Appeal: Water for Rural Kenya (Part 3)

Hi all
.

After  a  week  in  in Kuching ,  Fr   Francis  left  Kuching on 21/07  morning at  1040  to KL  where  he  will  stay  till 2Aug    . After  that  he  ,  Indigo and Brian  ( 2 future  priests!)  will fly back to  Kenya.  It will  be sometime  before  we'll  see  him  again .

To  see  them   off  this  morning   was  his host  Peter  Wong  , Amelia with  husband  and  son ,  and myself.  While  here  Fr Francis and team  stayed at  Peter Wong's house  and   Amelia  lent  her car  to them  throughout  their  stay.

Fr  Francis says  big  thank  you  to  us all.  He  is    very happy  to have  met  so many  new  friends  .  He  has  taken  most  of  our  addresses  and  will be  in contact  regularly .

 

Yesterday  I  counted  all  the  money  raised      from  my friends  ONLY ( he  has  other  people helping) and  squared  off accounts   with him so  that  he can  bring this  money  back to Kenya .  On  14th July , 2 days  before  he arrived  in Kuching  from Miri , I  set out  to  ask you all to dig  into  your  pockets  for  $ 15000  ringgits  to  build  a water borehole with a manual handpump  in  Turkana, Kenya   where  Fr Francis  is  stationed. After  5  days  of   meetings and  making  presentations  to small  groups  of  friends  of  5-6  people ,  we have  collected  a princely sum of $ 35850 .   This   is  more than enough to  build 2 water boreholes.

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My frens  in KL  have  also  pledged   another $ 850  so far which  will  added  to  the  Kuching  donation . They  will do some more and  I think it will be  bigger  before   he  leaves  for home.   If we hit $ 45000,  we  can  build  the  3rd  borehole.  Yes  we can !!

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Fr Francis  has been Kenya   for the  last 24 years  and  will most  likely do so  for the rest of his life.    His  org MCSPA is  also  on the i\Internet. We  wish  him well.  He  has  extended  an invitation   ( or challenge!!!)  to  us all to  visit  him .  He  can  be  contacted at  francis.ks.teo@gmail.com.  Anyone ????




List of Donors

Borehole 1
Chen Siew Kian (KL)	500
Richard Wee	2000
Simon Liaw	500
Anonymous 1 (Kch)	5000
Ng Koon Teck	1000
Nick Lau	500
James Yong ( S'pore)	500
Sim Khee How	500
Stanley Chong	500
Ben Wong	1500
Cindy Kueh	100
Then Su Yew	500
Sim CK	50
Kevin Chin (Perth)	200
Anonymous 2 ( S'pore)	1000
Shanon Lee	1500
Alfred  and Betty Wong	1000
Yong and Irene	2000
Louis Ng	1000
	19850
Borehole 2
Alex Ting	8000
Michael Ting	8000
	16000

Thanks  and  bye  .
.  

Bob  Chew  Pok Vun

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p/s   It   would  be great   to  pursue the target of  $ 45000  for the  3rd  borehole .  If  you still  wish  to donate  before  he leaves , pls  contact me  . You may  also  bank in  directly to  my ac  Public  bank Bhd   3125837330 . I  will  make  sure  it  will  get to him. Thanks.

Charitable Appeal: Water for Rural Kenya

Today I received a note from our buddy Bob Chew, who is leading a noble appeal for funds to help provide water to a  rural community in Kenya, Africa. In case you weren't quite awake during those Geography classes at St Joe, here's a couple of maps to help you along ...

Anyway, below I give you Bob's email verbatim, and let you decide for yourself if you want to be a part of this initiative ...

Email from Bob Chew


Hi,
Last yr  I went to Kenya to visit  Fr Francis  Teo , a  catholic priest,  at his  mission.  He is Chinese man originally from Malacca. At 23, he left  his  home and went  there searching  for meaning  in life . He later signed  up   for  religious  training  and  got  ordained as a priest there. He  is now 47.  He has spent  a good  part  of his  life  in Kenya  and  it seems like he will continue to live  there  for the rest of his life.

He is now  in Miri  and  will be  in Kuching on Saturday. While here,  he  will  be conducting masses, sharing his  exotic African experiences and his community life projects with the Kuching audience. 

His  group  is known as  MCSPA -  Missionary Community of  St. Paul the Apostle.  They  are  based  in the impoverished wilderness in  the Turkana region which is  located  in the north-western part of  Kenya, a  desert  region  that is  hot  throughout the day and night and  throughout the year.  MCSPA's  mission is  to develop  water  resources  for  the  villages.  What  they  have  done is  incredible. This precious little  water collected  in dams and boreholes have  helped avert  drought  and  famine  for  a  number  of  years  that so often  hit  the  people of that  region. For us it is images of fly-infested children skinny like skeletons and swollen tummies.

For more information on MCSPA, check this website.                

I am  putting  together  some  money  to  pass  on to  him   as a  gesture  of  our  support .  I  am  hoping  we  can  put  together  RM 15 000,  a  tidy sum  to drill a borehole  with a  manual  handpump.  Please  dig  into  your  pockets and let's do it together.

I will  passing  to him the  money  before  he  leaves .I  will also  be  meeting  him  daily  while  he  is  in Kuching  from Saturday  onwards.  As  MCSPA  does  not  have  an ac in Malaysia,  i  will  have  to pass  him cash. If  u  will  , you will have  to bank  into my ac  first  and  i will  draw  it  and  pass  it over.  I do   have  an ac for  community  work too.

Public Bank Bhd   3125837330.

Thanks  for  your  action .  Bye  bye.

Chew Pok  Vun  ( Bob)

Kuching

Email: lkcbob@tm.net.my

Here are the photos Bob sent me, from his Kenya trip.

                                                                               Pic 1

:

I have  asked  Fr Francis Teo  a few times since 2004 whether I could visit  him in his mission . On 30 Sept 2010 I finally landed in Nairobi, Kenya 6 years after I  first asked .3 days  later , I was on my way to Lodwar, Turkana , northwest region of  Kenya,  an  area of  where it’s  hot throughout  day and  night.

                                                                             Pic 2

Me and Fr Francis outside his church at Lodwar before Sunday mass. Fr Francis speaks fluent Turkanese and Swahili. He grew  up in Malacca. At  age 23 , he cut short his  studies in S’pore  and  left     for Africa in search  for  meaning in life.  He enrolled  for religious  training in 1992 and  was  ordained as  a  catholic priest in 1997 . Now 47, he has spent a  greater part of his  life devoted to community work amongst Kenya’s poorest.

                                                                                  Pic 3


 Me with colourful ladies waiting for church service to start.

                                                                                 Pic 4


This is what you get when you successfully build a dam. They take a mountain stream, build a dam to retain the water. At Turkana, it rains only 1-2 weeks in a year. During this short  time  you have to capture as much water as possible,  otherwise  it will all run off.. With the dam, you have water for the next 6-9 months, on which the animals survive. When animals survive, children can get milk and blood from the animals. Hunger and famine are thus averted.

                                                                               Pic 5


Me  visiting  a local family whose dwelling is made from  branches and woven leaves  on the banks of  lake Turkana .  Can house 4-5 people. Pretty  cool inside  against the  hot  harshness  outside. Very clever .

                                                                              Pic 6

This is a borehole with a manual hand-operated pump. A borehole  is a well created by drilling  to the  water table . A  pvc pipe is installed which iis much like a straw in a bottle. Each of these cost RM 15k. 

Well, over to you guys and gals .... Just do what you think is right. Contact Bob directly if you want to contribute.