Newsletter December 2024

Hi Everyone,

I am writing from hot, dry Kandongu with warm greetings for this Advent season and hope that you all welcome the last weeks of this year healthy and happy.

I am grateful to be back here after spending 5 months this year in Germany - there were a lot of things to sort out, to decide and also to heal. This is the year in which we had to decide: continue or stop? For me personally, this question was very present after the floods at the beginning of the year razed our farm to the ground. When everything seemed to be stagnating - the sale of the FaMojas property, the urgent expansion of the Kandongus school project, my personal aspirations here on site.

A great deal of uncertainty and exhaustion was palpable throughout the team, fuelled by a political situation that, despite uprisings by younger generations, is increasingly moving towards dictatorial proportions and is raising additional questions about our future potential for impact.

I have been back in Kenya since October, nature has largely recovered from the floods and with my return "home" I have also regained clarity: giving up is of course not an option! There is still far too much to learn, to do, to move, to achieve here.

One event in particular gave me a touching confirmation that I, that we, are doing exactly the right thing here, in exactly the right place. Would you like to read about it?

Look here: Article "The Tree in the Rock"

Every crisis makes it clearer where change is not only necessary but also possible. And so at the end of this tumultuous year I can say: Many things are becoming possible, doors are opening, stagnation is melting away - there is a new wind in the sails, at exactly the right time.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of all projects for your support and for sticking with it! Change rarely comes from one person, but rather from many people working together. Thank you!

If you want to give me and us a special Christmas gift: spread the word - tell people about Njoki, about me, about my projects. There are so many ideas that want to come into the world and that will certainly need a growing network of supporters. Thank you very much in advance!

All the best from Kandongu,

Jana

Here you can find all the news about the Kandongu and FaMoja projects:

Kandongu school project

school's tomato farm

SUCCESSES

• School farm makes profits:

For the first time in the school's history, the farm is making remarkable profits! Every week, Director Br. Francis sells 2 truckloads of tomatoes and kilos of onions. Spinach, cabbage and other vegetables are enough to feed the school community for the next 3 months. The water from the borehole is even enough to irrigate a rice field. The farm profits help us to expand the farm even further.

• Renovations for more fire protection:

Thanks to your regular support, renovations to the classroom doors and windows were able to be adequately implemented to meet new fire safety regulations!

NEXT GOALS:

We have 4 weeks left to complete our construction project! By January, the school needs new classrooms for the first-time 9th graders, as well as to divide overcrowded classes.

We are currently building a new house for the Brethren community so that their former premises can be converted into classrooms. To do this, we took out an interest-free loan from a local missionary friend (10,000 euros) and, thanks to you, were able to contribute 3,000 euros of our own money. The loan will be repaid over the next two years using the farm's income and your monthly support.

Any additional support will make things easier and allow the loan to be repaid sooner. This project will enable at least 50 more children to go to school from January and 40 children will be able to complete their Secondary Junior school leaving certificate with us as planned.

community project FaMoja

SUCCESSES

• First things first: FaMoja has a new home!

The new property is right next to my private property - perfect! When FaMoja moved, it was all about one thing: bringing the project "home" to the community through which, with which and for which we have been working for years.

The new plot is smaller than the old one, but at 100x200 meters it offers a completely adequate "base" for the initial phase for project plans, community meetings and for the construction of a simple, semi-permanent room for seminars and workshops. We were offered the prospect of purchasing a larger neighboring plot after a few years.

The entrance gate to my private property with guest cabins and biodynamic farmland is right next to the new project property. Even though our home itself is still a construction site, we will make our farmland available for non-profit farming projects by FaMoja, as well as our guest cabins for future project guests.

FIRST ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN STARTED!

• Weekly Youth Empowerment Program!

Until the new project land is ready for use, we have not let these long 2-month school holidays go to waste. Every weekend I invite the village youth to a "Youth Circle" to eat together and learn about various topics "that are not taught in school". From mindfulness to "how to deal with challenges in life" to programs for more self-confidence, identity discovery, creativity and team building...we have already made a contribution in a short time that is worth its weight in gold.

Because: There are no safe spaces for teenagers here in the countryside, no club rooms, youth clubs or mentoring opportunities from adults where personal growth, social skills, talent development, etc. take place. During the holidays, the young people are usually quite "lost", in front of the television, on the farm, or they just "hang around".

After only four weeks of Youth Circle, we have received messages from parents who are extremely grateful for the opening of an empowerment space that opens up new perspectives for their children.

NEXT GOALS

• It is a test phase which, if successful, will be continued in future school holidays and expanded to include other age groups!

External experts , youth workers, creative facilitators can then be invited from Nairobi and the surrounding area for a varied program. We are already excited about the positive response and very excited to see what happens next!

• Programs for adults , e.g. seminars on organic farming are being planned,

At the moment the focus is on developing the new property, I will keep you updated.

A little insight now: You can find my article about my tree mission HERE .

Esther (16) is one of our protégés and founded the Youth Circle together with me. She wants to "learn everything there is to learn about emotional intelligence so that I can pass on this valuable knowledge to others."