In January 2009 Hazel's Footprints used some of the money raised during the HFT Highland Fling to support a programme being run by Action for Children in Conflict (AfCiC). AfCiC is a small Kenyan NGO and a registered charity in the UK which focuses its activities on children and young people - those who have the greatest capacity to transcend the conflicts of their communities and to bring about change in the future. Their main goal is to keep children in their families or to return them there if they have left home for the streets. To steal a quote from the AfCiC website:

"Any programme assisting children should not end in the street but in the community where the children come from. Children on the street are a symptom and dealing only with symptoms is purely remedial" Africa Insight

Jo Bailey, who applied for the funding and is currently volunteering with AfCiC, has written to thank us for our support:

"Things here in Kenya are progressing well. Thanks to the funding offered by HFT, two members of our staff are currently undergoing sign language training. They are very much enjoying the course and had their first exam last week.

The boys currently being rehabilitated at the Interim Care Centre are coming to the end of their time there and soon will be reunited with their families or, if appropriate, sent to boarding schools or children's homes. The boys are very much looking forward to returning to school and we hope they will all work hard and do well to the best of their ability."

What did HFT pay for?

Teacher salary for 1 year:
Teaching the children basic literacy and numeracy helps to give them the confidence to return to school.

Teacher training:
HFT paid for one teacher to be trained in sign language to allow them to communicate with the many deaf children AfCiC encounter. Thanks to their fine negotiation skills AfCiC managed to convince the school to train two people for the price of one.

Books required for interim care centre:
The books have been bought and put to immediate use.

To find out more about AfCiC please visit their website