We are excited to introduce Fridah Makandi, CLCL’s new social worker. Fridah will be reporting to our E.D., Wyclif Gitonga, helping him in the office and completing home and school visits in the field. Fridah holds a bachelor's degree of science in Community Health and Development from Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University, and has an array of experience in social work and community development. She has extensive knowledge of children’s rights and has skills in working with vulnerable children and their families.

Fridah loves to travel, watch movies, read and dance. In her own words, she is “very compassionate about changing and improving people’s lives and putting a smile on their faces.”

She started her first week with a packed schedule by helping with the Ruby Cup menstrual cup training at local high schools. We have no doubt that Fridah will soon be invaluable to CLCL!

Welcome, Fridah!

Prepared by:

Ian Muriuki|Intern, CLCL-Kenya

Drought has become a common crisis not only in Kenya, but in Africa at large and has led to negative impacts on the lives of people and the environment. Agriculture is known to be the backbone of our economy because what people in urban areas consume is primarily produced in rural areas where agriculture is practiced. Therefore, the significant drop in the amount of rainfall in most rural areas has led to low crop production, affecting both those living in the villages and in urban areas.

According to data from Kenya's meteorological department, some parts of the country will experience below-average rainfall, which will not significantly change the country's drought crisis. This crisis has led to an increase in food prices, resulting in the poor not getting access to essential foods, leaving them in the jaws of hunger and starvation. There have been reports that dozens of people have lost their lives to starvation. Pastoralist communities have also reported losing millions of livestock due to a lack of water and pasture.

The health of the population affected by the drought is most likely to deteriorate, putting them at risk of contracting diseases and death. Both large and small-scale farmers are faced with heavy financial losses due to low crop and livestock production.

To mitigate the effects of droughts, the Kenyan government has allowed duty-free importation of maize, rice, sugar, and cooking oil to help reduce local retail prices of the basic commodities. With the weakening shilling against the US dollar, the pricing dispute on imported cheap food could still see poor households continue to pay more for food.

Drought is a perennial problem in Kenya. The solutions suggested for curbing drought in Kenya include increasing the forest cover by planting more trees, harvesting rainwater, recycling and reusing water, introducing drought-resistant crops, and controlling drought deforestation, which are rarely implemented. Who should take responsibility for the well-being of our environment? Is it the public and the government, or should they both join hands to protect our environment and end the drought problem?

Editor’s Note: The drought and subsequent increases in food prices over the past year have caused CLCL to divert money away from our building and other programs in order to channel those resources into buying food for our families and schools.

Both CLCL-Kenya and CLCL-U.S. would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Ian Muriuki for his outstanding work in our Meru, Kenya branch. Ian began an internship in January 2023 after graduating from Egerton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Sociology. Ian was instrumental in helping Wyclif set-up and establish our Meru office. Over the past five months, Ian became adept at managing the office when Wyclif was in the field. Ian also got an opportunity to help in the field by assisting Wyclif in performing home and school visits. Ian wrote many of the reports which were sent to our children’s sponsors. He also wrote the article in this newsletter about the severe drought Kenya is experiencing.

As one of CLCL’s first beneficiaries, Ian has been a role model to many of our children. We hope that all our children will develop Ian’s drive and quest for learning. We wish Ian the very best of luck as he seeks a job in his field.  

This spring CLCL welcomed our first Kenyan sponsor, our own Glorie Gitonga. Many of you may recall reading about Glorie in prior newsletters. Before CLCL became registered, Glorie helped us with our Ruby Cup menstrual cup training.

Prior to starting work with the Kaaga Synod, Glorie had herself been a sponsored child. As an orphan, a sponsorship meant Glorie did not have to drop out of school after eighth grade. Since completing her education, Glorie has worked tirelessly to champion the less fortunate and persecuted.

As Glorie writes, “Donors have made me who I am, and I have no reason as to why I should not give back to the community. I have all the reasons to help the needy, because one day they will be successful and help a needy child.”

Thank you, Glorie for not only helping a vulnerable child, but also for being such a phenomenal role model. To all of us.

Due to financial and health constraints, five of our long-time sponsors have recently stopped sponsorship of their children. This has resulted in 11 children losing their sponsor. CLCL is dedicated to keeping sponsorships going until we can locate a new sponsor, however this is an expensive practice. Particularly when we have such a huge influx of need! We are reaching out to all of you to see who can help.

There are THREE ways YOU can help!

• Pick up sponsorship for one of these kids.
• Send a donation to help CLCL pay for their expenses while we search for new sponsors.
• Share the mission of CLCL with your friends and see if they will follow you by sponsoring a child.

The children range in ages from 8-18. We have boys and girls, primary school and secondary school students. You can see a few of them in the images above. All of these children would not be regularly eating or attending school were it not for their CLCL sponsorships. Please visit our website, see their beautiful faces, and read their biographies.

The Life you Change could be your own!

Sponsor a Child