Donation

We had a lovely surprise last week, when an anonymous donor lodged €7,500 to our Harambee Fund.

At the request of the donor, the money will be donated to Our Lady of Nazareth primary school in Mukuru slums to purchase desks, text books, water points and storage tanks, and uniforms for the children, including a new set of scouts uniforms.

The scout uniforms the children are using now were donated back in 2003, and although they were handed down from generation to generation of children at the school, they have been meticulously cared for and are still in relatively good condition. However, the intervening years have taken their toll, and the new uniforms, along with the other equipment, will be very welcome indeed.

The donation came directly as a response to our YouTube video, at: http://www.youtube.com/user/harambeescholarship#g/a.

If you get a chance to view the video, please pass it on to others, and you'd never know, some other kind and generous donor might contribute to help the children of Mukuru receive a good education - and a real chance in life.

Trent Keegan - man charged

There's been an interesting development in the investigation into the murder of my friend Trent Keegan in Nairobi in 2008.

The story is carried on New Zealand TV:

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/arrest-made-over-kiwi-s-murder-in-kenya-3890564/video

http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/arrest-made-over-kiwi-s-murder-in-kenya-3890564

Hopefully, this will bring some closure and solace to his family, and will answer some very important questions as to why Trent's young life was cut short in such a brutal manner.

Yesterday (27th May) was the 2nd anniversary of the death of our good friend and colleague, Trent Keegan. During this week, children from schools in Mukuru slums in Nairobi will remember and say prayers for Trent, the Gentle Giant who visited them in 2008 and made such an impression on their lives with his warmth and friendliness.

Just before his death, Trent was investigating a story about the US (Boston) based Thomson Safaris, who were alleged to have been involved in attacks on local Maasai herdsmen and their families in a quiet rural community of North-Western Tanzania.

According to recent articles published on the case, it now seems that the dispute is escalating, and local police, with the support of government officials, are actively supporting the multi-nationals in their attacks on the local community.

Below are some further links to information on the ongoing dispute and attacks by police:

“Tourism is a curse to us”, by Alex Renton (Observer 06 Sept 2009): http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/06/masai-tribesman-tanzania-tourism

“Hunted Down” by Rosie Martin (New Internationalist, Dec 2009): http://www.newint.org/columns/currents/2009/12/01/tanzania/

http://africanfarmersjournal.blogspot.com/2009/05/trent-keegans-anniversary.html

http://africanfarmersjournal.blogspot.com/2008/09/trent-keegans-report.html

http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/functions/print_article.php?l=15616

http://www.ippmedia.com/frontend/functions/print_article.php?l=15628

http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/4-national-news/1378-oxfam-appeals-over-detention-of-its-staff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqP2MRuJ4Ac

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-FP2gRvziw

"No Man's Land" by George Monbiot

Nairobi Slums Scholarship

Few children living in Third World slums ever have the opportunity to continue their education beyond primary school, due to poverty and hardship. Harambee Mukuru Scholarship Fund was established in 2006 to help some of these children living in the Mukuru Slums of Nairobi to attend secondary school. To date, we have sponsored up to fifty (50) of the most needy children in Mukuru, with at least 50% of these awarded to girls. More students are now being selected to begin secondary in January 2010.

Working with teachers in each of the local primary schools in Mukuru, the Fund was established by staff and students at Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT Dublin) Ireland. It is a totally voluntary organisation, with no administration costs.

For less than a Euro-a-Day, you could give a child a chance in life.

If you would like to sponsor a child, or for any further information, please contact us at: harambeescholarship@gmail.com, or:

Harambee Fund, Institute of Technology, Tallaght, Dublin 24, Ireland.

PO Box 60221 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya

The cost to sponsor a student is about €5 per week, or 30,000Ksh (approx €300) per annum. This covers school fees and some additional costs such as uniforms, bus fares etc, for those families who cannot meet these expenses.

www.harambee-mukuru.com (this site is under construction)

OBSERVER article

Subject: Observer on Thomson and Masai

"Article in today's Observer newspaper on Thomson and Masai:
http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/06/masai-tribesman-tanzania-tourism

Trent Keegan Remembered

Some photos of the 1st Anniversary commemoration of Trent Keegan, held at Uhuru Highway on Saturday last (30th May 2009). The children laying the flowers are scouts from one of the primary schools in Nairobi's Mukuru slums, where Trent visited and worked during his stay in Nairobi.

Although extremely poor, these children made the journey to Nairobi city centre with their teachers to remember Trent, a friend of their school and their community.

Trent Keegan's Anniversary

It's almost a year now since our great friend and colleague, Trent Keegan was taken from us. But we still don't know, and possibly never will know, who was responsible for his death.

Understandably, the expressions of disbelief and shock that swamped the Internet immediately after his death have since died down. But that does not mean we have forgotten. There are still some who are fighting his cause, and trying to get to the bottom of the case he was trying to uncover.

As you will be aware, there are still many questions which so far remain unanswered about the possibility that Trent was murdered in connection with a major story he was trying to investigate - a dispute between local Maasai herdsmen in the Sukenya region of Tanzania and Thomson Safari company from Boston in the US.

·         Why was it that Trent’s laptop and camera were among the only items stolen (and never recovered), while his passport, cash and Visa cards were left behind by his murderers?

·         How come Thomson Safaris appear to have accessed personal files from Trent’s laptop (and mine), which were given to the local District Commissioner in Loliondo, Tanzania, by Thomson’s local manager? Presumably the only ones with access to Trent’s files at present are those who stole his laptop when he was murdered.

·         Why have the District Commissioner in Loliondo, or the police in Nairobi not investigated this further, despite being informed of a possible link between the files and the people who stole Trent’s laptop?

·         And lastly, why have the Irish or New Zealand governments not held their own independent post-mortem enquiries into Trent’s death.

It seems the authorities in all countries concerned - Kenya, Tanzania, Ireland, and New Zealand, - are happy to let this story die.

However, Trent's friends in Kenya have not forgotten him, and a small memorial service is planned for Saturday, 30 May at 2pm, at the site on Uhuru Highway where his body was found.

Will there be a memorial service in Salthill, Galway again this year to remember Trent? If anybody is aware of arrangements, could you please post details as soon as possible to allow people attend.