Christmas must be close because the Milele Christmas Gifts are back! Instead of a bottle of wine or a box of chocolates this christmas, give a gift that could save a life.

Milele christmas gifts are either mosquito nets (£7.50) or food parcels (£15). You simply email us at milele@live.co.uk to place your order, put the payment through and we will deliver your gift to a family in Kenya who really need it. You will receive a gift certificate explaining exactly how vital your gift has been, this can then be wrapped up for someone here in the UK to open on christmas morning.

Food Parcels: No family should be hungry this christmas

Food Parcels and mosquito nets can be a lifeline to families who need them.

Food Parcels - Donate £15 for a family

Mosquito Net in use (2013). One mother told her that none of her children had been sick with Malaria that rainy season, thanks to her mosquito net. Donate £7.50 to buy one for another family.

All children should be sleeping under a net to protect them from Malaria

Our best ever year for Milele Christmas Gifts was 2013 - many of you may remember these epic photos of the food ready to distribute to families in Mtwapa:

Let's make 2017 even better!

Place your order by SATURDAY 16TH DECEMBER to have it ready for Santa (AKA Rieder!) to deliver!

Many thanks to all of you for your support and love this year.

Last year, some of you may remember that we helped both Saidi's mum and Steven's mum to start new businesses; so we were excited to find out how they were getting on. Mama Steven, after some initial help from Rieder, is now up and running with her charcoal business and is regularly making enough money to support herself and Steven with their essentials such as food and household items. But the best thing of all is Mama Steven's new attitude towards the business. A recent ban on plastic bags, which she uses to package the charcoal, could have caused her to loose customers but she quickly worked out an alternative solution and has started to put it into place BEFORE running out of plastic bags! This showed us that her understanding of how to run a business has really grown over the last year - she now knows the importance of customers being able to rely on her stocks. Not content with resting on her laurels, Mama Steven is also very keen to expand the business and thinks she might be able to double the amount she sells with a better location.

Mama Saidi and Mama Steven working together

Mama Saidi has also made some excellent progress with the solar panel business. She has definitely mastered the equipment (which is no mean feat for someone who has never had electricity at home!) and has got the hang of charging people and keeping records. At times, her business has been booming – such as when the next-door house was being built and there were tradesmen there all day needing their phones charging. She also makes some good sales at the weekends and when the power is out. However, she told us that recently new electricity lines to the local area have meant that many of her neighbours now have power to their homes. Of course this is great progress for the community as a whole, but it does mean they now no longer need to pay for phone charging, so she relies mostly on passing trade from people whose phone batteries have died whilst out and about.

Mama Saidi with Simon and her solar panels

Recently, their landlord has made some changes to the neighbouring properties and they feel it is no longer such a great place to live. We think this presents a good opportunity for the families to relocate to a slightly different area, which could be better for their businesses. Currently their location is not ideal as they are tucked away behind the main road and no one passing would know they were there and open for trade. A move could mean both families have better visibility from the road and would be able to maximise their sales.

Watch this space - we will keep you updated with any new location developments!

When I think about the Kenyan climate the first thing that comes to mind is the sunshine and the accompanying heat. Starting everyday by smothering myself in factor 50 sun cream and trying to cover up where possible to avoid the impending doom of sun burnt skin. The sun can also have the power to sap your energy and even make you ill but if prepared, it is perfectly manageable. Rain on the other hand can be completely overwhelming. In Kenya it is dry for the vast majority of the time, which means the land becomes dry and dusty. A light smattering of rain is hugely beneficial as it clears the air and reduces the dust; but more often than not rain comes in gigantic waves. It feels like all of the water in Kenya is stored up for several weeks before being dropped over the space of a few hours. The water is deposited so quickly that the dry land is unable to absorb it effectively and the sparse drainage systems are quickly overwhelmed meaning impromptu streams appear as if from nowhere and cut off frequently used roads and paths. What was once a maze of a town suddenly becomes even more difficult to navigate and it is all too common to hit a dead end and be forced to make the choice between waterlogged shoes or trying your luck with another route.

Its a river - not a road!

Alas, when packing for a trip to the equatorial country of Kenya I seldom remember to pack my raincoat and waders. Which means that when my patience is exhausted and I attempt to venture out I become soaked through in 5 minutes flat and often end up having to apologise for leaving damp patches wherever I go.

Mtwapa in the rain

In all likelihood this is just a consequence of being unprepared and I should be as diligent in my preparations for the rain as I am for the sun...

but perhaps I’m just an optimist.

Last year Riziki started at Mtwapa Elite in KG2, as an 8 year old she was already much older than her classmates but her inconsistent schooling meant that she was unable to manage the work for a higher class. At the time, her teacher even expressed some doubt that she would be able to progress into KG3 at the end of the year. Prior to 2017 Isaac had been studying at Victory academy - a community school close to where he lives with his mother and brother. Once Isaac completed all of the classes Victory had to offer he took the entrance exam for Mtwapa Elite and was accepted into KG3 at the start of 2017.

We are now a year on from when Riziki joined the school and 9 months in to Isaac's first year and I'm pleased to say both are doing so well.

Riziki's confidence and ability has grown leaps and bounds and in her most recent exams she was top of the class - something which we absolutely did not expect and something which she should be very proud of. Mtwapa Elite is a huge school compared to Victory Academy and this seemed to overwhelm Isaac at first but he has now settled in and he is also right at the top of the class.

We would like to say a big thank you to their class teacher Madam Margaret who has provided all of the support they needed to make this fantastic progress. Riziki also received some extra tuition from Madam Emma at the end of 2016 which gave her the best start to her school life and helped her progress into KG3.

Madam Margaret with Isaac and Riziki