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St Charles Lwanga Secondary School (SCLSS) and Children’s Centre is located in Ruai, Nairobi, Kenya. It is a residential school for orphans, children from families who do not have the means to send them to school and street children. The school is situated on approximately half an acre and has 280 students. Daily life at SCLSS is very organized and all students are responsible for the daily upkeep and cleaning of the school. They are supported by Inverness County Cares and Chalice Canada.

Students and staff are up at 4:30 AM when they wash and dress. Whole school prayers are held from 5:00 -5:30 and after prayers the students wash dishes, clean latrines and dorms, collect garbage and do chores that keep the school clean and efficient.

At 6:00 they line up for breakfast of maize porridge. They dress, shine shoes and go to study hall at 7:00 with classes beginning at 8:00 except on Monday and Friday when they all gather for the whole school assembly where school issues are dealt with. Classes run from 8-1 with a 20-minute break with a snack of Mandazi, a Kenyan sweet similar to doughnuts. The teacher lectures and students copy and memorize notes for exams, as there are very few textbooks available. The students sit in very crowded hot corrugated metal classrooms, 3-4 to a desk and when someone needs to exit they have to climb over all the desks to reach the door. 1:00 to 1:30 is lunch of mixed beans, maize (corn) and lots of ugali (thick maize porridge). During times of food shortages they eat the same menu every day. 1:30-4:00 classes are held as well as group discussions and individual study.

4:00-5:00 is activity time, debating, sports, agriculture, music-club (voice and individual instrument instruction). Between 5-6 is personal time, laundry, personal ablutions, hanging out with friends or more music lessons.

6-6:30 is supper time with same menu as noon. The school gathers for prayers with a great deal of singing from 6:30-7:00. Students study and review their lessons from 7:30-9:30. After this they have free time from 9:00-10:00 which they spend planning activities and preparing for next day. Bedtime is at 10:00

This busy schedule keeps the students meaningfully engaged and develops a strong work ethic.

Sunday August 6^th Inverness County Cares (ICC) hosted their 4^th annual pizza sale  in aid of the St Charles Lwanga Secondary School in Nairobi, Kenya.

A sincere thank you, to Ted and Hermina Van Zutphen who opened their beautiful home to Inverness County Cares for our pizza sale. Both Ted and Hermina have worked tirelessly to make this happen. Ted stood at the pizza oven for hours in the rain and had to change his clothes 3 times because of the torrential rain. Hermina worked many hours organizing the purchase of supplies and set up of the working area and workers. A very special thank you to Ted and Hermina who also donate all the supplies needed for the pizzas….for four years.

Thank you to our regular ICC members and our auxiliary members who show up when we need a powerful workforce. Approximately 40 people came out to help despite the fact August 6 was part of the Port Hood Chestico Days festival. All ages gladly participated and gave their time to ensure St Charles Lwanga Secondary School children have access to food, shelter and education.

A big thank you to the Bank of Nova Scotia for their sponsorship. We certainly appreciate the donation. Thank you to the Hawk Radio and our newspapers The Inverness Oran, The Port Hawkesbury Reporter and the Cape Breton Post who so generously share our story and provided publicity. Thank you to the Clove Hitch Restaurant and Bistro for their support during crust making which was so crucial and made the process much more efficient.

Thank you to our local people…and those far away, who bought pizzas and donated money to our cause. We appreciate your support so very much.

Despite the heavy rain, cancellation of the boat parade and fireworks (events which bring people in) the sale was very successful.  ICC members and supporters are breathing a sigh of relief but are experiencing a high thinking of all that was accomplished.

Inverness group helping Kenyan kids

Inverness County Cares hosts pizza sale Sunday

Christian Roach [email protected]
Published on August 4, 2017

Volunteers, left to right, Karen Wager, Patsy Wayling and Bonnie Boulton prep pizzas at last year’s Inverness County Cares annual pizza sale.

©Submitted photo/Inverness County Cares

PORT HOOD, N.S. – This weekend a local charity will be selling more than 300 pizzas to help a school in Kenya.

On Sunday, Inverness County Cares will host its fourth annual pizza sale in Port Hood with proceeds going to St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School in Nairobi, Kenya.

The school was started in 2012 by Brother John Kennedy Oronjo, a member of the St. Charles Lwanga Brothers of Kenya. The group is comprised of religious brothers, dedicated to the care of youth, traditionally through education.

In 2012, Oronjo became acquainted with John MacInnis, a member of the Inverness County Cares organization.

“I threw the idea out to the group that we could donate $500 a month to the school because that’s what Brother Kennedy said could feed the 100 or so students attending for a month and they all agreed,” said MacInnis.

Six months later, two members of the Inverness group travelled to Nairobi to visit the school and learned they lacked basic amenities like water so the monthly donation was raised to $800.

In 2015, Inverness County Cares entered into a three-year deal with the charity, Chalice Canada in Bedford. The partnership enabled the Inverness group to increase its contribution to the school to $60,000 a year with a matching $60,000 a year from Chalice.

The goal was to have the school become self-sufficient and sustainable, explained John Gillies, a retired teacher and member of Inverness County Cares.

Having St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School navigate its own finances and give the now, 280 students what they need, has been important to both Inverness County Cares and Chalice.

“We worked out a partnership deal with (Chalice) whereby $120,000 per year is sent to the school, only after a detailed budget is worked out so that we know exactly where the money is going,” said Gillies.

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To raise the $60,000, the Inverness group enlists businesses, people from the community and across Canada to donate what they can.

The group’s largest fundraiser is its annual pizza sale, which accounts for roughly 10 per cent of its charitable earnings.

The pizza sale is a huge undertaking that requires dozens of volunteers, organization and countless hours of preparation.

Colleen MacDonald, a member of Inverness County Cares who helps organize the pizza sale, said it isn’t an easy task.

“About three weeks ago we went over to the Clove Hitch restaurant … and made 317 crusts and froze them, so they’re ready to go,” said MacDonald.

On pizza day, dozens of volunteers will help produce more than 300 pizzas. In the morning the choppers and graters prepare the cheese and toppings and a production line to top the pizzas is formed. The pies are cooked in an outdoor wood-fired oven.

“It’s a very positive and good feeling to know that people here in Inverness County are able to think globally but act locally in terms of improving lives of these children in a distant land,” said Gillies.

The pizza sale happens on Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. at 209 Main St., Port Hood and continues until the last pizza is sold.

For more information on the sale and the children of St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School, visit invernesscountycares.com or lwangachildren.com.

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Inverness County Cares wishes to thank our supporters who make our pizza sales such a success. This year despite very inclement weather …which cancelled the boat parade and fireworks, we sold a large amount of pizzas. Thank you to our workers who make the event happen. We truly appreciate the time you devote to our cause.  We are so fortunate to have such a strong support base.