The foundations for the second block have been started but the building itself is being held up by legal red tape. We hope to be able to proceed with this very soon.

The staff and children of Newton Farm School in Harrow have adopted SEED School and through various fundraising events have raised enough money to provide books, new desks and chairs for the upper classes of SEED School. The pupils at SEED School were overjoyed with the arrival of their new furniture, so much so that they did not want to go home for the Christmas holidays!

Newton Farm has also provided greatly for the community by giving families goats, chickens and hen houses, which provide food and income for the family. The families who have received these gifts are doing well and are very grateful for the gift.

For futher information please download the latest newsletter.

Abigail is in the process of combatting this problem. We have the funds ready for the permit to allow us to pump water from a borehole, however, we are still some way short of the money to complete the drilling. The need is great and we need support to enable us to provide the locals with safe water.

We have been very blessed in that a friend who was the project manager for the Aquatics Centre at the London Olympics has negotiated and confirmed with his managers that the tanks used for the Aquatics Centre can be donated to Abigail Ministries for use in Kenya. This is a huge contribution and will make an unbelievable difference to the people.

Each tank will hold 150 cubic litres from the borehole, with one tank being used to serve SEED School, Abigail Health Care Centre and the community and the second tank being specifically for the Health Care Centre. This resource will serve approximately 1000 people of the community, giving them much needed clean water.

Please pray for a smooth journey for the tanks and the men going over to help assemble them. We hope to send them over between March and April. Please also pray that we will not be charged any tax of any type on a gift of salvaged equipment. We are in the process of discussing this and hope for a positive outcome.

For futher information please download the latest newsletter.

The event was held to raise money to allow some of the young people from New Hope to receive counselling. Some of these children have seen some horrendous things in their short lives and some have started to display worrying behaviours. They need this support to help them deal with what they have seen, to guide them in what is good and what is not.

The money will also help with the costs of some laptops for New Hope as, even in Kenya, the children need computers to complete their homework!

Over 80 people came to the Big 5 Event and everyone joined in the fun and enjoyed the variety of cuisines on offer. We raised around £1800, which will go a long way towards providing for these children. Thank you to everyone who helped with the evening, to those who provided crafts and to everyone who came and supported us on the night.

The nearest place to receive medical help is 9km away. For us this would not be a particular problem, we would jump in our car or on a bus and make the journey. The people of Cheptiret-Kapkoi do not have cars and there is no regular bus service, in fact, when it has been raining, their roads are not passable by vehicles and barely even by foot.

For those ‘lucky’ enough to be ill when the roads are dry, and those who have neighbours willing to help with transport costs, their only option is to take a “taxi”. A taxi in Cheptiret-Kapkoi is a small motorbike, which we have seen carry up to four people! We can only imagine how unpleasant this must be, particularly when feeling unwell.

Abigail Ministries knew something needed to be done and, with the help of donations and sponsorship money from fundraising, raised the money to build and equip the Abigail Health Care Centre.

The Health Care Centre, built on the same site as SEED School, will provide medical help and guidance for the community, vastly improving the health of approximately 9000 locals. The Health Care Centre will have a pharmacy, doctors consulting rooms and even a small labour ward!

The building shell is there and waiting to be used but, unfortunately, there has been a hold up with the land registry and so we must wait for the final paperwork to be signed before continuing. As soon as this has been done, the building will be finalised and equipped ready to serve a vital purpose.

For futher information please download the latest newsletter.

For some of those young people who have excelled at High School there may be the opportunity to progress further and attend University. This is a luxury that few of the people we have links with in Kenya would ever be able to even dream of and we are proud to say that 5 of our sponsored young people have been able to fulfill this dream.

Japheth is soon to be starting his second year in Agricultural Extension Education, Aristariko is doing a degree in Business Studies, Peter is studying African Anthropology and Andrew is taking Law. Anne will begin her course in April, studying Medicine.

It is such a joy to see these young people prospering in a way that, for them, seemed impossible and we hope to be able to give others this opportunity in the future.

For futher information please download the latest newsletter.

The dedication service for the land was held on 20th February whilst three of the Trustees were in Kenya. It was a wonderful time. The land has been sub-divided into twelve plots and a section in the middle has been kept as a communal area. The twelve beneficiaries arrived at the service not knowing what they were about to receive. They all now have the gift of a plot of land where we will build them a permanent home.

We have been delighted to learn that four of the beneficiaries have become Christians as a result of the gift God has given through Abigail Ministries – all glory to Him!

For further details, please go to the Uplands page under Where We Work.

Update 17th January 2013…

The Bakery was opened in May 2011 and has been a great success. The ladies have been working very hard and the transformation in their lives has been magnificent. They are happier and more fulfilled.

There were some problems with the firewood oven but an extension was built to accommodate an electric oven and other electric equipment, in order for the ladies to be even more productive with the more reliable equipment. Unfortunately, the installation has been delayed as there is a hold up with the delivery of electricity.

These things can take some time to overcome in Kenya but we wait and pray patiently, as do the ladies, for this hurdle to be removed to allow them to branch out even further.

For futher information please download the latest newsletter.