With 20 of our staff members in lockdown on the farm with our children we asked for a bit of an update for everyone on what it is like on the farm with our family at the moment. We hope you enjoy this update and images from one of our staff members…
Covid -19 cases in Kenya are increasing rapidly. Currently there are 110 cases, 2 recovered and 3 dead and many more people, both Kenyan and foreigners, are under isolation and self-quarantine in several quarantine facilities in the country yet to be tested so the number might increase further.
Since the first cases of Covid -19 were diagnosed in Kenya, all public gatherings, schools both public and private, Church crusades, bars and nightclubs, open markets, large crowds and selling in the major towns have been closed.
Because of this, the Rafiki Mwema Management Team have decided on a total lockdown so our children and staff can stay safe during this period. There are now staff who are living permanently inside the farm and not returning home each day, this includes day staff and the night staff. The supervision of our children becomes very easy and we are bonding well because the children are with staff at all times, being watched over and cared for. They feel so much love and care from the staff as the staff have left their families to come and stay with them at this time of need which is a serious commitment.
We are now ensuring that our children stay home on the farm at all times. They are now not allowed to go outside the gates, not able to go swimming which they normally like, or play soccer which our boys used to love. No walks during weekends which our children cherish so much since it used to enable them enjoy outside air and nature as well, no going to feed our street families which they do every Sunday, no going to church which our small girls enjoy, no going shopping for our snacks and other food the way they use to.
Everyone in the farm is extra vigilant on the maintenance and adherence to the guidelines on how to combat this virus, we have plenty of sanitizers and our water flow is regular so we wash our hands with soap and water every 10 minutes. We keep to the social distancing rules whenever we talk and cough below our armpits, we also regularly test our body temperature to pick up on any illnesses which may have been picked up.
Our children and staff believe that they are safe and that they have strong immunity and they are much safer so long as they embrace and accept hygiene as their daily routine.
Our children have medicines within the farm in case anyone feels unwell,. Our children pray every morning before breakfast and every evening before dinner and pour out their hearts to the Lord to keep on blessing the sponsors, Directors, Managers and the entire staff of Rafiki Mwema, and for them to be kept safe from this virus. They also pray for their families and the street children in town with no food and shelter.
Our children also have a well-planned revision and reading time schedule which they follow so they can always be at the same level or better than other children in terms of academics, Our candidates both class 8 and form 4 are conscientious with their studies and revision so that they can perform well in their national exams when school resumes, so that they can join secondary school and university.
Our children from small girls through to big girls and our boys are keen to hear the daily news bulletin to be alert and to have the breaking news from our media outlets concerning Covid-19. They want to understand how it’s being fought in other countries and extra measures that have been put in place to fight it.
Our boys and big girls believe they are champions and that they can read and revise from home and still will pass their exams when school resumes. They did well in their co-curricular activities just some two days before the schools were closed. They participated in the inter-school athletic competition where they represented their various schools in different athletic activities such as relays, 100m sprint, javelin, discuss and long jump.
To avoid boredom here at the farm, our boys have organised their time well for studies, playing of Play Station, volleyball, football and marathons around our pitch. The big girls are also giving time for volleyball, football, morning physical fitness and yoga. Our small girls are doing physical exercises every morning and after their snack time at 10 am they always have general play as well as in the evening after shower when they coloring in or do their beading work.
Our children who are in grade 3 through to standard 4-8 up to secondary school, are following the lessons provided through the media and extension services by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development keenly since this was the platform created by the Ministry of Education to help pupils and students go through their syllabus during this period of Covid-19.
Our security personnel are all living within the farm to tighten the security regime to ensure safety of both our children and staff living on the farm. Our general farm staff are not coming into contact any of the staff or children living on the farm. The general farm staff come in the morning from home and return in the evening so to ensure total safety of our children and staff.
Thank you for your continued support during this time of uncertainty. We are doing our best to keep our children and staff safe and our staff employed during this time. We will do our best to update you with how things are going at Doyle Farm and we are so grateful to those people who continue to support us even though times are so uncertain for them also. We need you now more than ever. Thank you for your trust 🙏🏻
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.
Measures the Kenyan government has put in place to reduce the spread of Covid-19
- Provision of sanitizers across the country to public places and to households
- Hiring 6,000 medical experts to help fight against this virus
- Stopped travell throughout the country and so that people remain in their county of resident
- Public service vehicle, boda-boda operators and drivers must wear masks which will be provided by the government
- All Kenyan’s are to follow and adhere to curfew rule of 7pm to 5 am
- All Kenyan’s to follow hygiene guidelines such as washing hands with soap, keeping social distancing and avoid open coughing
- Kenyan government to test the visitors in various points of entry into the country
- However the Kenyan Minister for Health Kagwe reported that the country will not go into total lock down arguing that this might lead to further spread of the virus since locking people down would mean that if one person is sick they may infect the other in their confines of their own home
