From 2002 Geoff was the link
correspondent for Crick United Benefice, in the UK Diocese of
Peterborough, and the parish of Chebukutumi in the Diocese of
Bungoma in Western Kenya. He was also a member of the diocesan
link committee since his first mission to Bungoma in 2007. Geoff is
a retired Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of
Mechanical Engineers.
Canadian born Diannah, who was a headteacher in UK with school
links to Wamono, helped to set up the charity following our visit
in 2009 but has now returned to Canada.
There were about 40 links which existed between churches and
schools since the diocesan link was set up in 2000 by the Bishop of
Peterborough, The Rt. Rev. Paul Barber and the first Bishop of
Bungoma, The Rt. Rev. Dr. Eliud Wabukala, who in 2009 was appointed
the Archbishop of Kenya and kindly agreed to be our patron.
The diocesan link was closed on 31 December 2016 but our charity
continues to support the needs of Bungoma Diocese.
During his mission in 2007 Geoff was shocked to witness the extreme
poverty and desperate water needs across the whole diocese and
determined to do something about it on his return. Through a grant
from the UK charity Wilmslow Wells for
Africa he was able to fund a 50000 litre underground harvested
water tank for his link school at Chebukutumi where the children
were without water for 4 months of the year and also a new hand dug
well at Mapela, see 1st Newsletter in News. He then sought a survey of
the water needs across the whole Bungoma Diocese which led to
their joint mission in 2009 to determine the highest priorities and
the subsequent launch of this charity whose sole object is the
relief of poverty. The charity's activities are in 6 key areas
Water,
Schools,
Churches, Health, Orphans and Communications.
Bungoma Diocese headquarters are based in Bungoma which is the
principal town of 60000 people in the Bungoma
District which has a total population of 1,000,000. It is
located in Western Kenya close to its border with Uganda and north
of Lake Victoria. Although the region is on the equator the climate
is milder than expected due to the general altitude of around 1500
m. 50 km to the north lies Mt Elgon at 4000m. The Google map below
shows the location of Bungoma and the approximate extent of the
diocese. Use the controls to zoom in or out and pan to explore the
area.
The extreme and humiliating degree of poverty which has inspired us
to set up this charity is typical of many sub Saharan countries but
has been exacerbated in this region through lack of development and
infrastructure. There are very few tarmac roads and virtually no
electricity in rural areas or access to clean water. The region is
based on subsistence farming which struggles to support the high
density of the population.