Double Your Donation

Porridge and Rice is registered for the Big Give this year. If you donate via the Big Give during the Christmas Challenge, your donation can be doubled. There are very specific times and dates for donations to qualify to be doubled.

If you are planning to donate during the Christmas Challenge, please note

• the event takes place from midday on Tuesday 29 November to Friday 2 December
• donate online during this 72 hour period and your donation can be doubled
• it's first come first served so get online as soon as you can

The Hygiene Programme

In the Nairobi slums, clean water is not readily available and where it is available, it is expensive. In addition, more people own a mobile phone than have access to a very basic toilet like a long-drop latrine. Open defecation is thus common.

Knowledge of hygiene and the benefits are not only not well known, but even when they are, the people do not have the resources to act on their knowledge.

As a result of the work of Porridge and Rice in the 6 school it supports,

• 2000 plus children have access to safe clean drinking water
• 2000 plus children have access to disinfecting soap whenever needed
• 2000 plus children have access to basic toilets disinfected at least twice a day
• 2000 plus children are taught about the reasons for hygiene
• 2000 plus children wash their hands regularly to break the transmission of diseases like diarrhoea
• 2000 plus children wash their faces daily to reduce the chance of catching Trachoma
• 2000 plus children occupy classrrooms that are disinfected each week

Bean Sorting

Before making the stew for lunch, the Nyayo beans must be sorted to remove any bits left over from harvest. This task is done each day by parents.

Nyayo beans are a variety of kidney bean that is particularly high is iron, chosen by the charity because the children of the slums frequently suffer from Iron deficiency.

Hampton Hill

On Saturday 16 July, the Porridge and Rice team, spent the day at the Hampton Hill town fair, running a petting zoo and making balloon animals.

It was a hot and busy day with many people wanting to pet the ducks, stroke a rabbit, or hold a hedgehog. Most importantly, over £700 was raised on the day.

School Libraries

Each Porridge and Rice school now have regular reading sessions thanks to the steadily growing number of books in each school donated by supporters of the charity.

Each school needs a small room with shelves on which the books can be displayed. Currently, the books are stored where space allows such as under a table in the staff room or in the school office. The children cannot browse the books easily but have to choose from the top few, or teachers have to move piles of books around.

The goal is to build a small library in each school as soon as funds allow.

Fidgety Fingers

The picture really speaks for itself.

The wonderful team and children have again shown their support for the children supported by Porridge and Rice. This year, through a range of activities, Fidgety Fingers raised £643.50.

On behalf of the children living in the Nairobi slums, thank you so much for your wonderful support. It has helped to change the lives of some of the poorest children in the world.

Summer 2016

Three Porridge and Rice volunteers returned on 15 August 2016 after two weeks of hard work in the Nairobi slums, working with partner schools.

Martin and Sharon Hellema, members of the Porridge and Rice team, visited the schools in Kenya that they have supported from the UK.

Amongst other things, Martin used his IT skills to solve problems with donated laptops, and Sharon ran a series of excellent lessons on planning.

Frank Mokua

Frank is 14 years old and has been at Lizpal since he started school. His dream is to become a musician but to practice he needs to buy a musical instrument like a guitar but he can't afford to buy one. He also likes to rap. If it doesn't work out as a rapper, he would like to become a scientist -- like a meteorologist or an astronaut.

He makes a point to finish his homework even if it means finishing in the morning before school. If he cannot finish his homework at night it is because he feels sleepy or dizzy. Before Porridge and Rice started supporting Lizpal, he would go home to eat lunch and run the risk of missing a class. He would score less than 350 points. Now that he eats lunch at school, he doesn't miss a lesson and his grades have improved.

Another benefit of being at Lizpal is that he gets to play sports like football. He likes playing position 7 or 8. Playing sports makes him happy, just like listening to music.

Visit the PaR Facebook page for more pictures and details about the work done by PaR.