christmas on the streets!

christmas is here again and we always celebrate it differently with our friends on the streets. on monday, there was the party for the mothers on the streets and as usual, it was packed. some of our girls helped in eastleigh and they started by cleaning the babies. they all got new clothes and had a nice plate of pilau.
on tuesday we had two events taking place. we had a soccer tournament and a party for the small boys. as anthony, kennedy and i went to the field for the tournament, ann and rebecca remained behind with the boys. they had lots of fun with face painting, bouncing castles and lots of games.
for the past three years, we have had a soccer tournament with the boys and for the last two years, jam street base emerged winners.this time round, it was tougher than usual. we had teams coming from different bases, some we only came to know this year which meant that instead of two days, the tournament was three days long.we also entered our students in the games and they did very well coming in fourth. this year was very tough. we had one boy breaking his hand and anthony and i took him to the hospital. on the second day of the games, a fight broke out between some of the boys from jam street base and boys from mathare valley.later on the captain from jam street called swara(which means antelope in swahili. he was given that name because of his swift moves with the ball)came to apologize for the team's conduct an promised to control his team. the last day was calmer and we had the finals of the tournament.the boys had so much fun and because they got to meet boys from other bases, they asked if the tournaments could be twice a year instead of once.
we capped it all with a party for them where the soccer trophy and the medals for the first, second and third team was presented. they had food, music and they were also given clothes. the party attracted almost seven hundred boys from the streets. this crowned our christmas celebrations for this year which was a real success.

by phillipo.

Court hearing update!

Francis visited the courts again this Thursday morning. He was told that all the proceedings and the final decision by the judge was not yet typed. Apparently this is a process that happens in courts. The verdict has to be typed before the judge reads it out as verdict. So this means the case was again adjourned till January 21st 2009. Not sure how to react to this, but still we have the ministry to worry about, its growth, the students knowing God bright futures to be molded. This is just a set back. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Today, in Eastleigh, a party raves the property. A party is being held for boys who come to the programs from the streets. Some of the MITS students have gone to help out and entertain.

From the outcome of the soccer tournament that was taking place in Eastleigh this week, Jam street Base has once again won the cup. This is a base consisting of older boys.

Yesterday the city council was in Eastleigh, trying to do a clean up of all the sewer system. Those of us who have has the chance to visit our center in Eastleigh really know how the area has issues with drainage/sewer systems. So this is an act of the government. All alley ways are to be cleared, this included our own, so Anthony and Kennedy has to pull down the dog shed, and the dining room we had constructed in the alley way. The good this is the council gave them time to pull the structures down themselves instead of bulldozing through it.

http://madeinthestreets.smugmug.com/photos/347279945_9AAhE-M-3.jpg
this is a link if a pic of the alley in our property in Eastleigh. Jane is having a class with the kids of the mothers who come to the program.

Xmas season is here!

The kids has a chance to buy each other presents for the big day, they went into the local market with money in their pockets and a close friend in mind just to buy a present for. This went so well, the kids made each other feel so special...
More interesting agendas are in store for the kids this season; on 22nd we will allow them to make a home visit to their guardians and parents. Plans are also being made to allow students that come from a distance like the outskirts of Nairobi to visit their folks in the festive season.

In Eastleigh there was a bash for the girls program on Monday this week. From Tuesday 16th a boys soccer tournament started. Street boys came out in numbers to register their team from the bases. The tournament goes for 3 days and on the 19th another bash will be held for the boys that come to our programs.

About the court hearing, Francis went yesterday with our lawyer, but again there was a glitch, the judge gave a flimsy excuse, but assured Francis and our lawyer that on Thursday 18th (tomorrow), he will give his final decision on the matter. Still be in prayers about this.
Word has reached us that the community is again planning a demonstration against us... the involved persons have been going door to door telling them that we have acquired public land and grabbed them. They also plan to bring down the buildings that are near completion in one of our property.

Exams for Fast Track!

Part of the student body are sitting an exams that will enable them join the fast track program. Philip and Irene have set aside some papers from local schools that formal school usually do at the end of their academic year to excel to the next level/grade.
We still are waiting for the results of the first group that sat the National Exam in November. They are due in December 29th or that week.
Milly had also evaluated her students on their skills in catering and they did great!

court ruling!

Francis went, he sat in court with the attorney, the judge was there...but the advocate for the other side was not there. So the judge decides that he will make a concrete ruling on the case on the 16th of December. Our attorney says this is normal for the judge to say this, he needs time to check on what the law says about such incidences. But if you ask me, everything seems to be going well for us.
Yeah the guys are still building on our property at the 20acres, but consider it as a blessing that we are still in the business of serving streets kids and the ministry is expanding. You never know the building could become ours...saves us a lot of effort right!