Originally posted February 2, 2017
Betty Jane Cameron of Inverness County Cares, Nova Scotia, Canada, arrived February 2nd (AST time) for her second round of volunteering at the St Charles Lwanga Secondary School in Ruai, Nairobi.
Betty Jane is a Registered Nurse, midwife, talented musician and a music teacher. We thank her for sharing her talents so generously.
(All travel expenses covered personally.)
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Inverness County Cares (ICC) is a community organization based in Inverness County, NS. ICC has supported The St. Charles Lwanga Secondary School and Children’s Center (Lwanga School) in Kenya, since 2012. ICC provides $60,000 a year and Chalice Canada matches with $60,000. The goal of the Lwanga School is to create a safe and healthy learning environment for orphans and street children. Through Chalice’s Community Project Program (CPP), ICC and Chalice provide basic amenities such as nutrition, clothing, uniforms, bedding, personal hygiene products, immunizations, basic health care, school fees, books, laboratory equipment, teachers’ guides, teaching materials and other classroom resources.
This year two sewing machines were provided along with 8 new (outdoor) toilet stalls and a urinal were constructed to alleviate the line-ups caused by only 4 toilet stalls for 280 people. Basic Internet service, maintenance and insurance for the van (bought with last budget), examination fees, medicines and emergency medical fees were also included. The CPP provides salaries for an accountant, administrator, principal, vice principal, cook, night watchman and a nurse.
The budget is prepared a year in advance in cooperation with ICC, Chalice and the Lwanga School. The staff and administration of the school outline the needs of the school and all parties work out a one-year budget, which is very strictly followed. The school must submit a financial report each quarter, as to how the budgeted money is spent, including a statement of expenses, bank statement, exchange slips and receipts for all expenditures. A narrative progress report must be submitted for each quarter, including photographs visually outlining the expenditures and at the end of each year an annual report will be submitted. Any substantial changes to the approved CPP must have prior written approval from Chalice Canada.
For more information.
https://invernesscountycares.com/
http://chalice.ca/
#1: Betty Jane Cameron with St Charles Lwanga students, #2: St Charles Lwanga students, #3: Wash up time, #4:Students, #5: students digging a latrine pit for the school.
In 2012 the St Charles Lwanga High School (Lwanga School), Nairobi, was founded to provide education for 280 AIDS orphans and homeless children and by 2013 it was experiencing great need. School director Br John Kennedy was a student at the Coady International Institute, and at that time he made contact with Inverness County Cares (ICC).
The Lwanga School is the only home most of the students know and their only possibility of obtaining an education. ICC pledged to feed the students for one year. The year passed and it became a stable refuge, which could not exist without the support of ICC. In 2015, ICC entered into a partnership with Chalice Canada, an aid and development organization, based in Bedford, NS. A budget was approved for the year 2015-16 based on the needs of the Lwanga School ($73,000 provided by Chalice and $60,000 by ICC) and the funds are allocated to the school in quarterly increments. In order to access the next quarter’s funds the Lwanga School must provide receipts and proof that the funds have been allocated to the appropriate areas specified in the budget.
Chalice has a staff of 8 in Nairobi, overseeing Chalice initiatives in 13 Kenyan communities and 4 other African countries. As well, each year individuals supporting ICC have visited and/or volunteered at the Lwanga School (expenses paid personally).
Donations given to ICC are duly recorded and a personal thank you note is sent. Each month ICC sends the donations collected, to Chalice with donor information. Chalice in turn, adds the funds to the account designated for the Lwanga school and in February of the following year, Canada Revenue receipts are send to donors by Chalice.
On October 20, 2016 members of Inverness County cares gathered at The Sisters of St. Martha’s Mother-house, Bethany in Antigonish. The occasion was a concert organized by Janet Van Zutphen and John Gillies, to show appreciation to the sisters for their generous contribution to the St Charles Lwanga Secondary School and Children’s Center (Lwanga School). The concert featured, renowned fiddler John Donald Cameron, the three MacNeil sisters Orianna, Jessie Helen and Nora as well as Ben, Harvey and Janet Van Zutphen. Betty Jane Cameron, a recent visitor and volunteer at the Lwanga School, spoke to the sisters and gave an overview of her time at the school. It was an evening of mutual enjoyment for the Marthas and ICC members and entertainers. Even one hundred year old, Sr. Mary of Nazareth MacDonald experienced rejuvenation as she sang along with the Cape Breton songs and tapped her toes in tune to the fiddle music. Fr. Duncan MacIsaac beautifully recited a poem, composed by a Lwanga student, in tribute to the Martha Sisters, for their building of the Martha Kitchen at the Lwanga School. The evening was made complete with a tempting and tasty variety of sandwiches and sweets arranged by the Marthas and served with a good cup of hot tea. Everyone including the entertainers is looking forward to another concert next year.
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