TEMAK Crafts

Community Outreach

Empowerment

HIV/Aids

Holistic Ministry

Training for Skills

WHAT DO TEMAK GIRLS SAY?
By Godfrey Kimega
(POSTED: January 2005)

Every coin has two sides, every silver lining has a cloud, and the young women of TEMAK have had to adapt to a different way of life here.

Socialization of young people during their upbringing inevitably confers certain prejudices that affect their outlook towards other tribes or social groups. At TEMAK there’s a mix of students from surrounding districts, from diverse social backgrounds and with differing education levels. Once the girls are at TEMAK, they need time getting to understand their colleagues. This can be challenging during the daily duties where collaboration is required.

The girls take care of housekeeping duties at the centre as part of their training. Sweeping, cleaning and cooking for the lunch program are mandatory duties according to a duty roster displayed prominently in the training rooms. For example, every once in a while, a student will miss several hours of class work as she prepares and serves lunch to her colleagues. However, it is possible to catch up in the afternoon after she finishes this duty.

Several of the girls live a number of kilometers from TEMAK, a journey they make mostly on foot. Reporting time in the mornings is set at 7:45am and such girls have to wake up very early in order to be at TEMAK in time for the morning devotional service followed by vocational training classes.

This, of course, is exceptionally challenging for the young mothers who have to wake their babies, bath them and feed them before coming to TEMAK. “Babies are not always co-operative and often we find ourselves coming late,” says a mother to a one year old. Nevertheless, there’s general agreement that developing character traits of punctuality is vital for future employment.

AMERICAN MISSION TEAMS JOIN TEMAK
(POSTED: January 2005)

Teams from the United States were at TEMAK summer 2004 to see for themselves circumstances affecting girls in the slums of Kisumu with a view to co-operation in TEMAK’s activities.

Brian Holloway, Joanne Clerk and daughter traveled with Joab Othatcher of TEMAK to the slums and helped buy medicine for some of the ailing people they found. They encountered many with HIV/Aids related complications but who currently are not under medication due to extreme poverty.

Brian Bizini, from California, came to Kenya with Gordon and Carol Kennedy. The three are members of Rotary Club Modesto, Calif. Not only did they promise assistance following their trips to the slums, Brian took with him lots of crafts work from TEMAK. He intends to establish a distribution channel for crafts in the United States.

Sale of crafts is a key source of funds for TEMAK’s community programmes.

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Healthcare to the community

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