Greetings from Kenya!  I want to thank all of you for continuously sending emails and calling to express your concern since the political climate brought an unexpected wind of change in Kenya. Many have referenced Kenya as a peaceful and politically stable nation; this certainly ceased as our lives came to a grinding halt after December 27, 2007 when the Kenyan people went to the polls to exercise their right to choose their leaders. We are all so familiar with the aftermath as we witness horrific scenes of women, children, and the old fleeing for dear life as havoc and fear plagues us all. The people most affected are in Western, Rift Valley, Nyanza and Coast Provinces. Thousands of people have been displaced, refugees in their own country, while others have sought safety in Uganda.

The question we continue to ask as Kenyans is "What could have gone wrong? It is obvious that the underlying causes are other than the recent election results. The voices of poverty and destitution are crying out from a largely uneducated group of hopeless (mostly) young men. The economic effects have nearly paralyzed the nation. Many children are yet to report to school, many have been orphaned. The seasonal rains will soon arrive with refugee areas swollen full of people with outbreaks of disease likely to follow. Hunger will soon become a major issue because farms have not been tilled and there will be nothing harvested from the farms for many months.

Despite all these horror scenes, there is hope and faith. Displaced children and teachers are setting up classes even in these dire situations. I watched a teacher at work in a camp in Nakuru reminding the children that there is hope in the future through education. To never give up. As my eyes welled up, I was inspired by the moving and heart-wrenching scene. It did however also give me the courage to ask you to help more than ever with the Beverly School mission.  The current troubles clearly indicate the only way to break the cycle of poverty and end the hopelessness is through education. It is our duty as Kenyans to make sure that what we have witnessed in our country over the past month comes to an end and never happens again. We need to and we must give a chance to the underprivileged by creating opportunities for better living for as many people as possible. Peace shall only prevail when justice and equitable resource sharing is the tenet of our relations and interactions. Ethnic diversity and tolerance will be achieved only when as many people as possible feel and are a part of mainstream economic activities and benefits.

The Kenyan people want to work and I guarantee you the children want to learn. They just need a chance.  With 50 plus workers on site, we  are under construction. We  are moving ahead with the hope and belief that these children need us more than ever. We need you more than ever to help us open our school this summer and  fulfill our promise to the impoverished and orphan children of Kenya. With your critical assistance, we will together make a huge impact in children's lives-directly through our school as the Beverly School becomes a place of learning, a home of Hope for our children.

Thank you all for your continued and unwavering support.  Pray for and with us during this challenging period as we seek permanent and sustainable peace in our beautiful nation - Kenya.    

Peace and love from Kenya

Alice Mudiri
Head of School                                                       

Last August  Abdi Lidonde and Tom Maher made a presentation on the Beverly School of Kenya at a Rotary Club of Andover breakfast meeting. After hearing the presentation, Scott Morrison, Principal of Bancroft Elementary School wanted to get his students involved.

Working in conjunction with Bill Buck of the Andover Rotary, a January Book Drive was planned. Their goal was to have each student in the school donate one book. Currently, the Book Drive is in its final week, and the Bancroft students have collected over 2000 books and now project a potential target of 3000 books.  These books will be shipped in April so they will arrive in time for the first class at the Beverly School.

Thank you to the Bancroft School students, parents and teachers, and the Rotary Club of Andover for supplying the labels for all of the books!

like to hear more, please feel free to drop the O'Connors a note at cocon@comcast.net