List of accomplishments since 2003
On behalf of the incredible support of the PEI community of volunteers and generous donors, and other communities across Canada, we are delighted to provide the following progress report as of February 2018. Check out our Facebook page and our News page to stay up to date on our latest projects.
Education:
- 7 school feeding programs providing 2000 hungry kids with a nutritious meal each school day. Over 1.5 million per year.
- 3 beautiful schools built and 2 more with major renovations.
- Built 4 cook houses and storing sheds.
- New latrines at 5 schools.
- Student desks and other teaching resources and supplies.
- Scholarship program with 40 students enrolled in Univ, College, or Trade School.
- “Day’s for Girls” Sanitary kit program in several schools.
- Supplied sports equipment and uniforms.
- Deworming and hook-worm treatment programs
Healthcare:
- Facilitated annual mission trips since 2007
- Thousands of people were served at annual Med, Vision, and Dental clinics.
- Construction of a large Rehab centre for persons with mental and physical disabilities.
- Establishment of a Community Based Healthcare out-reach program based out of the Rehab centre.
- Dozens of “special” emergency medical treatments for patients who came to our clinics, paying all medical expenses.
Agriculture:
We introduced:
- New varieties of drought and pest resistant crops.
- New variety of goats.
- Moringa Oliefera (Miracle Tree), and marketing program
- Built a Moringa processing facility, and posha mill.
- Established a network of 13 farmer groups with over 300 farmers.
- Hired an Ag specialist to train the farmers groups.
- Introduced drip irrigation using peddle pumps
Special Projects:
- Seven water pipeline projects.
- Established a micro lending program (table banking).
- Introduced fuel-efficient cooking stoves (gekos).
- In partnership with UPEI engineers, improved the design of wheelchairs for safe use on hilly terrain.
- UPEI engineers also introduced a charcoal making process using waste materials.
- Established a child sponsorship program in partnership with “Chalice International” with over 500 currently being sponsored.
- Greg and Karen Mckenna and Ted Grant served in a refugee camp for a month, during the election violence in 2008/09, comprised of 1000 UNHCO tents, with a population in excess of 10,000 refugees. We, on behalf of MCOH:
- Operated a vision clinic, testing eyes and giving free glasses.
- Employed nurses and pharmacist’s from Mikinduri to serve in the camps medical centre, in addition to paying their travel and accommodation expenses.
- Donated hundreds of foam mattresses to persons with disabilities as well as new mothers, and the elderly.
- Arranged for and paid for outside emergency medical expenses, like the amputation of the leg of a teenage girl suffering from elephantiasis.
- Funded the establishment of three training schools in the camp, namely, sewing lessons for the women, masonry and carpentry for the men.
- The carpentry students made desks for the empty tent classrooms supplies by UNHCO.
- Masonry students built several fuel-efficient stoves (jekos) so that the Boy Scouts could feed the 500 young kids breakfast faster and with lower fuel costs, as well as the segregated HIV/Aids refugees.
- Visited outside refugee enclosures, miles from Nakuru, providing truckloads of food, soap, mattresses, drugs and other basic supplies like hygiene pads, towels, face pans.
Expanded to new territory in Western Kenya
- Opened a new office in the city of Bondo.
- Contracted a Project Director, social workers, and an agriculture specialist.
- Formed an elected board of directors representing the 10 community self-help groups with whom we are partnering.
- Formed a strategic partnership with UPEI School of Sustainability Engineering for special sanitation and water purification projects.
- First mission team travelled in 2018 and partnered with the local groups.
- Fixed the medical centre solar system.
- Installed a pipeline to and plumbing in the health centre.
- Instaled a water pipeline to one of the five schools.
- Started feeding programs in five schools feeding almost 2,000 kids per day
- Started kitchen gardens at all 5 schools
- Introduced a program to reach the locals about the negative effects of open defecation and the negative effects on their health.
- Distributed 350 Days for Girls kits along with training on women’s rights, as well as mother-child issues.
- Purchased an acre of land on which to build an office and community centre in 2019.
- Established a solid working relationship with Dala Reiko, a local eco-group, who will be engaging in ag projects and training on Mageta Island.
We are delighted to inform you that since 2003, we have fundraised over $1,000,000, of which all but a very small percentage was sent to Kenya to carry out the above-listed programs and projects. We are able to operate the Canadian portion of our organization on less than 5 % for admin expenses, simply because we have no office space or equipment, no salaries or compensation of any kind to anyone. Everyone is a volunteer donating their time and expenses without reimbursement. As well, the PEI business community have been incredible supporters, and well as our Angel Donors. The lives of many people in Kenya have been improved thanks to the volunteers and donors who support MCOH.