Van Update #2

Inching Along to Getting Our Van….

Many thanks to every one of you who have caught the vision with Olalo and know that providing a van for transportation is vital and essential to getting people to the hospitals for urgent medical care, kids safely to school, and for the delivery of food and other life basics to those in desperate need in Oyugis, Kenya.

In just the last three weeks a cab was hired and cars rented to transport very ill children to hospitals two and five hours away…they were necessary distances to get them the kind of help they needed. Thanks to you, our Van donors, we know that in time Olalo will have the necessary funds to purchase a van to make these types of trips and save the money for medical care rather than it being spent on hiring cars/cabs. (You can read more about one baby we got into the hospital in our latest report under our Urgent  Medical Care Project.)

Drought conditions in the area are making it difficult to provide food for families.  In the last month Olalo was able to deliver food to several families.

The van can also be used to transport others who need to go into the city. Passengers would be charged a fee which will help to maintain the van. 

One of the recipients of Olalo’s medical fund will travel six times to Nairobi for surgery and follow-up care. Due to the nature of his disease he is not able to work and has no way to travel there except for going by bus. Those are 6 trips which could be made to Nairobi with paying passenger riding along with him in our van. As you can see, a van would certainly be a benefit in a variety of ways.

So even though we are only inching toward our goal of purchasing a van, we are so very thankful for your continued support and encouragement! 

Thank you for standing with us…thank you for supporting our efforts in Oyugis, Kenya!

With Much Appreciation
Merry Broughal
Olalo of Hope-Kenya

Getting a Ride to Health & Life

I want to personally thank everyone who has joined with Olalo to purchase transportation for our Medical program in Oyugis. 

We still have a long way to go and we will continue to raise the necessary funds to purchase a van. It may not be a glamorous or exciting project, but we continue because it is a noble cause. 

In just the last four months, 35% of our medical costs have paid for car/van rentals to get those in need of urgent medical care to the hospital for treatment. Thirty five percent…money that could have been used to cover the medical or medication costs of an additional 18-25 people.

A recent video from Kenya highlights the transportation need to get people to medical help. Olalo volunteer, Sonko, has traveled 3 hours away to check on a mother and son who have been ill for quite awhile.  The mother is having chest pain and the son is having vision problems and cannot see well.

The vehicles Olalo has access to rent aren’t always the most reliable or in good mechanical order. The car in the video doesn’t have lights that work well and they are in doubt of even making the three-hour drive back home to Oyugis that evening. 

On occasion, people we help are referred to Kisumu or Nairobi for more specialized treatment. During trips into the cities, the van would be used to transport other paying passengers who need to travel there for other purposes. It is a much-needed service and would help to offset costs of running the van.

We certainly appreciate your continued support of our efforts. Thank you all for sticking with us.

Coming up in just a few weeks the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has generously provided $500,000 in matching funds for #GivingTuesday on Global Giving!

• The 2016 #GivingTuesday campaign will begin November 29th, 2016, at 00:00:01 EST and end at 23:59:59 EST on November 29th, 2016. (For us west coast folks, that is 9:00:01PM on 11/28 and ending at 8:59:59 on 11/28.)
• The campaign will run on GlobalGiving.org  Our Van project is located here
• There will be $500,000 USD in matching funds on #GivingTuesday, applied at 50% to all donations of up to $1,000 USD per unique donor per organization to eligible projects while funds last.
• The previous 50% match bonus day for $110,000 ran out in the first few minutes…so if you plan to donate, then it’s best to do it right at 9:00:01 PM on November 28 for us on the west coast.

Your generous contributions are bringing so many people to better health and saving lives!

With Much Appreciation,
Merry Broughal
Olalo of Hope-Kenya