Silvia Romano

In this dramatic moment, finally a wonderful news: Silvia Romano has been freed. Thank you to all the men and women from the external intelligence services. Silvia we are waiting for you in Italy!”

Silvia Romano was at her second experience as a volunteer in Kenya.

She was kidnapped on the 20th of November 2018, taken from her humanitarian activity n Chakama, a village that is 80km away from Malindi. For 17 months, we haven’t heard anything from her. Then, 12 months ago, we received the news that she was dead, killed during a gunfight, but her parents never lost hope. Today, finally the wonderful news.

The girl’s father, Enzo Romano stated: “This is a beautiful news, I still did not spoke to Silvia and I did not receive an official communication from the Farnesina, I still did not talk to them. Right now, I just need to think, to reason, it is a delicate moment. The joy is so big that it is about to explode, I do not care about anyone and anything else, I just care about hugging my daughter again, after 17 months.”

Meanwhile the mother stated that she is extremely happy and bewildered.

Silvia Romano also stated: “I stayed strong and I resisted, I cannot wait to go back to Italy”

According to the Intelligence sources, the operation started at dawn on the 9th of May. Silvia has been liberated with blitz coordinated between Italian and Turkish forces, 30 km away from Mogadishu, in an area that was hardly practical due to the strong rain of the past days.

Tomorrow Silvia Romano will land at Roma Ciampino and will be immediately heard by the PM of the prosecutor of Rome, who opened an investigation into the case for kidnapping for terrorism purposes.

Silvia, we are waiting for you with open arms.

Helping Kenya

Dear friends,

During this time of Corona Virus, we are present more than ever, in order to let others hear our voices and most of all see our help. We have continued to send money to Kenya, food and necessary needs.

Our dear friend and treasurer, Laura Tamburini, from the Lucy smile ODV association in Malindi, with her big heart made it possible to produce masks, currently mandatory in Kenya as well, and she donated part of them to the “Lea Mwana”; an orphanage which is 100% supported by Lucy Smile, and the other masks she donated to the majority of the population.

The small gestures make the difference, solidarity is a gesture that enriches all of us, thinking about others is good for our heart and not only. For this reason, we too, from the Jimba care ODV association, keep on helping the population as much as we can, but we do really need your help because even the association itself is starting to have substantial difficulties. Help us, and let’s help one another, only in this way all the people will go back at being united and truly help children who die from starvation.

Thank you.

Kenyatta National Hospital

Since couples of months, all over the world the only thing we hear about is Corona Virus. Due to this virus, our lives drastically changed, we have many sick people, many deceased people. We are experiencing a huge economic crisis, but luckily we also see some positive changes, progresses and with some time and patience maybe also a return to our routine and normal daily life.

Of course, to fully recover, it will take many sacrifices, solidarity and help because many families are already struggling to buy groceries and to sustain other daily expenses. However, besides this, I would like to focus on another terrible reality. An illness that has been around all over the world for centuries: CANCER.

Cancer does not have age, it affects everyone, sadly, children as well. Luckily there are some places around the world where children can get help, and can be treated, constantly monitored and have good chances of surviving and winning the battle against cancer. At the same time, there is Kenya (Africa) where children have no chances of being treated and are often left to death, at a too young age to accept this situation and now to an already dramatic reality, Corona Virus came on top.

Luckily, there are people, associations who really want to improve the life of these people and help in the best way they can.

A really good Kenyan friend of mine, Ireri Wisithsvu, doctor and volunteer at the Kenyatta National Hospital, in Nairobi, received by the German Onlus “Home of Smile”, run by another German friend of mine: Masks, hygiene products, games and much more to cope with this big crisis that is affecting Kenya as well.

During this situation, in front of children with cancer, there are people who, despite everything, think of others, think of those people who are worse off than us, exactly how Achim is doing, the president and only owner of “Home of Smile”.

We, from Jimba Care, also wanted to help and we donated money to the families in need so to allow them to eat and have access to necessary goods.

We are aware of the fact that we cannot help everyone, but in our own way we can all do something; therefore, I am kindly asking you to help us to make these children’s lives as dignified as possible. Childhood should never be tormented by anything. Children should think about laughing, playing and being cuddled, it is inhuman to see the sadness in their eyes, and it is inhuman not to have the strength due to illnesses and under nutrition. A child’s smile is a gift for each one of us and therefore I am asking you again to help us support each child who is fighting every day for survival.

Everything will be fine

Dear friends,

in this time of Coronavirus pandemic we voluntarily chose not to publish a lot, both on Facebook and on our website, to respect this global emergency who affected all of us.

We kept in contact with our children and families in Kenya, also because they are in an emergency situation, with 7 cases at Nairobi (we do not have the exact numbers in the other areas) and the schools are closed as well.

From them, we just received a small but very thoughtful and great act of solidarity for all of us.

These are the children and the grandchildren of our school teacher, considering that all the children from the Wisdom School are at her house, due to the Covid 19.

We truly hope that all of this will pass rapidly and that the virus will not spread too much in Africa.

For now, thanks to the money raised at the fundraising dinner we had in February, we are starting the works in order to build the fence. This is a very important step because once we the fence is done; we will be able to ask the registration of the school.

Furthermore, we can give jobs to the local people, considering that many are left without a salary due to the ceased tourism and due to the closed schools.

A beautiful day

As some of you may know, I had to interrupt my staying in Kenya in January due to family reasons. For this reason, I was not able to go to the Lea Mwana to deliver the gifts and the greetings from the people who support these amazing children.

Luckily, there is Laura, a really good friend of mine, who for 8 months a year lives in Kenya. Laura, together with Paolo showed me Lea Mwana for the first time, and since that moment it found a place in my heart, and I would like to thank all of you, who are participating in helping the children from the orphanage to study and live happily.

Therefore, when I had to leave, Laura promised me that she would go to Lea Mwana to bring the gifts and to take pictures of those beautiful children. Look how happy they are, you can make them very happy with little.

I would like to thank all of you, from my heart, because thanks to you we can take care of our children in Kenya.

Third classroom at the Wisdom School

In November 2019, I (Dagmar) went to Kenya again in order to be there and check the work in progress for the third room at the Wisdom School at Jimba.

A lot of people helped us building the third classroom, therefore, THANK YOU!

When I first arrived there in November, I was not able to do much because even if the rain season did not start yet, it was raining the whole time and everything was flooded.

After one week, once the rain was over, we started as fast as possible to work.

Thanks to Tom, our friend and the head of the works here in Kenya, who is always helping us with a lot of love, it has been possible to finish the works in 2 weeks only and to allow the children to come back in January.

In the meantime, Agnes, the school teacher, was 9 months pregnant and she had a beautiful girl on the 6th of December for Saint Nicolas. NIA, welcome to this world, which we try to make everyday a little bit better for you and all the other children.

You can help too!

The third classroom

Wisdom School

Dear friends,

As many of you already know I will leave for Kenya again on the 7th of November to continue the current Jimba Care’s project at the Wisdom School.

We need to finish the third classroom by the end of the year so to be able to guarantee elder children to move from primary school to secondary school

Agnes, the teacher and the dean of the school, is waiting for me and with the help of her family we are counting on finishing the third classroom in 3 weeks. I will personally follow the work in progress and I will publish pictures and video on the Jimba Care’s Instagram and Facebook page so that you will also be able to follow the progress with me.

Of course; I will also go to the LEA MWANA children centre, and to the ST. FRANCIS disable centre in Malindi and to the GOD OUR FATHER orphanage in Watamu, besides visiting the villages where we will distribute clothes, medicines and food.

I want to thank everyone for their generous contribution, because without your help all of this would not have been possible.

Dagmar Wirtz, Dean of the association.

Wisdom School

Scolari

Our Wisdom school project started thanks to a meeting with Tom, a 28 years old man who grew up in the orphanage GOD OUR FATHER in Watamu. It was our first trip to Kenya.

One day Tom told us about the WISDOM SCHOOL in the Jimba village in Watamu and so went visiting it. We saw a school made of mud and straw, unusable when it’s raining and close to fall down.

But Agnes, the founder and the teacher of the school never gave up and doesn’t matter what she always wanted to give her 40 students the possibility of an instruction. From that moment; we felt the desire to help them, and once we came back home we started to really work to raise funds thanks to markets, dinners and shows.

Thanks to this, now the Wisdom School has two real rooms with actual walls and we count on finishing the third one by the end of the year. Unfortunately; the things left to be done are still quite a lot; we are still missing more rooms, bathrooms, the fences and we need to fix the courtyard.

It is not easy, but slowly, brick by brick and thanks to the help of many people, we are sure that one day we will make it, and we will terminate this project.

Lea Mwana

bimbi lea mwana

The LEA MWANA is a homeless shelter for needed children in Malindi, children who are not able to find help within their own families or that have been abandoned. At the moment, the structure hosts 50 children circa, aged between 2 and 18.

Paolo Ruggeri with great generosity and heart took care of these children and founded the Onlus PROGETTO LUCY SMILE, which supports since many years this structure.

During one of our trip to Kenya we met Paolo thanks to Laura Tamburini, treasurer of the Onlus Progetto lucy smile, who lives since many years in Malindi.

Thanks to a charity dinner organized in Sesto Fiorentino we were able to raise funds to contribute to the building of the roof REFLETTORIO of the center.

Paolo does not only support the center for children Lea Mwana, but also the center for disable children ST. FRANCIS.

YOU CAN HELP TOO, donate now with the 5×1000 to the onlus Progetto Lucy Smile, P.iva 92250250286 or make a direct donation to the project LEA MWANA.

St. Francis

One of the project that we care the most is the one that deals with the poorest and weakest children.

Children born in the black Africa and most of them disable.

Children who are often abandoned or even killed.

Here at the St.Francis center in Malindi, these amazing creatures find a place where they are not only followed by qualified personnel, but also by some mothers who thanks to different shifts sleep at the structure to help the children.

The St.Francis is one of the most touching and moving stop when we go to Kenya. There is always a lot to do here, from helping them to eat, to dance and play with them, and we always see great joy and happiness in their eyes. Besides this, we donated to the center a special wheel chair. But they do need much more, as for example specialized equipment, and specialized personnel.

Help the St,Francis to help the children in need.

DONATE NOW.