The Following notices are for upcoming events and news for future projects.

 NEW WEBSITE COMING SOON....

Friends From Ireland will be collecting at the upcoming Rugby Matches at The Aviva Stadium. We need 20 collectors for each day. On Saturday the 6th of November Ireland are playing South Africa and on the 20th they are playing New Zealand. We will make a list of all our supporters who are available to collect at either of the games. Its all hands on deck for this one so get in touch and let us know when you can give a hand. Times on both days will be roughly 1.30 pm to 5..00pm. We will have all the kit needed. We just need

YOU....... 

 

 

Come And Have A Laugh..... 

 

           

                          

Mwangea Primary School is located roughly halfway between the Kenya Coast and Tsavo East National Park, near the top of a range of low hills. The rainfall last year was negligible. On 24th. February, 2010, our friends Nigel and Ann Watson, went with one of the parents to visit the school after hearing about their dire water situation. Even after 18 years in Kenya, during which time they had seen many incidences of hardship, they were both deeply shocked. The ONLY source of water, for drinking and cooking, at the school was a muddied and stagnant water hole, used also by cattle and goats. There used to be a spring about 3 km distant, over rough terrain, but that has now turned saline due to lack of rainfall. The nearest freshwater pipeline is 8 km away, the other side of the range of hills.

Nigel decided to design a water collection system, from the roofs of the surrounding school buildings and build a water tank to store the run off during the rains. Nigel purchased materials and organised their deliverey to this remote area.He also supervised the project. In addition he designed a small water filtration unit, from readily available materials which greatly impoves even the most disgusting water.

Friends From Ireland are delighted to say that we were in a position to financially support this project. It was a pleasure to work with Nigel again after the sucess of the Library Building Project in Gede. This project is now complete and supplies clean drinking water to a whole community. Well done Nigel and Ann. Im sure we will work together in the future. 

We are now taking names from anyone interested in the School Building Project in Lesotho in February 2011. Have a look at the project information on the future projects page and then get in touch through our contacts page. We will then arrange a project introduction meeting with you and fill you in on all the details.

 

 

The Infant School building project is coming along really well. It is expected that we will have the building up to wall plate level by the end of May. In addition we have now agreed to build another block of eight toilets to help cater for the now 800+ kids at the school. At a recent site meeting it was also agreed that we would dig a permanent well on the school site as present arrangements mean that the school relies on a local source which they have to pay for. It just made sense to tackle this problem whilst we were doing the other buildings. We also identified another small derilict building on the school site that could easily be re commissioned for use. We will put a new roof on this building and sort out the doors and windows. Finally if everyone is still standing we will replace the " Jungle Gym" we built in 2006 which was removed from an adjacent site by the lovely developers...

This will be the final phase of what has been a five year project. In 2005, when I first visited this school with Hilary Hunter of the Hilary Hunter Kenya Fund, there were 200 kids at the school in five battered classrooms. It was grim to say the least. On completion of this final phase we will see the school set up properly to face the challenges of the future. All of this was made possible by the fundraising efforts of Irish volunteers.

DONT FORGET,

THE KENYA 2010 PROJECT MEETING FOR VOLUNTEERS,

     ON MAY 29TH AT 4.00PM, NANCY HANDS, PARKGATE STREET, DUBLIN.

The project scheduled for the 24th of April 2010, in Lesotho, has been postponed for the time being. We will reschedule as soon as possible and will post the new dates on the website. Thank you to all the Lesotho Volunteers who have been so understanding. Our thoughts and prayers are with Faan and his family in such difficult times.

Friends From Ireland were delighted to assist Lyndsay's Africa Project in Malindi when they found themselves covering large areas around Malindi, without transport. They provide and maintain computers at schools in Malindi, Watamu and in the vast surrounding rural areas. They not only source, install and set up computers in schools that could never hope to afford them, they also maintain them to the highest of standards. These computers give children a chance to learn what is in todays world every bit as important as the ability to read or write. Every skill that these kids learn gives them a greater chance to find work when they leave school.

Thanks to recent donations we have now finished Phase 1 of the Infant School Building Project in Watamu. In the last few weeks we have completed the foundations and floor slab for three new classrooms. These will be linked to the Workshops completed by FFI Volunteers in 2008. The infants who will use these classrooms were displaced when developers took over the land where their original building stood, and quite simply demolished it. This new building however is situated within the school grounds and will cater for these children who range in ages of between  of 2 and 4 years. A large number of these little kids are orphans and the school is their lifeline.

Phase 2 will involve bringing the Blockwork to roof level and we hope to achieve this over the coming months. We will be looking for volunteers for September 2010 to complete the final phase of the project which will involve putting on the roof, installing doors, windows, blackboards, desks, electrics, toilets (if funds permit) and then painting the complete structure. There is a huge amount of work involved and there will be jobs for anyone willing to give it a go, previous building experience is not a must. Further details will be posted on the website when they are finalised but if you would like to like to be considered as part of the volunteer group just drop us an e-mail and we will keep you posted. 

The Fashion Show held by Friends From Ireland and the Tralee Rotary Club was a fantastic sucess. Many thanks to all the models who volunteered their time and who made it a night to remember. A huge thank you must go to our PRO, Joanne Quirke, who held it all together and masterminded what was a huge undertaking.

 

  DCU Volunteer Expo

 Wednesday 4th November 2009.

Dublin City University will hold its first Volunteer Day on Wednesday 4th November 2009. This promises to be a great day with almost 40 confirmed charities attending and the list is growing every day.

It will be held in The Hub from 10am to 4pm. There will be plenty of charity representatives speaking during the day if you ever wanted to be a volunteer but just didn’t know where to start?

If you are interested in getting more information we strongly recommend you come along on the 4th November and chat to the many charities on hand.

This is open to both students and staff.

 Visit the Friends From Ireland Information Stand.

Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Fair

Friends From Ireland  Information Stand

 Saturday 26th September (10am-5pm). 

                                             

Irish Aid is hosting a public information fair on overseas volunteering opportunities on Saturday 26th September (10am-5pm). Over 20 short and long term volunteering organisations will have stands at the fair and there will be presentations on volunteering every half hour from 10am-4.30pm.

The Irish Aid Centre is located at 27-31 Upper O’Connell Street, Dublin. 

The following organisations are taking part: 

A-Z Childrens Charity, Camara, Comhlamh, DTALK, EIL Intercultural Learning, Friends from Ireland, Friends of Londiani, Global Schoolroom, Habitat for Humanity, Hope Foundation, Irish Aid, Link Community Development, Niall Mellon Township Trust, Progressio,  Serve, Skillshare International Ireland, Sli Eile, Suas, USIT, Viatores Christi, Voluntary Service International VSI, Voluntary Service Overseas VSO,  Volunteer Missionary Movement, Volunteer Centres Ireland.

 SARI Soccerfest 2009

 

Well what can we say this year??

Should have, would have, could have.......... DIDENT!!!!

Well done to all the lads who battled away right to the bitter end. Won five games, drew one and lost only one.

Next year we are sure to win it...... It makes sense.

 

 

www.watamu.biz

Congrats to Steve Trott, Jane Spilsbury and Jake Kiddee-Hansen on the development and design of the Watamu Marine association website, www.watamu.biz.

"WMA is a unique initiative at the Kenyan coast bringing together members from the community, tourism and environment sectors. WMA promotes community development and empowerment and advocates for the protection and preservation of Watamu Marine Park and Reserves. WMA is exploring participatory and co-management potential with the managing authorities and agencies. WMA promotes member groups and business ventures and partner projects in Watamu and the surrounding areas. Explore the different groups in Watamu making a positive impact on the environment, society and the economy that are listed here."

It was our pleasure at Friends From Ireland to be involved. 

 

 

Friends From Ireland are holding a Race Night at 8pm on the 25th of August 2009 at Nancy Hands Bar and Restaurant. Great Craic and prizes to be had and all funds will go towards our ongiong work in Africa. Come and join us for a laugh. Everyone is welcome but be warned, you may get recruited..........

                            

The dates for the Lesotho Project have been set for the 24th April to the 8th of May 2010. If anyone wants more information dont hesitate to contact us through the contacts page.

Congrats to all the ladies who completed the ladies mini marathon recently in Dublin. The sun blazed down on all the participants. FFI had some volunteers who braved the heat and finished in more or less on piece. One lady may have looked a tad manly.... Hugh, you know who you are. Thank you all for your support.

The beds we had made for the Hostels at Sorris Sorris have been finished. Faan Oosthuizen spent three days transporting and fitting the beds at the start of June. They are made from steel frames and mesh and bolted to the walls. They are strong enough to take all that the kids can do to them and will last long into the future. Once again thanks to everyone who made all this possible for the kids.

Run Mouse over images for before and after photos.

                                                     We are looking for volunteers to take part in the Flora Ladies Mini Marathon which takes place in Dublin on Bank Holiday Monday, June 1st 2009. We have lots of sponsorship cards and T-shirts for anyone interested in raising a few quid for our cause. We would be delighted with your support. Please, give us a shout if you feel like getting involved. Contact us through our contacts page.

School Building Project, Sorris Sorris, Namibia,

January 24th to February 8th 2009. 

       Well what can we say? This project was just an amazing success. So much was achieved in such a short space of time.

It was tough and challenged all of us  on many levels.

Their full story is on the recent projects page. However this is the gang;

Well done to everyone involved, Faan, Ben, our new volunteers, the three scorpions, and one determined spider.............

"W.M.A. was formed in September 2007 after a workshop brought marine stakeholders together to address conflicts and develop working partnerships. W.M.A. is a unique initiative at the Kenyan coast bringing together members from the community, tourism and environment sectors. The Association is committed to conflict resolution, developing community based groups and projects and environmental protection.The Association is steered by an elected Management Committee and invites the local public authorities and government agencies to actively participate in meetings and decision-making processes. The Association is exceptional in that it brings together marine stakeholders from all corners of the community and is representative of the greater community. W.M.A. is unusual in that its main impetus is derived from a community desire and self-motivation for betterment, as opposed to a collective response to large injections of funding from international funders and donors."

Friends From Ireland are delighted to support the W.M.A. and wish them every success in the future. It is through Community initiatives like this that real change can be achieved.

Completed Infant Classes SDA School, Watamu, September 2006.

Bad News Im afraid. In September 2006 a group of 19 volunteers were involved in the roofing and renovation of the infant classes building at the SDA School in Watamu. This building catered for up to 200 kids up to the age of four. Many of these infants were orphans. The land that this building was on has recently been taken back from the school and the infant classes have been demolished. There are now tourist lodges being built on this site. Fortunately the Secondary School and workshops, built by Friends From Ireland Volunteers over the last 18 months have helped house the kids. Some are also in the nearby church.

This is now whats left....................... September 2008

 

 Over the last two years we have had the good fortune to have had Muzahir Karimjee as the main supplier of our building materials. Not only do we get the supplies at affordable rates but we get important local building advice. Muzahir has supplied the materials for the last three projects at the SDA School in Watamu, the Clinic in Ganda and has been very generous in helping out in the building of the Library in Gede. We look forward to working with him and his guys in the future. Thanks Guys....

We are delighted to say that the Clinic in Ganda now has power. Over the last few months we have been in contact with Community leaders in Ganda and the Kenya Power Supply Board who recently brought a supply to the site. In 2007 three Irish girls, Katie O Sullivan, Grace O Sullivan and Suzanne O Rourke converted part of the clinic to a small maternity unit which now sees up to 30 children born there each month.

The lack of power was a serious concern especially for expectant mothers arriving in labour during darkness. Bear in mind that Kenya is situated on the equator and is in darkness from roughly 6.30pm to 5.30am all year round. The lights finally went on on Monday the 29th of September. A huge thanks to Silas Karisa who helped out so much with Kenya Power and all the certification we needed. Well done to all concerned in Ireland and Kenya. Another great example of people power..... This unit and its staff are saving lives thanks to you all.

The Library in Gede is almost complete. The guys have done a tremendous job and it should be open in the very near future. This project really is a great example of what can be achieved when people work together. The determination shown by Aileen and Derek Westwood to establish this Library, in partnership with Melinda Rees, has been fantastic. We are delighted that the funding forwarded by Friends From Ireland and The Garda Third World Fund has been pivotal in the early completion of the building. Well done to everyone who has supported this much needed project. It has been a pleasure to work with all concerned.

Congrats to Frank Buckley and all the guys at S.A.R.I. for a fantastic weekend at the 2008 Soccerfest. The weather got the best of us all on the Sunday but a fantastic time was had by all. Our brave lads made it through to the final group stages, with some fine performances in the sun on the Saturday, but alas were knocked out on the Sunday. Everyone had a blast and all the gang are looking forward to winning it next year.........

The Friends From Ireland Black Tie Ball will now take place on New Years Eve. The venue is Westmanstown Golf Club and tickets are 75.00 Euro. All are welcome.

The dates have been set for the school building project at Sorris Sorris, Namibia in 2009. We depart Dublin on Saturday, January 24th and arrive back on Sunday, February 8th. Last week we sent 6000.00 Euro to begin to address the roofing problems at the school. It did not seem realistic to wait to fix some of the classrooms when they urgently needed attention now.Work such as this will continue, but the vast majority of the work will await our arrival in January. 

Faan Oosthuizen has been of fantastic assistance and has arranged everything on the ground in Namibia. He is overseeing the roof repairs and arranging the materials for the main work in January.

The final arrangements have been made for the School Project in Sorris Sorris. It will take place over two weeks in Jan/Feb 2009. Faan Oosthuizen has taken on the Namibian end of things so we are in good hands. This project is big and we want as many volunteers as possible to complete it on time. There is more info on the " Future Projects" page. Registration is open from now.

We are delighted to announce that we have joined up with the Jason Westwood Foundation Trust to help get a Library built in Gede, Kenya. Those of you that have travelled to Watamu with us in the past would have driven through Gede, (which is the village just as one turns off the main road from Mombasa to Malindi) on the way to Watamu. We have assisted with funding to get things started. The guys at the JWFT have procured land and have had a local lady trained as a librarian. The library will stock texts in Swahili and English and will also hold a supply of school texts to assist those less well off families in keeping their kids in school. This is a very worthwhile project and we look forward to working with Melinda, Derek and Aileen. If anyone needs more info on the Library I would be delighted to hear from you. We will keep you up to date with progress. 

 

Congrats to the Project Volunteers from April 2008. The Irish and Kenyan gangs worked so well together that not only did they finish the workshops and the toilet block, they also managed to revamp the kids playground. The project was an absolute success. Picture shows, Kevin Spain, Ciara Spain, Paul Spain, Maureen Spain, Gerry Hayes, Brian Murphy, James Wolfe, Keith Murphy, Denise Hennessy, Joanne Quirke, Dominic Spillane, Fionnuala Fitzpatrick, Malachy Mc Carron, Ann Marie Spillane, Hubert Collins and John Byrne.

The Building Project at Sorris Sorris in Namibia has been agreed for the early part of February 2009. We will be renovating several buildings at a school site and will need a large group of approx. 35-40. It will be a fantastic project. Project info will be available soon after Kenya project is finished for all who are interested, but be warned. no beds on this one. Its back to basics with sleeping bags and tents under the magnificent Namibian night skies.

The Dept. of Foreign Affairs has revised its travel advice for Kenya. It has been downgraded from All Non Essential Travel to a cautionary note. Good news at last. All systems are go and work is continuing at the school.

So far we are still on track for our project in Watamu, Kenya in April 2008. The school was closed for a few weeks, during the unrest, but has opened again. Building materials have been hard to get due to transport issues but again things seem to be returning to normal.

Due to the closure of most of the hotels in the area unemployment is causing tremendous hardship. This whole reigon of Kenya relies on tourism. Recent media reports have caused havoc leading to hotel cancellations by the thousands. No tourists means no work, no work means no food. It is crucial that things return to normal soon. We are working very hard to make sure that the school stays open but we rely on your support.

The workshops and toilets are coming along and, despite recent problems, should be ready for the volunteer group in April.

 

We are monitoring the current unrest in Kenya. It is a sad situation and one which may have implications for our upcoming project in April. We remain hopeful that calm will be restored and have not abandoned all hope of travelling. However the safety of our volunteers is of paramount importance and we will not take undue risk. We will make our final decision prior to January 26th so if you are fundraising keep going.....

If we do not travel as a group I would still like to be in a position to keep our promise to the kids and complete their school. After all if there is one way we can really help democracy it has to be through education.

Thank you all so much for your support.

John Byrne

Chairman.

Dont forget to let us know if you are having any fundraising events so we can post them on the notice board.

 

We have just received our Charity Registration Number from the Revenue which is CHY 17747. You may use this number when you are collecting sponsorship or looking for donations. It is also important that you use this number if you are looking for premits to collect from An Garda Siochana.

The Workshops project is well advanced at this stage with the foundations almost complete. We also hope to extend the toilet block at the school to keep pace with the many recent developments. The Playground we constructed in 2006 needs some more attention as the kids have been knocking great sport out of it and its a bit "tired". We wont be idle in April thats for sure...

The dates for the project are set for April 5th to 19th, 2008

Damian Davies and the gang at Turtle Bay Hotel are expecting us and have promised to have plenty of Tusker on hand. For those of you who dont yet know what Tusker is, you soon will.

We have had tremendous interest in this project and the closing date for registration is approaching rapidly. If you are thinking of signing up for Kenya get a move on as we would hate to dissapoint anyone.

Once again we are delighted to be supported by Damian Davies and his staff at the Turtle Bay Hotel. We will be staying with the guys again in April 2008 and are delighted to be invited back. The support given by Damian to organisations such as our own is crucial to the effective planning and completion of these projects. His advice is always available and always welcome and the hospitality of his staff is second to none.
www.turtlebay.co.ke

Congrats to the Costello Boys who went on holidays to Kenya in September and ended up taking on a project of their own. Having met Lindsay Rountree and Jim at the Africa Project headquarters in Malindi they ended up setting up a computer room at a school in Watamu. Not only did they set up the room, they then went and bought the guys there enough extension leads and tools to keep them going for a long time to come. I believe that they don’t intend to leave it at that and have already discussed plans to return in the future. Well done lads, its guys like you that make the difference.

Comhlamh.  www.comhlamh.org
Friends From Ireland are delighted to announce that we have agreed to sign up to the Comhlamh Volunteer Charter and the Sending Organisation Code of Good Practice. In all future projects we will be encouraging volunteers to read over the Volunteer Charter and adhere to its advice and principles.

www.childrenofwatamu.net
Sue and Dave Hayward are making huge advances in their goal to build a “Happy House” in the Watamu area of Kenya. The work they have done with the SDA School there has been fantastic and it has been an absolute pleasure to be involved with them and the staff at the school. The Happy House will give desperately needed sanctuary to the many orphans in the area and we hope to do all we can to support them in its completion. I have just heard that Suzy has advanced the possible start date of this project to June/July 2008 and I will keep the notice board up to date with any future developments. Don’t ever hesitate to contact Sue directly through the website above, she will be delighted to talk to you.

Our next project will take place in Kenya in April 2008. We will be building two workshops with the SDA School in the coastal village of Watamu. These workshops will allow the children at the School to learn basic skills in Woodwork, Metalwork, General Maintenance, Dressmaking and much, much more. We hope that by equipping the kids with skills not just of an academic nature we will be giving them a better chance to find employment when they leave school. We also hope that, in the future, the workshops can undertake all school maintenance and provide uniforms for the pupils. They may also provide a source of revenue for the School by encouraging the making, and selling, of local craftwork to the many tourists who stay in the hotels in the area. In time these workshops may be in a position to help in the development of other community cornerstones. Everything is possible…

                                                                              

The Project dates are; April 5th to April 19th 2008.
Total Funds to be raised by each Volunteer = Euro 3500.00
Friends From Ireland will arrange all flights, accommodation and Insurance.

Volunteers must register by JAN 11TH 2008 and on registration must pay a deposit of Euro 800.00. Contact us through the contacts page or call the contact number and we will be delighted to answer any questions you might have.