Swine flu - malaria - resistance to drugs - Hello?

With the hysteria about to escalate over swine flu, I'd like to bring back chlorine dioxide, or its marketing name MMS, to the fore. Its really incredible stuff and despite the unlicensed factor is totally capable of ridding anyone from anything from a common cold to malaria, verrucas, athletes foot, internal sexual viral infections. Swine flu (which is killing less people than standard seasonal flu) would be equally wiped out.



The only down side is that chlorine dioxide does the job for you, so your first defence, your immune system, doesn't build up your own antibodies/immunity, leaving you open to attack again as with the common cold .. BUT .. chlorine dioxide will have also wiped out 99% of any other viral pathogens you're carrying around so boosting your immune systems ability to get on with defence. Double whammy!

We're pushing its use in Kenya without support from WHO, who say their testing came out negative on mice a few years back. The Malawian government are backing MMS' long term use with discoverer Jim Humble, in order to eradicate malaria. Onyla couple of drops of the solution can also purify any water supply, as it does with our own UK supply.

 .. its certainly controversial but it makes me laugh out loud whenever I see articles about resistance to Tamiflu etc. At the beginning of this new pandemic Tamiflu's owners were rubbing their hands. Not so much anymore. The fact is our licensing process of way out of synch with the faster viral process of evolution. Such drugs are ill equipped to deal with viral infections speedy metamorphosis on reaction to drugs .. yet we have a perfectly simple solution at our fingertips.

Unfortunately MMS can be made in your own kitchen (though we don't recommend it, Jim Humble explains how in his book). Because of this simple manufacturing process MMS won't make huge amounts of profit for the pharma giants so it'll never appear on our shelves, but is available online. My young family suffer from one or two ill health periods a year, if at all, which are quickly treated with a dose or two of chlorine dioxide. Even my dog was treated when he first arrived with skin complaints.

I'm dead against drug use, antibiotics especially and definitely chemo. Those who know me well know why. Its common knowledge how cancer cells work and how oxidation can aid recovery. Brady Hurst, a functional practitioner in Atlanta, GA, explains here

MMS Chlorine Dioxide Dr Brady Hurst True Health Center

Contact us for more info.
Technorati Tags: MMS, chlorine dioxide, Kenya, malaria, swine flu

Progress in Yala

Edward has sent an update from the work carried out this Summer in Yala with Deb and Alec.
He tells us the widows in the community "are very committed and have worked very hard to complete the office. It is now our plan that we plaster it... They have also contributed maize and hope to start a feeding program in the centre for the orphans they are caring for".


[1]Ruth watering seedlings at the Yala tree nursery.

Over the Summer the volunteers challenged the group to build their own office.
This is now almost complete.

[2] Kobat officice in Sawagongo.


[3]Training of widows in micro finance at CWOSUP office, using the money sent by Nick and the Mercy Home Foundation volunteers. We look forward to hearing more.
Technorati Tags: kenya, volunteer, AVIF, CWOSUP, Yala, poverty, sustainable development

Challenging a youth group to build their own office

Alec & Deb, in western Kenya this Summer, challenged a local youth group to build their own office. Offering to provide the roof, they told the group they would have to find the rest of the materials and tools and of course the labour. After news of the challenge, land had been donated to the cause, so that a big centre could be built up around it, the new self help centre.

Click the photo for a running storyboard, hosted by FaceBook. Many thanks to Deb & Alec.




Technorati Tags: volunteer, kenya, africa, innovation, challenge, construction

Storyboard of a summer in Kenya

Instead of blogging it you may as well go direct to the wonderful storyboard put together by 2009 volunteer Deb from UK. The storyboard is hosted by FaceBook so you'll need to join if you haven't already and visit the Volunteering in Kenya group where the link is on the group page. Alternatively add Deb and introduce yourself before reading through the highly informative, open and honest account of life in rural Kenya.


CWOSUP's contact details if you'd like to help are:
Facebook group
Director Edward Wata
EdwardWata@Yahoo.com
Mobile number:+254723204653

Technorati Tags: AVIF, kenya, yala, CWOSUP, poverty, volunteer, africa

More photos from Kenya

... just a few links so you can see what amazing work has been done this Summer.
Alec's photo journal of the office being built for the Christian Widows and Orphans Support Project CWOSUP in Yala is here:



The photo journal for the water tank construction at the Ingrid Education Centre in Nairobi is here:


Christina's photos on Flickr from Nakuru are here:
Thank you to everyone involved
ASANTE SANA

Technorati Tags: AVIF, kenya, volunteer, africa, poverty, children

Summer volunteer program comes to an end

I'd like to thank all volunteers this Summer for all their wonderful work and patience and generosity. This Summer has been quite challenging for some with illness and hard lessons to learn, realities to face, but everyone of the teams was strong and helpful to each other, supporting each other. Asante sana Beckee, Sam, Mariam, Stan, Deb, Alec, Andrew, Philip, Laurence, Amy & Christina.



Throughout the placements, volunteers have had time to visit the slum areas and various other parts of Kenya; Diani beach, Mombasa, Kisumu and the Maasai Mara.

Ken, Manager at the LLK school in Nakuru says "I'm impressed with their work. They are focused, reliable, obedient, hardworking and honest. They have learnt a lot in terms of culture, games and class work & our staff have also enjoyed their company. They have been part of our team. I wish them success and good luck in their future. I've never had an organized team of volunteers like this one."

I'm really proud of everyone.
Click the photo below for more photos.

Arguments Baseball and Roofing in Kenya

8th Aug
Today was a mixed day... and for those that know me well, it will be no surprise to hear that I don't always have the best delivery. [Ed: LOL]
We met the widows and children at the CWOSUP Niawara centre. I was surprised to see only 20 kids were members, but they put on a lovely display of singing, dancing and poems and as usual, they were all happy and smiling.

They meet every Saturday to play and have some food via the feeding program provided by CWOSUP. The widows also meet and are part of a micro finance scheme ran by CWOSUP, which basically funds loans as a reward for saving a little money. So the kids did their little display and we got to chat to the widows, we heard from the chief of the area who seems to be a very wise man and also very charitable, we met him at KOBAT yesterday and he came today in full regalia, which is quite similar to regimental army dress, very smart.


He has actually donated the land the buildings that this group use. We also heard from the chief of the group, another older gentleman. As standard, we were told what funding was needed. I was really surprised that the most important thing needed was uniforms?? This group just meets on a Saturday. Kids have to have them to go to school and it's a cost that has to be covered by the carers and this is hard enough, but I can't think that it is necessary for this group before other much (IMHO) more needed things. The reason given was that if something happens to the child on the way to the centre, then they will be easily identifiable. ... in a lot of cases, not just here, there is a mentality that your organization must look successful on the outside for it to be deemed as successful and I
believe that this is the case... We listened to each of the widow’s talk about themselves and their circumstances. Almost all added at the end that "we need uniforms".
I was asked to comment at the end.
I asked out of the 10 widows here, how many had rooves that leaked?
8 hands went up.
I asked, if CWOSUP received funds, would they rather it go to uniforms or to widow’s rooves?
A lot of chatter debate and nodding of heads followed.
The chief of the group was raising his voice at a few of the women; the women with solid rooves were arguing the uniform case still.
We suggested wrist bands for the kids, which seemed acceptable ...but more raised voices. I asked to go and see some of the houses that were leaking and was told next week.
I asked why not now, most places we go to are very ready for us and I wanted to see how
it really was. So we found out who was near and arranged to go to the houses after playtime with the kids, which incidentally we'd already eaten into.
Alec had made a sharp exit at probably the raised voices point, I also decided I'd leave the widows chatting and being shouted at by the chief, and I'd go to play with the kids.


This was great fun.
Alec and I had bought a plastic baseball kit and a football (soccer ball for you Americans) Baseball was really funny, we ended up with 10 kids all just running around the posts having no idea where or when to stop, but they all had a bat and we laughed a lot. We had a penalty shoot out for lollies and then a game. We then ate with the children, we had rice and beans, then handed out some balloons.
Much fun was had, but I was feeling quite bad about causing such a debate with the widows. We went to see actually only 1 of the widows whose roof was leaking and it really was in a bad way. She had tried her best with carrier bags and bits of plastic and sticks to try and stop the leaks, but some areas were just falling apart. She has been saving bit by bit and has actually bought 3 iron sheets as she plans to build a new house when she can afford to. You can see she is really making an effort by herself planting vegetables and expanding her banana trees. Alec had a look around the place and has devised a plan
to do a quick cheap fix which will hopefully hold up for her until she can save enough to get her new home. We will be going there on the 14th, with tarpaulin and some other bits and pieces to see what we can do.
Hopefully some of the others will take a look and will be able to repeat what we do. 
I know this is so small a thing to do in the big picture, especially if no one else tries it, but at least this widow and her children will be dry.
[Deb Cartwright]


Technorati Tags: avif, kenya, volunteer, yala, poverty, sustainable development

Update from Deb

We travelled to the family home of our host Edward and met a widow who was actually his carer when he was a child, as he himself is an orphan. She had been helped with a new roof. Most of the buildings in this area are made from mud. Posts are driven into the ground and sticks are weaved between, then mud from the ground surrounding is mixed with water and added to the sticks. A grass roof is then added.
As you can imagine, the rooves don't last too long before they need repairing.


Granted a lot of the ladies I have met here are too old or frail or sick to repair their own rooves, but even for those that might be physically able, it's not within the culture to do this and often there is no other help from the people around them. Added to this the grass, which used to be readily available, is no longer being grown. Almost all agricultural land is being used to grow things like maize, bananas, sugarcane and vegetables. It's not even available to buy in all areas and the transportation is more expensive than the grass itself. The modern replacement for the roofs is corrugated iron sheets which are relatively expensive, but can last for several years and have been adopted by almost all that can afford.
Unfortunately many of the widows cannot afford them and many have very badly leaking rooves. The rain then seeps down into the mud and the house will eventually fall.

Mama's house now has the iron sheet roofing and she is much more comfortable and things are kept dry at home. We also met one of the youths who has been trained in keeping
chickens. He started with 2 chickens and now has lots of them. He has learned how they need to be kept to breed and successfully hatch chicks. There were several ages of chicks running around. He was even building a new chicken coop on the side of his house because his business was growing so successfully. These are the kind of things the organization targets directly and it is most definitely showing success.


We then went to meet a group, a youth group, that is going to provide vocational training to the youth of the area. The chicken-keeping project is ran from here and we saw a latrine built under the scheme earlier in the day. We met in their office with around 10 young people and were told about what they are doing and, of course, what they needed funding for. The main concern was that they were being kicked out of the office in December. They already had some land but needed several thousand Kenyan shillings to start a centre on it. They also told us they were lacking skills but we established that several of the youths had built their own homes on their family land so pointed out to them they were actually a lot more skilled than most.
We asked, "why not build your own office on the land you already own?"
There were some half hearted excuses, like "we need a brick and mortar building".
"Why?" we asked .. No answer.
Another cultural problem is that each man will build his own house differently and they couldn't possibly work together so we laid the challenge, "build your own office, we will work with you too!"

The challenge was taken and we were told "next time you come back to Kenya you may see".......
So part 2 of the challenge was "build it by next week"!
Silence for a few seconds and then "it's possible"

So, next Saturday, the 15th August, Alec, Edward, Moses and I, and whoever else we can rope in, will all pull together to build this office in a day. We are providing the iron sheet as there is literally no funding available. Alec and I have a bet since Alec has the construction knowledge but I have faith in this community and believe that if they will just start working together, anything can be achieved.



We left the group in high spirits and tracked off to meet the widows of this region, they were meeting together at one of the widows houses. A very old lady stood up and asked; "Why are you so different to me? Why are your people succeeding and mine not?" she asked.

After seeing many things and having many late night discussions, a big influence on things not moving forward in this region are the cultural restraints;
- women not being allowed to do things for them selves
- others not being able to help for fear of back luck or death
- the beliefs that God will somehow bring them everything they pray for.

I can really only hope that people will soon start to believe hard work and working together can only improve things.

[Deb Cartwright, Yala]

Technorati Tags: avif, yala, kenya, volunteer, africa, sustainable development, poverty

Volunteering journal from Yala and photos from Nakuru

Deb's managed to write a few words down without losing everything by either the power going down, or losing the connection!! Truthful and shocking at the same time but exactly why things need to change.

If you can't get access here's a few parts:

"The head mistress here is something special. The school also has a feeding program which is sponsored 70% by the Millenium Project. Millennium have been here for 5 years which means that they are about to pull out. Assessments are being carried out in the area by Millennium, but the head mistress seems to think it is inevitable and is deeply concerned.
The reason why the help is only 70% here is because of the schemes run by the school itself to subsidize the food program and to try and sustain themselves, all lead by the head mistress. A poultry project has been started, there are now many chickens and they are continuing to grow in numbers, which can both be eaten and sold at market There are local breeds of chicken which also lay eggs for eating. The school now has 3 cows, 2 of which are pregnant, there is a very large vegetable farm, which again goes into the food program and is sold at market. There is a tree plantation as this is being encouraged by the government and trees can be sold to the government. There are fruit trees including quite a few banana trees. However there are 853 children at the school and they are not yet at a level to sustain themselves. The head mistress has lots of great plans for the future and truly is an inspiration to the future young adults of Kenya."


Deb & Alec are visiting Yala to see what needs to be done with Edward's organisation to help the local widows and children.
"CWOSUP is a fairly new organization and is yet to set up it’s centre or even acquire the land it needs to house the centre. There are groups scattered around the community which are receiving help, I’m glad to say in a sustainable way, but there is a long way to go for them. The schedule mainly comprised of us visiting these groups and also other established organizations which CWOSUP aspire to and are linked with in some way. Whilst we were in the meeting, one of the social workers received a report that a baby had been thrown into a toilet. The toilets in the area are of the hole in the ground type, which drop into 40 feet deep pits. The baby had been rescued by the police, he had apparently been there for a day and was found amongst snakes. We went to visit the baby in the children’s ward that afternoon. He seemed to be doing fine considering and has now been taken to one of the local children’s homes where we’ve received reports that he is doing well."



There are some fantastic photos from Christina, currently in Nakuru, assisting the LLK organisation and the kids of the Rhondda slum area. Click here and enjoy !

Building futures in Kenya

Alec and Deb have posted photos on Facebook. If you can't see them due to privacy please add them first as a friend and make sure you join the group too.



They've been through quite a lot already, emotionally and are now starting to see and understand real life as opposed to the tourist scenes. There is an unfortunate mindset that illness and poverty bring; despair, loss of hope and ability to help themselves. Edwards work in the area is trying to help these people to help themselves again.

I just spoke to Deb for a while and she told me about meeting a widow in the community who was really frail, suffering from HIV. The widow owned a large plot of land but couldn't do anything with it, yet there were perfectly healthy youngsters who could plant seeds and farm the land for her. The volunteers asked why this couldn't be done?

They also asked why an office couldn't be built for the organisation and they said it had to be bricks and a proper roof and they needed money for that, and skills. The volunteers asked "why not build a traditional mud hut, in a day, using the skills you already have" .. when the community could only answer that it had to be brick, the volunteers challenged them to build a mud hut office while they were there. We'll see what happens.

Everyone is being affected positively by this experience and questions are being raised and debates taking place. Low impact but making change nevertheless.

Click the photo to link to more :



Technorati Tags: AVIF, kenya, poverty, corruption, development, volunteer, africa

Harsh realities of disability in Kenya

Volunteers assisting LLK, based in the slums of Nakuru, went to visit a very special young man yesterday. George is 6 years old and autistic. He also suffers from cerebral palsy and cannot walk by himself, or feed himself.


On sight he is ostracized like most disabled children in Kenya but his parents refuse to hide him away as others may. They love him dearly. The brutal truth, however, is that their low wages cannot cover the costs of the private care he needs.



AVIF volunteers Laurence, Amy & Christina spent some time with George and the children and carers of the Star Special School in Nairobi, learning about the harsh realities encountered by, but also sharing smiles with, some of Kenya's disabled children and the carers at Star.



Laurence, Amy & Christina travel to Mombasa today and will be raising awareness and possibility for sponsors for some of the children. If you can help contact us for further information.

Technorati Tags: AVIF, Kenya, disabled, children, LLK, sponsor

ASANTE SANA for all the help and fundraising for AVIF

I'd like to thank 3 amazing girls for their efforts, big efforts!.. running the British 10K London Run 2009 and raising funds for our projects in Kenya.
We've already been able to contribute directly, today, to securing the land that the Ingrid Education Centre sits on in the Matopeni slum area of Nairobi where volunteers are currently helping out.


[Abby, Isabel, Frances & Zoe]

Zoe, Frances and Abby .. thank you so much.
If anyone wants to contribute you can visit the girls own fundraising (via Justgiving) pages by clicking on their names above.

Despite injuring herself training for a marathon, Zoe didn't think the 10km run was enough so the following week she did the Anthony Maynard bike ride from Reading - it's 190km but Zoe then decided that wasn't enough to ride in one day and so ended up riding 215 kilometres. Wind, rain, punctures and all!

AVIF Volunteers rock!!

Deb & Alec from UK are settling into Yala, western Kenya, making itineraries and ensuring they put their skills to good use. Beckee and Sam from UK continue to do amazing things at Ingrids and Laurence, Christina & Amy (from UK, US & CANADA) are settled into Nakuru as I've just read on Facebook!!! We eagerly await more updates and photos.
Asante Sana Everyone x
Technorati Tags: AVIF, kenya, africa, volunteer

Making progress for Ingrids Angels

Beckee and Sam are already making such a difference to the childrens lives of the Matopeni slum area. Thanks to Douglas' hospitality to our volunteers and their overall generosity, meals and clothing have been provided for the children for at least the next month at Ingrids Angels Education Centre.







Outside the centre

AVIF and your contributions will also be going to the appeal for funds to secure and buy the currently rented land on which the centre stands. Deadline for initial deposits is Tuesday. Again if you can help please contact us.

Beckee and Sam will be joined tomorrow by Mariam and we hope for updates from the rest of the volunteers shortly.



Eating well, rice and beans for all
Technorati Tags: ingrids angels, kenya, poverty, volunteer, Africa, AVIF

Fun and games

The volunteers have arrived in Nairobi and had their experience marred by corrupt police threatening to arrest one of them for smoking on the street. I've reported the incident to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission but of course the officer didn't give a name or badge number. Luckily, despite an initial attempt to take a Ksh20,000 fine???? then lowering it to Ksh5000, the volunteers in question talked them down to Ksh500 + a $5 note !

Its such a shame that this kind of thing happens because it ruins Kenya's reputation but the Commission are working hard to reduce perhaps even remove the problem. You can report incidents to them anonymously through the Anonymous Whistleblower's System on the Website or :

By Phone 020 2717468 (Nairobi)
041 - 2319081 / 2319082 (Mombasa)
eMail report@integrity.go.ke

Today orientation was pulled forward and Sharon spoke with everyone at the hostel before they all left early, some with liaisons, some for upcountry transport to their individual placements for the Summer. They have already made plans to meet up to catch up each other on life in rural Kenya. We'll keep you updated as the adventures continue.

5th Summer Programme begins

Sam & Beckee are now in Nairobi with Douglas, at Ingrids Education Centre



Sam has been in Kenya for a month already, assisting Tony at the RABUOR Self Help Group in western Kenya and will NOW spend some time in the Matopeni slum area before moving onto another project. The "oasis" that is Ingrid's is in dire need of funds now as the land itself is a rental plot where they have put up 6 iron sheets/tin built classrooms, 1 office and small kitchen. The land has been offered for sale since the owner is struggling himself. If you can help secure the education centre's future contact AVIF or Douglas.

Matopeni lies in the Nairobi Eastlands, 15km from the city centre and is home to over 35,000 residents. Women earn a living by making necklaces, basket-weaving or labouring in the nearby quarries. Necklaces can be bought from Ingrids or they can send them in bulk for you to sell on. They really are wonderful items.

Douglas and his team work hard to provide the best level of care for the children, to provide food, care and education. We look forward to more photos and updates from Beckee and Sam.





Technorati Tags: ingrids, kenya, slum, poverty, takeaction, AVIF, volunteer

Mercy Home Report

Rhiannon, one of our volunteers from earlier this year has just written a fantastic report on the Mercy Home; her expereinces and lessons volunteering in Kenya.
You can read it online at DocStoc here.


There are valuable lessons to come from the report so try to read it.
Rhi's FB photos are also here if you're "on the list" ...



Technorati Tags: AVIF, poverty, volunteer, takeaction, Kenya, Africa,

Paper making with the Kenyans in Yorkshire

Sunday 21 June, Fathers Day in the UK, welcomed the 3 Head Teachers from the Mida, Mbarackachembe & Mzizima Primary Schools in Kenya, East Africa for a 10 day visit. Today I had the pleasure of being hosted by Nidderdale High School with Nicholas, Kanunda and Sirus. We were there to learn some of the fantastic art of paper-making, coached by the fantastic Joan Newall and Sue Harrison.


Kanunda, Joan, Nicholas & Sirus here stood in front of the amazing mural that the schoolkids made 3 years ago, using waxed paper techniques they'd just learnt. Each envelope was created and treated with wax, coloured, sequined, stitched by hand .. each unit represents a shop or house on Pateley Bridge's High Street just down the road.


Sue on right showed off her amazing creations using natural products like the 14 year old treated oakleaf basket and mat below. She then allowed us all to make nettle paper collages and also silk paper. Nicholas, of course made his in the form of Africa!


All this knowledge will be put together with the Arabuko area schools own knowledge of making paper gifts from elephant dung, an abundant resource around the Shimba Hills area too.



Nidderdale teachers will visit Kenya in October to trade experiences and knowledge, the ultimate goal being curriculum developments to include conservation, cross-cultural experiences and global dimension aspects.

2 of AVIF's volunteers this Summer will visit the A Rocha Mwamba Centre in Malindi District, "home to some of the richest and most diverse habitats in the whole of Kenya..... Arabuko-Sokoke Forest is the largest remnant of dry coastal forest in East Africa and considered to be one of the most important forests for bird conservation in mainland Africa. It also includes Mida Creek, considered one of the most productive mangrove ecosystems on earth ..."

If you'd like to get involved, contact us.