Hello everyone! Thank-you for your patience waiting for all the photos and news from the trip to Kenya! The internet was pretty sluggish so we struggled to make updates as regularly as we wanted to!

First and foremost let me tell you about one of the most important things we did on the trip - sponsoring three new children.

The first two are 8 year old girls Linet and Peris.

They live together with their two younger sisters Janet and Naomi, elder brother and the girls' guardian who is Linet's mother and Peris's grandmother in a mud built house in Mtomondoni.

She works in a local Shamba (farm) as a farm worker to try to raise money to feed her family; but unfortunately she has never had the money to send the girls to school at all. By 8 years old, it is crucial that they begin as soon as possible so that they do not feel too out of place in the lower kindergarten classes. Whilst starting school late is common in this area, at their age we wanted to be careful not to make the girls feel too conspicuous whilst still ensuring they begin in the appropriate class for them academically. Both girls have begun in Kindergarten 3 with a view to moving them up into Standard one as soon as possible. Whilst we were not able to sponsor all four children, the director of the school we send the sponsored children to has agreed to take on the two younger girls as 'complementary' students, allowing them to study there for free without paying fees.

They are both such lively and happy girls, despite having a very difficult home life. Their positive attitude and energy is quite incredible. Linet is clearly the 'big sister' of the other three girls, always making sure she is looking after them and that they are ok. Peris is the quietest of the four, but is super excited about being able to go to school, full of smiles and happiness. All four girls were understandably nervous on their first day - Just the experience of being in a concrete building is enough of a shock for them, and I found them following me around like little lost sheep! Everywhere we turned there they were, grinning at us! But very quickly they have adapted and begun to make friends and feel more comfortable in their classes.

When we collected them for their first day at school they were clearly wearing their sunday best clothes, but despite this none of them even had any underwear. Kindly, the JCC school group who were also in Kenya at the same time as us donated some clothes to them, and their faces absolutely lit up. They were twirling around feeling like a million dollars. Seeing Peris's reaction when I pulled even the most bare essentials out of the bag of donations was one of the most wonderful moments of the trip for me. She immediately jumped up and down with excitement pointing and shouting 'For me! For me!'

To see them all so smart in their new uniform for the first time on the last day was extremely emotional, and they were so so happy and pleased, they couldnt stop saying thank-you and kept asking us to take photos so they could see themselves in their posh clothes.

They are all incredibly excited and cant seem to stop smiling. I can't wait to watch them grow and progress in school, to begin to feel like they belong there and to do well. This opportunity truely has changed their lives, I cannot thank all our donors on their behalf enough for what they have done for them.

Enjoy the photos - as always they say far more than I ever could!

Hello All, Thanks to all the fantastic hardwork of people helping us to fundraise, we have managed to raise the funds needed to take on another child to the Milele Sponsorship Programme!

Emmanuel is around 16 years old, and is now attending secondary school. Ordinarially Milele sponsors young children beginning at their primary education, however we made an exception here for an exceptional boy.

Over the last two years we have worked with Emmanuel at his primary school, with Rich in particular developing a great relationship with Emmanuel after teaching some maths lessons at the school. Emmanuel would arrive before everyone else in the morning, and leave after them at night. He came to study on weekends and holidays, even when the school was officially closed! He repeatedly asked Rich to set him extra homework questions after he had completed the entire textbook worth of practice questions!!

Despite being exceptionally hardworking, Emmanuel and his family had some very bad news recently. After loosing his two year old sister in a fire accident, his mother was also diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. Despite receiving treatment, she unfortunately passed away 3 weeks ago.

Emmanuel and his family value education above all else, and indeed his mother sacrificed the money saved for her operation in order to enable Emmanuel to attend secondary school and continue achieving. We feel it is crucial this does indeed happen.

Emmanuel is now sponsored as part of Milele, and we now need four new sponsors to support him!

Sponsorship costs £75 per year and allows us to provide Emmanuel with everything he needs for school including uniform, textbooks, school fees, exam fees as well as a daily school lunch. Not only this, Emmanuel will also receive heathcare through Milele.

We need four individuals, couples, families or organisations to sponsor Emmanuel. These sponsors will have the opportunity to write to him, and recieve letters back.

If you think you might be able to assist us in providing this young man with everything he needs to take control of his life and begin following his dreams of becoming a pilot or a lawyer, please please do get in touch with us at info@milele.org.uk. Feel free to give us a call for a chat or to ask any questions on 07950329398, or check out the sponsorship section of our website under 'Get Involved'

Thank-you!