The Woman On A Mission Pt 2

I wrote about Julie Hellon in November and had some lovely responses to the article. (Here it is if you missed it first time round: click here ) Now she’s back from Kenya, so I caught up with her to find out how it went and what she was able to achieve during her second visit.

‘I’ve come back knowing that I need to raise awareness and not just funds,’ Julie explains. ‘Everyone can make a difference. I had a fantastic time and I’m really pleased that I was able to go again.’

So armed with the money that was raised here locally on the Cote d’azur and individual donations you had just two weeks in and around Nairobi, where did you start?

‘One of the most important ways of helping is with the school programmes. What that means in real terms is buying uniforms as although school is free, the children have to have a uniform to be allowed to attend. €20 is enough to provide a whole new school uniform, so that can be a life-changing amount for one child.’

Julie told me she was also able to help a 14-year-old girl called Evelyn during her stay by providing the most basic things like sanitary towels and a tiny bag of toiletries. To own those things for herself made Evelyn cry. Most of us have bathroom cabinets full of these things, which we totally take for granted.

On her first visit Julie had supported a ten-year-old boy called John Felix, so this time it was wonderful to see him again up at the rural area, playing football when she arrived. She explained, ‘Sadly though just a few days later he contracted malaria and I spent the next four days nursing him back to health.’

‘One of my friend’s daughters plans to have a cake sale to raise money and wants to charge 40 centimes per cup cake. That was the exact cost of one packet of malaria tablets to treat a child like John Felix and ultimately save a life. It makes you think doesn’t it?’

The donations that Julie was able to take with her provided 30 young girls with new underwear and personal items. It also paid for a pharmacy cabinet of basic first aid, and it set-up a chicken farming project. The idea behind this is for the villagers to look after and fatten-up chickens, eventually selling them on for a profit which then goes towards buying more to fatten up, vaccinate and sell on. And obviously in the meantime they live off the eggs. Eventually they hope to use profits for school places.

One afternoon Julie and the others from the trust organised a little Christmas party for 70 children where they got to play games and eat biscuits for an afternoon of pure fun. And as we can see from the picture (right) the children really enjoyed it!

And finally while she was there they started a book collection and bought 21 books. Julie explains:

‘That’s one of the questions everyone asks me. People here in France would love to donate their books but getting them out to Kenya where they are desperately needed is impossibly expensive.

If there are any pilots, transport companies or charities out there who know a way of solving this problem we would be beyond grateful.  There must be a way of getting books to these children free of charge? It would be the perfect way to boost their fledgling library if we can.’

Julie is planning to return to Kenya in April and if you’d like to donate or help in any other way then please contact her on 06 12 37 46 74 or email julie.hellon@yahoo.com