YALA WIDOWS & ORPHANS SUPPORT PROJECT (YAWOSUP)

YAWOSUP is headed up by Edward Wata and operates in rural Western Kenya, focused on community development work to improve education, health, farming and housing for local residents, both young and old, including:

• Rebuilding of dilapidated houses for elderly widows and helping them improve the yield from their small subsistence farming activity, so providing shelter and food security for themselves and the orphaned children often in their care

• Sponsorship of secondary school students, who would otherwise be unable to continue their
  education, and the provision of good quality local primary education at Barbara Academy, a nursery and primary school, established in 2013. The school is named after my wife, who had shown such love and care towards the children during our many visits to Kenya. At the beginning of this year 83 pupils were registered.

Sadly, Barbara died from cancer in 2016, since when I have registered a UK charity, Rehema Trust, to develop her legacy (rehema means ‘compassion’ in Swahili).

Covid-19
Our news media shows that Covid-19 is a truly global pandemic and the impact in rural Kenya has been severe, although experts believe the peak has still to be reached. The loss of casual work opportunities has left many families unable to buy food and other essentials. All schools closed in March and it has been confirmed they will not open until January 2021.

With World Mission Team support, YAWOSUP has responded by:

• Distributing emergency relief food etc to more than 300 households

• Providing healthcare advice to prevent the spread of the virus

Supporters of Rehema Trust have enabled YAWOSUP to equip pupils of Barbara Academy with radios and smart phones to access home-learning resources, as well as maintaining a feeding programme and continuing to pay staff salaries.

Give thanks for

• the young lives being changed through access to good quality education

• the widows who are equipped to care better for each other and the children in their care

• the commitment of Edward Wata, his staff and volunteers to respond to the current crisis

• the existing group of faithful Rehema Trust donors and the difference they are making
  

Pray for

• protection and good health for Edward, his family and all his co-workers

• funds to maintain the current support and to respond to future needs as the crisis extends

• wisdom for the Kenyan government as they respond to the crisis
  

Malcolm Leighton, malcolm.leighton@ntlworld.com, www.rehematrust.com