The rebuilding of lives has begun!

REBUILDING LIVES is finally here! Everyone can now sign up online to sponsor a family at Pipeline IDP Camp! Check it out! Just visit the link on the left hand side of this page! I am sponsoring the first house with my darling Paul back in NZ and our good friends and his house mates Hamish and Paul R. Thanks guys!
Altogether, four families have already been sponsored and two people have already signed up for the group sponsorship! So awesome! It’s so exiting to see people from all over the world getting together to make a difference and help rebuild the lives of these beautiful people who have suffered so much.
It was an extra special visit to the camp last weekend because Sarah and Ben came along, my two gorgeous friends from Melbourne who have been volunteering at an orphanage just out of Nairobi.
Fortunately it was a nice sunny day so there were lots of people around and the children were out playing. When it’s raining the camp has a completely different feel because everyone is trying to stay dry and all huddled up in their tents.
Two more of my good friends who live in Kenya also came along for the trip, Steph and Julian. Similarly to Irene (who I work with), they are like my ‘jungle angels’ over here in Nairobi and have been wonderfully supportive and so much fun during my time here. They have two children, Luca and Molly. Molly is 6months and Luca is three, and I must say, Luca was certainly the star of the day. All the kids at the camp were absolutely fascinated by him and wanted to touch him and get close to him. I think it was a little overwhelming for the poor little guy so dad popped him on his shoulders and carried him around. It was like the pied piper! I am not sure the kids at the camp have ever seen a little mzungu (white) boy before!
We were all given a tour of the camp by the committee members. We visited the tent where school takes place and I was excited to see an adult English class in session. This initiative was started by two of GVN volunteers who have been working at the camp. Megan and Leanne are doing an amazing job. The kids are not the only ones who are eager to learn and stay busy. Some of the women in the class would have been in their sixties. So cool.
Sarah and Ben did some fundraising before coming to Kenya and they said their friends and family and work colleagues were incredibly generous. They gave me the exciting news that they would like to support the rebuilding lives project and use a portion of their funds to sponsor a family at the camp – whoop whoop!!!! So when the tour took us to the plots where the first houses are going to be built, they got to actually see the tent they will be replacing and meet the family they are giving a new house too! It was fantastic and very special. Sarah and Ben are heading home this weekend so they unfortunately wont be here for the first build in mid June but I am so so happy they were able to visit the camp and meet the family. I will certainly keep them updated and post lots of pictures once the house is built.
Next weekend another good friend and donor arrives - Nikki from Australia! Nikki is sponsoring an IDP family and going to help build the first lot of houses. I can’t wait for her to get here!
I am heading to the camp on Wednesday with Irene to work out logistic for the build, bring more GVN volunteers, and also discuss a potential microfinance project which GVN Australia are considering introducing in the camp. I will keep you updated.

Hugs,
Lauren xo