2023 Update: Health Care for Mara Rianta …

WE HAVE STARTED BUILDING THE CLINIC!!!
Mara Rianta is growing with the idea that the good of the many is more important than the good of the few. With profound vision, our liaison, Peter has had a well dug, small solar panels to run the well pump and the land made available for the badly needed clinic.

Having fresh water is a luxury in the Mara. Women and children walk to the river and lug the water  back to their home and the school. Sadly, a small boy lost his life to a crocodile while getting water. Now the entire village, not just the school, has access to clean water at the well. And of course, the water is essential for our upcoming clinic. We are now working on gathering the funds for the clinic and staff for the clinic. Exciting times!!

Educating children is the surest way to take care of a community; everyone benefits. We return to Kenya  in March 2022 to sponsor children to help pay for tuition, uniforms and supplies, and also to begin with plans for a clinic. Health care should be available to all and our group is ready to build, teach, and help finance the Mara Rianta Clinic. Of course, all are welcome to contribute if the spirit moves you to do so.

Presently $80 will sponsor a child’s education for one year. And $20 will pay for a uniform for the year. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we go fishing in the Mara!

 

Mara Rianta Project: Sunflower Cafe

A follow up to our Africa mission.

Named the Sunflower Cafe, we dedicated it to my parents who taught me to be the woman I am today. Inside the cafe, there is a food storage room and two braziers for cooking. Not only can the children sit at a table when they eat, but the cafe is one of the largest structures in the area and offers a safe haven during the terrible Mara storms. God bless the children!

I have been elected to the Mara Rianta Board and play a role in it’s future. Our work there, caught the attention of government officials and thus the school now receives some funding to help the families who cannot afford to send their children to school. A quick visit January 2019 found happy students and teachers who received us with love and affection. I am so proud of all the effort my students have given this community.

Our work began for the children to have food, shoes, books and uniforms to help them on their journey to become pilots, teachers, surgeons and more. Our humble vision began in an empty field and has grown to a community changing endeavor. 2018 saw the first class to ever graduate from the school, leading the way for further education where before, that simply wasn’t a possibility.

You have given them the gift of a future filled with possibilities. Thank you all for everything you have done and please know you have changed lives. Be proud of your accomplishment as I am. Their smiles of gratitude and excitement for their futures are priceless.

 

 

 

How our project began

Ok, so I’m minding my own business, wanting to take pictures of exotic animals on a safari in Kenya when “wham!” my lens is blocked by the vision of children trying to learn but lacking enough food to satiate them for the 7-10 walk each day to school.

We are just like you, we are not caretakers with special gifts and talents, nor do we belong to any organization or movement or church. We belong to an extended family around the globe, with a special place in our hearts for children and education.  And this is where synchronicity comes in to play. We happened upon a need in a village in the Masai Mara in Kenya and chose to get involved. It’s really that simple. We run a non-profit organization called the Ministry for Spiritual Responsibility, MSR, [click the link to learn more], that is not affiliated with any church or other organizations.

Every single cent goes directly to the children, delivered by us and if you would like to be a part of this program, we welcome your donations. You can donate for a specific cause such as food or clothing or to the school lunch program itself. All donations are tax deductible.

We began our project in September 2016, broke ground in March 2017, to feed the children so they can grow and learn to be pilots, surgeons, teachers and more! We have raised $23,100 of the $23,000 as of 11-12-19. Thank you all for your generousity that completed our project of a kitchen, school cafeteria and a new classroom. We are returning to Kenya in 2020, to celebrate with our tribe in the Mara!

Our next project is a dormitory for the girls [they are scared of walking to school past the elephants] and some upgrades for the teachers. Stay tuned!




30.00 feeds one child for one year
$20.00 buys a pair of shoes and socks
$20.00 buys a uniform
$25.00 will add food to the pantry
$35.00 buys educational materials for a classroom
$80.00 pays tuition for one child/one year
Donate any amount of your choosing to be used for our project.

 

 

 

All donations will benefit the children and future schooling for the next children who are ready to learn, and all are hand delivered by us.

MSR is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization [EIN: 59-3762274]
started by Christel Nani and Rebecca Grace. All donations are tax deductible.
“Joining Hearts Across the World” Campaign continues…
​© Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved

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Christel, Peter and Phillip work on school project.

These children dream of becoming pilots and surgeons and future teachers. We also learned that many of the children walk seven to ten miles each way to school. No there is no yellow “apple” bus even for the little ones.

We listened to their lessons and gosh they are smart, and then we watched them form a line for lunch—the only meal they would receive for many hours, regardless of their age. A cup of gruel, a grey, pastey liquid something, and that is all they get until they walk another seven to ten miles home.

How can they learn when hungry? How could we stand by and listen to their empty stomachs growl when we eat three meals a day—and sometimes even more… We couldn’t, so of course, we got involved. It feels good to be involved in something other than our own little worlds.

The mothers thank us with a song and open hearts.

On our return visit in March 2017, we saw all the new uniforms, all the mended uniforms, the school supplies and yes, even a small swing set. And so our project continues. We are building a small kitchen, a lunch room and a food storage area so that each child could get bread and water for breakfast and something more than gruel for lunch before their long trek home.

No, we don’t know how to build buildings, and no, none of us is an architect, but all of us decided to figure it out with the help of an amazing chairman, Phillip, and a dedicated and very smart headmaster, Peter. They keep meticulous records of who got what to make sure that the distribution is fair.

Kenya Maraianta Project: School Lunch Program
Kenya Mara Rianta Project: School Lunch Program

These two men whipped up a frenzy of excitement and in came the Fundi’s [similar to masons],  laborers,  architects, stone and cement workers, the fathers and brothers and more. Talk about being organized. Everything is written down, estimates, you name it, these men had it all ready for us. And everything was documented and written down to make sure no one was left out or received more than another child. Phillip and Peter are so fair minded and committed.

Christel serves lunch to 350 children.

Speaking of distribution, we don’t simply give money and hope it goes to the right place. Nay, we buy the shoes, the cement, the stones, the necessary items for our project. There is no overhead, no administrative fees, exactly 100% of all your donations are hand delivered to Kenya for the children.

So in March 2017, we broke ground. Well, we shoveled some dirt and stood around looking busy like the road crews on Long Island Expressway, but actually the men were working up a sweat. We just added a little eye-candy to the building project.

Phillip and Peter worked with the architects and the fundi [similar to a mason] to map out the project, the costs, the supplies needed and the workers. They are so dedicated to their village, the school and the children. we love working with them.

Kenya Maraianta Project: School Lunch Program
Kenya Mara Rianta Project: School Lunch Program

While we weren’t quite as skilled as the laborers we were thrilled to see the results of creative minds and loving hearts for a good cause: the future of our children. Perhaps you noticed one of the photos of a man sitting before a huge pile of stones with a hammer and chisel. Just like the hand hewn stones of Machu Picchu, each stone in the Mara Rianta School is also hand chiseled to make a perfect fit. Wow.

Our project was blessed and we dedicated the building in English, Swahili and of course Maasai, using an orange to instill the energy of enough food for all [kind of like the loaves and fishes story] and of course, the scent of oranges inspires the brain to feel happy.

The parents were so happy, they came to the school, and thanked and honored all of us with handmade necklaces and tied a ceremonial shuka around each of us to show that we are all family. They are so grateful and I believe we were adopted so we are now honorary Maasai! Very cool to extend the family tree, but I would prefer not to be the Maasai that keeps the lions away during the night.

May I add that we don’t simply give money willy nilly. Each parent must make an effort and contribute to the welfare of their children. Just supplying charity without an exchange is a way to destroy a person’s dignity and motivation to help themselves and their tribe.

We are raising more funds to complete the project and buy more uniforms so more children can benefit from an education. We interviewed many children about their dreams and what they wanted to be when they grew older. Boys and girls wanted to be surgeons, veterinary doctors, pilots and teachers. How exciting to play a role in a child’s dream coming true!

I am honored to be the spiritual teacher of such awesome people as my students. I am awed by the tenacity of my students to step out of their comfort zone to help. I say again, we are not great philanthropists but just simple people who saw a need and chose to answer that need.

Should you like to be a part of this project in any way—physically joining us in Kenya, or monetary donations, or prayers and good wishes, we are grateful. If you choose to donate to a general fund for all the kids that’s great. if you want your donations to be specifically for a uniform or school supplies, or food, or a specific child, please let me know, I will personally make sure it goes exactly where you desire it to go.

100% of all donations are hand delivered to the children and we are excited to help make a dream a reality. But more so, darn it feels good to be a part of something bigger than what I previously knew, it feels awesome to come together with like-minded people who are making a difference in the life of a child, and I feel blessed that I can be a part of bringing our world to the tipping point of positivity in one small village in Kenya. It truly does take a village…

Can’t wait to see where the next synchronistic opportunity to lend a helping hand presents itself.

Game on!

Christel