New Beginnings in Eastleigh

The new school term has just begun at the Eastleigh Community Centre, and with it lots of beautiful new faces!

Farhiya, Nelius, Patrick, Erica and Laura

in the new Noor Creations workshop

We are excited to be starting the fall in two new spaces for the Iftin literacy classes and the Noor Creations jewelry project. Not only are we expanding our space, but we now have offices and a garden area. This will be a busy month as the team pulls together with the Iftin ladies to make this new space home!

Tunis, Fardosa and Ayan making beads in Noor

Rachel, Sarah and Nicole meeting with

Erica and the Noor ladies.

Today, we also had the pleasure of connecting three fellow Canadians with Noor and the ministry of the Eastleigh Community Centre. Rachel is a professional jewelry artisan from Regina, and shared some time today teaching in Noor.

Jacinta, Sarah, Racheal and Nicole

with children in the ECC Preschool

Noor Creations

Ayan, Hawa & Fatuma in the Noor Creations Workshop

It has been such a blessing to see the Noor Creations ceramic bead self help project grow over the past two years. Through hard work and dedication, the Somali refugee ladies of Noor are not only providing for the needs of their families, but are examples to other refugee women entering the Iftin Women's Empowerment program.

Tunis & Fardosa

Beautiful beads

Aisha and Aisha working on beads

Please continue to uphold Noor in your prayers as these women

work to provide a sustainable income for their families.

Noor Creations (Good-bye Safiya!)

Noor Creations Self Help Group

say Good-bye to Safiya

Today we hosted a good-bye party for Safiya (sitting in the centre) as she leaves Kenya to be married in Ethiopia. Safiya was one of the original fifteen refugee girls that helped form the Iftin Women's Empowerment Program in 2008. It is very sad to see her leave.

Party Games!

Over the past five years, these Somali girls have become a part of our family. It has been such a blessing to see them growing up. Safiya is the second young women in this group to become married over the last few years.

Playing the cookie pizza game was a lot of laughs

Farewell to Safiya

Safiya and Patrick

Fardosa, Tunis and Zahra

Chai Time!

Ayan and Emma all dressed up Somali Style

Tristan giving Somali style a try

Ava gets some henna

Our Somali girls

New Growth

Students in class two review a homework

assignment with Iftin teacher Farhiya Rage.

The IFTIN Women's Literacy Project has grown from three to four daily classes. Presently there are 77 students and new arrivals joining daily. While students are very thankful for the opportunity to learn and improve their lives, a common concern among them has been an increased insecurity and police harassment as the Kenyan government cracks down on Somali refugees living outside the refugee camps. In the past month over 800 Somalis have been arrested and deported from Nairobi. Please continue pray for peace among the Somali people and for the Iftin members.

Recess at the Eastleigh Community Centre's Kindergarten program

The children in Eastleigh seem very happy as water is finally flowing once again in Eastleigh, as well as much of Kenya. One notable difference has been the appearance of the beautiful rich colours of fruit and vegetables for sale on the streets of Eastleigh.

Children learning about gardening took it upon themselves today to start their own seed bed. Using some seeds from a teacher, they prepared some soil and gathered some water. "We are farmers!" one of the girls proudly proclaimed.

We can never be too young to learn about food security!

Mistletoe Market 2009

Erica and Patrick at the annual

Mistletoe Market

hosted by Rosslyn Academy.

This is Noor Creation's first year to participate in the many Christmas sales and exhibitions that take place throughout Nairobi. Erica, Patrick and Aisha are taking care of the Noor display today. It is a great opportunity to tell other people about the project and help the ladies sell jewelry.

Solidarity Necklace
The Noor ladies are asking women to stand in solidarity with the women of Iftin as they strive together to empower the refugee women of their community. The Solidarity Necklace is a symbolic way of showing unity with victims of violence, conflict and war. Every necklace purchased assists these refugee women to overcome poverty with dignity.

Women Helping Women

For a Brighter Future

A selection of bracelets, necklaces, earrings

and beads all produced by the women of Noor



Not your typical Christmas tree!

Although Noor jewelry is on sale only in Kenya this Christmas, we do hope to be able to bring some back to Canada with us this spring. Our hope is that we'll have a website with a catalogue up and running this year to help the Noor ladies to market and sell their products. We are also very thankful for a few friends who have offered to sell some of the jewelry in their Canadian stores. If you are interested in learning more about how you can support these ladies or about purchasing their jewelry you can contact Erica at four_kennys@yahoo.ca . Please continue to hold these women in your prayers!

Snap Shots from Eastleigh

Diane and Laura Lee leading a jewelry workshop with the women in the ceramic bead project.

The week is moving along quickly in Eastleigh as the team pulls together in the renovation project and serves within several ministries of the centre. Here are a few snap shots from yesterday.

In the beauty school

Geralyn's new style


Tamara and Emily teaching in the ESL class



Nursery Program

Thomas leading the kids in song

Simon says...

Erica and Zahra join in musical chairs

Aaron giving someone a lift

One last chair...

gotta grab it when the drum stops

Lee, Erica and Diane with the Eastleigh Jewelry team

It was a GREAT DAY!!

Self Help Group Relaunch

Iftin student president, Aisha Hussein, addressing today's Women's Self Help Group gathering at the Eastleigh Community Centre.

Scott, Lara, Aaron, Erica, Kerry and Emma

(Tristan was our camera man)

Today was the official re-launch of the women's self help groups within the urban development project in Eastleigh. Over the past year we have learned a lot and made plenty of mistakes along the way. One big lesson has been patience. Westerners, like us, often joke about needing to adjust to "Africa Time", but the fact is that the rhythms of life here are very different from what we are use to in Canada. Kenya is slowly teaching us to slow down and stop rushing, but it is a difficult lesson to learn. When it came to introducing self help groups to refugee women, we missed some crucial issues in our hurry to get things off the ground. Bonds of trust, community acceptance, concepts of group savings and the issue of women in leadership were all areas of key importance that we hadn't dealt deeply enough with in the beginning. Together with the Iftin women, we have slowed down and are carefully building the foundation of trust and understanding necessary for a bringing about successful self help groups that will improve the lives of these women and their families.

Among our special guests today were our friends Lara and Scott Barnett

It was such a joy today to share the story of Iftin and progress of the self help group initiative with the broader Eastleigh Community, as well as some of our friends here in Nairobi. The chief of Eastleigh North commented after the event that "Women are the future of Kenya" and commended the efforts of the Somali and Oromo women of Iftin.

Zahra and Loise, the National Self Help Group Coordinator

The Kenyan government has recognized the power of grassroots women's groups in transforming communities. As part of their efforts, Kenya has provided training opportunities for self help group facilitators through a national self help program. Our community coordinator, Zahra, participated in this intense training during March of this year. It was her great pleasure to have her teacher, Lois, speak today to the women of Iftin on the virtues of forming a self help group.

Zahra introducing Sheikh Abdi Nassar

Along with our guests, 167 Somali and Oromo women registered and attended the self help gathering: It was a full house of women, along with a few children running between the chairs. We were truly blessed by the presence of one of the local Muslim leaders, Sheikh Abdi Nassar, who not only prayed with us, but shared a wonderful sermon encouraging the women to embrace their future by working together. His message not only addressed fears among the women about the legitimacy of women in leadership, but went further by urging the women to work to overcome ignorance that only serves to hinder their lives.

The women listened intently as Sheikh Abdi Nassar

spoke about the significance of their coming together

Aaron sharing the story of Iftin and inviting other women of the community to become apart of a community of change.

Erica sharing the history of the Jewelry Project

and commending the hard work and dedication of the participants.

With the first training cohort completed, Erica shared about

the exciting new beginning of the jewelry project as the

seven women move forward as a group to earn a living and

provide for the basic needs of their families.

The director of the Eastleigh Community Centre, Ehud Gachuga, also addressed the women and shared a broader vision of women coming together to form Self Help Groups that create support, income generating activities, and better lives for each and every family.

Erica put a bracelet made from the

Eastleigh beads on each of the graduates

It was with joy that we and the sheikh presented graduation certificates and gifts to the seven women who completed the ceramic beading training. Together as a community we celebrated their efforts and success!

Somali women singing about Iftin

A big part of the day was times of song and dance. As well as separate cultural dances performed by both the Oromo and Somali women, all of the Iftin students came together at the end of the event to sing the Iftin anthem.