It has been 18 months since COVID-19 turned our lives upside down. Over this time we have taken every precaution to ensure the safety of our children and staff. As the situation continues to rapidly change around the world with the emergence of new variants, we continue to review and update our COVID policies.
There has now been over 230,000 confirmed COVID cases and 2,635 COVID related deaths in Kenya (refer to Republic of Kenya Ministry of Health for most recent statistics). Throughout the growing and evolving pandemic the health of our children, staff and volunteers has been of utmost importance.
Our initial COVID precautions
One of the first steps we took to protect everyone at Doyle Farm was to ensure good hygiene practices were maintained. Particular focus was placed upon regular hand washing and coughing or sneezing into a tissue or elbow rather than hands. We also installed more hand soap at all washing points throughout the farm for staff and students to use. Access to Doyle Farm was restricted to essential staff only. Children who were being educated offsite stayed at the farm full time and began taking lessons remotely. And our offsite Feeding Program and Outreach Program were both modified to ensure our staff remained healthy and were not exposed unnecessarily to potential infection.
As cases increased in Kenya we entered into a total lock down for a period. Staff stayed permanently on the farm caring for our children, often away from their own families. It was a time of incredible companionship and bonding as the children were with staff at all times, being watched over and cared for. They felt so much love from the staff.
Additional precautions
Rafiki Mwema continues to review and update precautionary measures surrounding COVID-19. Since our previous updates we have introduced some additional actions.
We now have thermometers at the gate. Each staff member must have their temperature taken when they arrive at the farm. Our children must do the same when arriving back from school.
We have also set up a place where everyone can wash their hands with soap and running water. And for now staff are required to wear a face mask when they are in the compound, especially around the children.
Thank you for your continued support during this time of uncertainty. We will continue to do everything in our power to keep our children and staff safe. If you would like to sign up to sponsor a child with us or make a one of donation you can do so on our website. All donations are fully tax deductible in Australia.
