death!

FLTP

Last Week Lwanga mentioned that the FLTP would be starting this friday. With the new blog now in place, it will be interesting to get to know how that went. I hope Lwanga will update the blog with stories from the training and maybe a few photos.

Fr. Gordon helped me yesterday to get all the email addresses of all members in the mail string so all of you are able to log in and post articles on any topic.

Last Friday we were with Martin Opondo, Steve Owiti (he has ballooned!) and Silvery Otieno. it was really a great get together. Steve was in town to do some gumbaru. But Silvery and Opondo are these sides and we are always meeting. I also got hold of Argwrings Kodhek he wanted some insights into the safaricom IPO. We agreed on a conservative figure he could invest in. Argwings is still as deep and as wise as ever. His plays have gone a notch higher and now he has produced a short film on a VCD. Am happy to be associated with him.

Jeremiah

Those cords ...

Lwanga Charles , the former Manyata 3 team leader and my mdosi at Kisumu Boys French club started it all. He co-ordinated, emailed, called and made us get in touch, but i strongly feel that those cords for which we prayed in that melodious song many years back are mostly to blame or praise. Those cords made us who we are. We laughed, we joked, quarreled, played and prayed together got married and got children. The Lord has been great to all of us.

I would like to invite you to send me your email addresses so that i can add you as authors of this blog. that will make everyone of us be able to post on this blog

...and may the spirit of God in the clear running water blow till we be!



Jeremiah Ochieng